14 years on, Mukerian forest inspection hut project hangs fire in Hoshiarpur
More than a decade after the foundation stone for a new forest inspection hut and range office was laid in Mukerian, the project remains unrealised, caught in a web of shifting policies and prolonged neglect.
In 2011, then Forest Minister and Mukerian MLA Arunesh Shakir inaugurated the project, aimed at replacing the old, deteriorated structure built in 1945-46. The decades-old building, already in a fragile condition, was fully dismantled between 2011 and 2012 to make way for a forest inspection hut having a modern rest house-cum-office on approximately 2.5 acres of land. However, even 14 years later, not a single brick of the new building has been laid.
Due to the absence of a proper office structure, the Mukerian range officer has been compelled to operate from his official residence. What was supposed to be a temporary solution has now extended into a 14-year compromise, with no clarity on when relief might arrive.
Forest officials attribute the delay to a sudden change in funding policy. Initially, the construction was to be financed through Net Present Value (NPV) funds — compensation paid for the use of forest land for non-forest purposes such as highway expansion. However, following a Supreme Court directive, the Union Ministry revised its policy, centralising the funds and mandating that NPV money be used strictly for afforestation and tree plantation.
As a result, the funds once expected to be allocated for building construction were no longer accessible, and no alternative source of funding has been identified since. The proposal, once seen as a much-needed upgrade, has effectively been shelved. Even the foundation stone laid by the former minister has long disappeared. The original building was dismantled, since then, the staff had no choice but to convert range officer’s official residence into a makeshift office and this makeshift arrangement has become a new normal for years. The staff, too, is staying at their own private residences.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Anjan Singh confirmed that the inspection hut project never took off due to lack of funding. “There has been no allocation of funds for this project since the time the foundation was laid. Without financial backing or a fresh proposal from the department, there has been no progress,” he said.
Range Officer Gurjinder Singh echoed these sentiments, stating that the range office continued to function from ranger’s residence.
As years pass and infrastructure remains stagnant, Mukerian’s forest office stands as a stark reminder of neglect, awaiting a revival that now depends on government’s fresh initiative
