Forest revenue that contributes a significant share to the States non-tax revenue has witnessed a steady decline since 2018.
The Economic Review 2021 which recorded the trends in forest revenue from 2017-18 to 2020-21 found the gradual fall coincided with the decrease in timber production during the last few years.
According to official statistics, the revenue from the Forestry sector by way of sale of timber and other forest produce was 236.8 crore in 2020-21. The returns have declined from 287.21 crore and 251.45 crore in 2018-19 and in 2019-20 respectively.
Notably, the slump began after 2018 when the Forest department had achieved a 17% hike in revenue from 245.42 crore in 2017-18.
The area under forest plantations also decreased marginally by 1.2% from 1.563 lakh hectares in 2019-20 to 1.544 lakh hectares in 2020-21.
Timber sale that generally accounts for over 90% of the forest revenue also fell from 226.52 crore in 2019-20 to 216.82 crore in 2020-21. During the period, the production of teak decreased by 7,402 cubic metres, despite there being a marked increase of 645 hectares in teak plantation. The government has attributed the recent drop in forest revenue to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In spite of a glum scenario, certain other products including honey, reeds, sandalwood and acacia mangium witnessed an increase in production from 2019 to 2020. Among them, sandalwood production increased from 11.7% during the period.