Kokrajhar, June 7: The Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) has come up with a booklet containing a familiar litany of woes — damaged infrastructure, lack of funds and inadequate manpower — to explain the pathetic state of its forest wealth.

The booklet, titled Profile on Forest and Wildlife of Bodoland Territorial Council, states that the department is ill-equipped to handle the monumental task of protecting the forests under the BTC. It claims that over 80 per cent of infrastructure, including buildings, roads, bridges and culverts, suffered extensive damage during the turbulent period of the Bodoland movement.

The booklet also mentions that over 30 per cent of forests in the Bodo heartland has been encroached upon.

According to the department, field staff stay away from the forest areas because the authorities are unable to provide them decent quarters to stay in. “There are neither transport facilities nor funds to equip the field staff with the necessary tools they require.”

Another significant observation is that the BTC’s forest wealth has been overexploited. “Widespread encroachment on forest land and indiscriminate felling have severely degraded the forests,” the department admits.

Having taken advantage of law and order problems in the past 10 years, villagers continue to clear forest land and build houses in the hope that someday they will be owners of the occupied plots. Moreover, felling continues unabated, the booklet states. Forest officials say they need nearly Rs 11 crore to reconstruct at least 352 structures and restore the infrastructure that existed before 1980.

The department has made a modest start to the task of rebuilding infrastructure by repairing or reconstructing the forest rangers’ quarters and offices at Basbari, Kuklung, Mushalpur, Kumarikhata and Udalguri. A number of forest camps have also been constructed at strategic places.

at Nayekgaon, Bismuri, Suparighat, Athiabari and other places, an official said.

The BTC has a recorded forest area of 3,53,994.95 hectares or 3,539.95 square km, most of which are along the international border with Bhutan.