To uproot timber mafia, Punjab plants tracking chips in khair trees

In a first such initiative in Punjab to curb illegal felling and tackle the timber mafia, the state forest department has started implanting radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in khair trees.

The RFID technology uses radio waves to track objects or people without physical contact. Costing around Rs 2,500 each, the chips will provide real-time data on a tree’s growth and any attempts at felling. The attached transmitter can also trace the movement of timber smuggled to different locations.

The pilot project has been launched in the lower Shivalik hills of Mohali district along the border with Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The department has identified 15 vulnerable pockets along the Siswan-Baddi highway and in the areas of Mullanpur and Mirzapur.

Over 200 chips have already been embedded in fully grown khair trees. Khair trees are more vulnerable as the high-in-demand ‘kattha’ and ‘cutch’ are extracted from their wood. These are key ingredients for ‘paan’ and medicines. Cutch is also used in the tanning industry and as an additive and preservative.

Officials said after khair, the most-abundant species in the Mohali area, the project will be expanded to sheesham trees. Based on the success of the pilot project, the chips may be installed in trees across other districts, said the officials.

Divisional Forest Officer Kanwardeep Singh, who is overseeing the project in Mohali, said trees were being randomly selected to embed the chips. “Due to the lack of CCTV cameras, tracking forest offences becomes a challenge. This project will prove useful as any movement or loss of signal from the chip will trigger an alert, helping reduce the time lag in crime detection,” he said.

Punjab