Srinagar, June 3 -- At one point of time forest products contributed a whole lot to the state's economy. But owing to both governmental neglect as well as official incompetence which couldn't regulate and manage forestry on scientific lines, the entire activity of lumbering was closed down. Now as population continued to grow and so did the demand for more houses and hence more timber, the Forest department and its subsidiaries failed to live up to this demand, which automatically gave rise to a culture of loot in the form of timber smuggling which continues without any respite. The National Forest Policy recommends a forest cover of at least one third of the total geographical area with 20% of plains and 66% for hilly areas. Though J&K is ...