AS I LOOK BACK

There was a signboard captioned, “THE TURNING POINT” on the curve

of the road leading to ZARAN NURSERY of Corporation Chanda Forest
division. This epithet captures the turnaround, in letter and spirit in my
career in forestry spanning over to almost four decades (1964-2001).

With my two stints in Corporation, the one at the middle level, we learnt
what is real forestry, a nursery and a plantation. Coming from the
Department to the Corporation Central Chanda forest division(1976), we
learnt that a Teak-bed with 150-180 teak seedlings is not what is desired
but how to restock it to 1000 plantable teak seedlings, is what is an ideal.
And that is possible and practible! Then how to meticulously plan the teak
field plantations on massive scale in the shortest possible planting period,
keeping in view of course the constraints imposed by the phenomenon
powers that is the rains and the floods, was also learnt.
If we look back to earlier plantations prior to 1969 raised by Senior
Foresters, the scale was small ranging from 2-5 hectares on a very good
accessible and well drained sites is another thing. But raising of net teak
plantations in the range of 700 to 800 hectares in the shortest time is
possible and that is what we have Achieved and realized with our Team
FDCM. This was the learning process both in nursery as well as in
plantation technology as well as in man and material management for all
the Team members. But this was achieved and we almost touched net
planting of 800 hectares(1978) with Team FDCM Central Chanda. My
kudos and congratulations to all of them as we look back, these are now
sound, magnificent and financially high yielding Teak Plantations,
meeting the challenges of the present day testing times.

This exposure at middle level (1976) stood to my advantage all through

my service career and helped me to face the second stint, a bigger
challenge as Managing Director of Corporation (1997). As a MD Team we
never looked back in making way for the new developments of Root
trainer & Clonal Teak and Misc. species, nursery and plantation
Technology, when World Bank Aided Maharashtra Forestry Project came
calling. Team FDCM stood up to the challenge, not only to absorb the new
Technology but also taking a leading role in spreading this message of
new technology to other States of India. Mind you, this was inspite of the
ban imposed by the Supreme Court directives on cutting of trees.
Sanctioned Management Plans were put in position and the Corporation
works were on.

I consider myself lucky that I am out of those few foresters who have seen
the results of their own works, in there own lifetime. These works are now
a landmark in FDCM and I hereby dedicate this works to all those
members who by there hard work and spirit made it possible. And also
towards Seniors like Sowani,Jadhav,Dashputra, Sathe, Prabhu & others
who were instrumental in teaching us the basics of the ECONOMICS of
the Forestry Operations and its MANAGEMENT both at micro and macro
level.

And lastly I cannot help in expressing my heartfelt gratitude to the

Editorial Team of the newly created an Innovative Magazine by name
NISARGAVANI who made it possible to translate my views, in print

(The writer is former MD FDCM Ltd.)