Chandigarh, March 15:
The third and the last day of the Progressive Punjab Investor Summit (PPIS) – 2026 saw detailed deliberations being held in a session on Ply and Furniture industry in the State.
The Secretary, Forests and Wildlife Preservation, Science & Technology Priyank Bharti in his opening remarks dwelled upon the Agro forestry being the source of raw material for the furniture and ply sector. He termed it as the economically viable and ecologically sustainable. He also advocated the promotion of timber based agro-forestry and divulged that the agro forestry is proposed to be exempted from the Tree Protection Bill, which is in the pipeline.
During the panel discussion, MD, Virgo Panels Naresh Tiwari, Head Manufacturing, R & D, Century Plyboards Sunil Shekhawat, Director Savitri Woods Mukesh Goyal and the President Punjab Plywood Manufacturers Association Inderjit Singh Sohal laid emphasis on a number of issues such as Safety of industrial labour in the rural areas, century plywood being the eco friendly product, Farming on empty land by going in for the plantation of Eucalyptus and Poplar describing these as recyclable.
