Kerala - Kozhikode   

Merchants welcome order on cutting down trees

Staff Reporter

`It will augur well for the timber industry in the State'

KOZHIKODE: The Kozhikode Timber Merchants' Association has welcomed the Government Order authorising owners of land, excluding that in forests, to cut down trees, other than sandalwood, on their property and transport the timber.

The association's executive meeting here last week noted that the order would augur well for the timber industry.

However, the meeting, presided over by its president, A. Jayarajan, demanded that `unnecessary controls' being imposed while sawmill owners apply for property mark registration be done away with. Declaring the exact place of stocking timber was difficult for the merchants, especially in the Kallai river area, as they stocked timber not in one place but all over the banks of the river.

They also demanded a reduction in the registration fees of Rs. 5,000 levied for five years. Or, Rs. 500 should be collected every year.

The high fees were restraining small-scale timber merchants from registering themselves. The meeting expressed the hope that a decision in this regard would be taken before April 1, the date for renewal of registration.

The meeting also expressed anguish over the lack of steps to meet the demand for including silver oak and `Thanni' in softwood category, which was imposed only four per cent value-added tax.

The association's petition in this regard to the then Forest Minister had been forwarded to the Forest Department for action, but the latter did not take any measures till now, the meeting alleged.

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