The Hindu : Karnataka News : Sell sandalwood trees without fear

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Karnataka

Karnataka

Sell sandalwood trees without fear

Shankar Bennur

Norms pertaining to sale of sandalwood trees on private property relaxed

— Photo: M.A. Sriram

Lucrative: Private owners and institutions can now sell sandalwood to the government agencies.

MYSORE: Do you have a sandalwood tree aged about 15 to 20 years on the land owned by you? Then you can sell it without fear of prosecution by the Department of Forests as the State Government has relaxed norms pertaining to the sale of sandalwood trees on private property.

The government issued a notification on July 11, 2008 which gives ownership and selling rights to private owners and institutions.

The move gains significance since the institutions which primarily depend on sandalwood for running their enterprises — the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited and the Karnataka Handicrafts Development Corporation — are facing severe shortage of sandalwood in the wake of declining sandalwood reserves in the State forests.

According to official sources, about 100 tonnes of sandalwood is currently available a year from the State forests. The State, which was once exporting sandalwood to Europe and other countries, is now procuring sandalwood from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu.

Until recently, the Government was the sole owner of sandalwood trees in private property and the Forest Department was booking cases under the Forest Act against people cutting these trees.

Under the liberalised norms, the ownership rights had been given to those having trees in their property. However, they cannot cut the trees on their own or use it for personal purposes.

They should fulfil certain procedures for selling the tree only to the government agencies.

By liberalising norms on sandalwood trees, Karnataka has become the first State to give ownership rights to private owners and institutions.

Despite the notification, the Forest Department is yet to issue guidelines on sale permit, extraction and transit of sandalwood trees, which, according to the sources, are crucial for popularising sandalwood cultivation in the State, which lost its long-held distinction as “Srigandada Nadu” (Land of Sandalwood).

The KSDL has invited owners to sell sandalwood trees of minimum 15 to 20 years and having a circumference of 50 cm.

KSDL Deputy General Manager (R and D) V.S. Venkatesha Gowda told The Hindu that he had been receiving inquiries from across the State and many were keen to sell the trees. Nevertheless, the owners of the land should have documents to show that they are owner of the land, details of sandalwood trees etc.

He said officials of he KSDL would inspect the trees and documents and then cut the identified trees on “as is where it is basis.”

“Based on the oil content in the tree, the price will be fixed on mutual agreement and the payment is made to the owners,” he said.

“The key still lies with the Forest Department despite the notification. The sale of sandalwood by private owners and others largely depends on the support of forest officials, who are supposed to issue selling permit to the owners based on a formal application. There are still certain things which need to be made clear,” Mr Gowda said.

The Range Forest Officer, under whose jurisdiction the tree is located, holds the responsibility of issuing selling permit and transit pass (for moving the tree from one place to another) after getting clearance from the respective Deputy Conservator of Forests.

The owner has to submit applications in two sets — one to the Forest Department and another to the KSDL — expressing interest to sell the tree. Based on their petition, the Forest Department will take up the matter.

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