The Hindu : Kerala News : Sandalwood to go under the hammer today

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Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008
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Sandalwood to go under the hammer today

K.S. Sudhi

Distillers, temple authorities and artisans arrive at Marayur

Auction being held after a gap of three years
Bidders have to make an initial deposit
of Rs.50,000

MARAYUR: Sandalwood distillers, temple authorities and artisans specialising in sandalwood-carving started arriving at Marayur on Tuesday for the sandalwood auction at the Marayur Sandalwood Division of the Forest Department in Idukki district.

Nearly 50 tonnes of sandalwood in the form of logs, roots, dust and chips will go under the hammer on Wednesday at a pavilion set up inside the sandalwood depot.

The price is determined by the quality of the wood. The fragrant wood belonging to classes 4 to 13 are available at Marayur. Class 1, known as Vilayath Budh; class 2, known as China Budh; and Pancham belonging to class 3, considered the best, are unavailable.

Sandalwood seized in various offences in the State, uprooted by wild animals and wind-fallen is brought to the Marayur depot for auction.

For the auction, the bidders had to make an initial deposit of Rs.50,000. The advance payment for buying wood is Rs.2 lakh.

The department is auctioning the wood after three years. Large quantities of wood collected from various parts of the State are stocked in the compound of the depot. Logs and even huge roots are there. Each piece stocked in the open is catalogued and the name of its owner, area from where it was collected and the date of collection are displayed on it.

Only those wood parts that are cleaned and chiselled to size are stored inside the 3,000-sq.ft depot, which is guarded by 15 officials round the clock. The highest bidder of sandalwood cannot lay his claim on the wood as a matter of right.

“We will wait for seven more days after the auction to find out whether there are any post-auction offers. If there are no good post-auction offers, then the highest bidder can lay his claim on the wood,” said J.G. Teggi, Chief Conservator of Forest (Regional South). There are no compulsions on the department to sell the wood. The wood will be sold only when the department is satisfied with the quoted price, Mr. Teggi said. The auction process will take at least 40 days to complete. The cost of the wood is estimated by weighing it after 40 days, said Raju Francis, Divisional Forest Officer.

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