Andhra Pradesh Launches Mission to Protect Red Sanders Forests

A determined mission has been launched by Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Environment & Forest Minister Pawan Kalyan to protect the State’s rare Red Sanders forests, with strict measures planned to prevent illegal smuggling and regenerate depleted plantations. During a teleconference with senior forest officials on Saturday, it was directed that a strong and uncompromising action plan must be implemented to ensure that not a single Red Sanders log leaves the Seshachalam forests illegally.

The earlier Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force, which was created in 2015 under the TDP government and expanded with an IG-rank officer and joint police–forest units, has been revived. Its effectiveness had declined after 2019, allowing large-scale smuggling between 2019 and 2024. During a recent visit to eight godowns in Tirupati, 2,63,267 seized logs were observed, indicating that nearly two lakh trees had been cut, while the actual number is estimated to be much higher.

It was stated that a fixed percentage of revenue from Red Sanders sales will be allocated for forest regeneration, seed sowing, and long-term protection programmes. Forest staff were instructed to treat the protection of Red Sanders as a collective responsibility. Enforcement measures were strengthened, including the use of thermal drones at exit and entry points, CCTV cameras at check-posts, new barricades, base camps, watchtowers, intensified patrolling, and special combing operations in high-risk areas.

It was highlighted that inter-state agreements had previously been ignored, preventing the State from reclaiming seized Red Sanders. Directions have now been issued by the Union Environment Ministry ensuring that any Red Sanders seized anywhere in India will be returned to Andhra Pradesh, as the wood is native only to its forests. As a result, recent seizures have been reclaimed, including 5 tonnes from Gujarat, 7 tonnes from Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, 6 tonnes from Karnataka, and 10 tonnes from Delhi. The process to recover 173 tonnes stored in Nepal and 407 metric tonnes seized across India between 2019 and 2024 has also been initiated.

A human-centric approach was emphasized, with instructions to identify and counsel daily-wage laborers, supervisors, carpenters, and warehouse workers, providing legal awareness and alternative livelihood options to prevent exploitation by smugglers. Police and forest officials were instructed to work in full coordination without ego clashes, supported by a special intelligence wing to identify informers, expedite cases, file charge sheets within 60 days, and ensure speedy court verdicts.

Community awareness campaigns were directed to be conducted by Vana Samrakshana Samithi volunteers in villages surrounding Seshachalam, urging local residents to actively participate in anti-smuggling measures. Red Sanders was described as a priceless natural gift to Andhra Pradesh, with immense ecological, cultural, and economic value. The Deputy CM stressed that protecting it is a sacred duty and that smuggling must be completely stopped.