Kerala cabinet clears sandalwood Bill

Kerala may soon make it easier for people to grow and sell sandalwood trees on their own land. The state cabinet, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has approved a draft amendment to the Kerala Forest Act, 1961. This amendment will allow landowners to cut and sell sandalwood trees they have grown, but only with permission from the Forest Department.

Currently, the law allows sandalwood trees to be cut only if they are dead or pose a danger. Even if a sandalwood tree is stolen from someone’s private land, the landowner can be charged with a case, which discourages people from planting them. Forest Minister A K Saseendran said that this new bill aims to change that. By ensuring farmers get the money from the sale of sandalwood, the government hopes to encourage sandalwood cultivation across the state.

The Forest Department will oversee the process of cutting and selling to make sure everything is legal and transparent. Farmers will directly receive the proceeds from the sale, which could be quite profitable - the current price of sandalwood is between ₹4,000 and ₹7,000 per kilo, depending on quality.

However, the new law will not allow sandalwood trees on government-assigned lands to be cut. For that, changes to the Land Revenue Act would be required.

The bill also includes a new rule that allows certain forest-related cases to be settled (or “compounded”) with the court’s permission, instead of going through lengthy trials.

Overall, this move is expected to benefit farmers and encourage more sandalwood cultivation in Kerala, turning it into a profitable crop while still keeping it regulated under the Forest Department’s supervision.