Greens in Karnataka have red flagged a draft notification by the State Forest Department seeking to exempt 11 species of trees from certain provisions governing the Karnataka Forest Rules, 1969.
If finalised and approved, the 11 species will join the existing list of nearly 40 other species of trees that are exempted from any permission for being transported under rule 144 of Karnataka Forest Rules, 1969 and this could encourage large-scale tree felling.
Activist and former State Wildlife Board member Joseph Hoover suspects it could devastate vast tracts of tree cover in Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Shivamogga etc. ‘’According to an estimate at least 6 lakh trees could be harvested if the draft becomes a law and denude the tree cover in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats’’, he added.
Though the draft notification mentions that the exemption is from the purview of rule 144 pertaining to permission for transportation, it indirectly abets felling as well because one cannot transport timber without axing the tree, he added.
Sources in the Forest Department said the proposed exemption is only in case of trees grown on private land and will not apply to trees on public or government land. The list of species are Neem, Babool, Mahogany, Hulgal (Honge), Atti, Ala, Arali, Shivani, Bore, Dowga Bamboo and Medri Bamboo.
The draft is still under discussion and no final decision has been taken but has been introduced for the benefit of farmers, according to officials. ‘’Farmers with small land holdings are reluctant to grow trees as they cannot harvest and monetise it. The easing of such restrictions could encourage farmer to grow more short-duration trees whose environmental services can be utilised for 8 to 10 years,” the officials added.
However, .Badagalpura Nagendra, President, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), said any rule ostensibly taken for the benefit of farmers is to be viewed with suspicion as the government always has a vested interest behind such moves.
‘’Since the draft notification pertains to lifting restrictions on 11 species cultivated on private land, it is perhaps aimed at providing relief to corporate owned large landholdings, plantations etc. If not, the government should stipulate the maximum size of the land holding for which the exemption becomes applicable’’, he added.
Mr. Hoover said only the timber mafia will benefit from such a relaxation and it was being tried since 2012 but was stalled repeatedly. As it is, linear projects, hydro-electric works, mining, powerline projects etc in Western Ghats has led to axing of tens of lakhs of trees and the easing of restrictions could further abet denudation of tree and forest cover, he said in a memorandum to the Forest Department.
