Redsanders cultivators in private lands in Telangana are in a fix as the State Government, more particularly the Forest Department has failed to show them way out to sell their ‘genuinely raised’ trees.
Running from pillar to post to get the permission to fell the trees for future sale, the cultivators have only hit a road block every time they try and reach out to the administration.
At a meeting of the Redsanders cultivators with the Forest and Environment Minister Allola Indrakaran Reddy and senior Forest Department officials in Hyderabad on Tuesday, the cultivators, who have come together to form “Telangana Kalapa Sagudarula Sangham” (Telangana Wood Growers Association) expressed disappointment at the lackadaisical response from the officialdom.
In a petition to the Minister, the cultivators urged the Government to bring in a new policy to smallholder cultivators to dispose their cultivated Redsanders through Forest Department aggregation and global auction.
The cultivators pointed out that Redsanders was only grown in private lands and their plea was chiefly to maintain a State-level registry of Redsanders to estimate annual supplies to obtain export quota for Telangana State from the Central governmental authorities and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
Association representatives urged the authorities to aggregate and warehouse “cultivators-Redsanders” for global auction in the manner it was done with “confiscated-Redsanders” by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Odisha States. They wanted the officials to conduct quality study of Redsanders cultivated in the State and advise best practices to cultivators.
The cultivators are dismayed at the answer given by senior forest officials, who maintained that Redsanders is endemic to Chittoor surroundings only and it will not grow well in Telangana and even if it grows it will not produce quality heartwood to attract market.
Sources said forest officials stated that it would take 100 to 120 years for Redsanders to mature. The fact is, it is true only to a limited number of plants naturally grown in forest conditions as cited in a scientific study report. Officials said the Department gave only felling permission and it is farmers’ responsibility to get their Redsanders quality tested and find buyers.
Talking to The Hindu, Redsanders cultivator Venkatram Reddy from Nirmal said when got the fully grown Redsanders in his private land tested, it was marked as Grade ‘B’. Another cultivator N. Samson of Dichpalli mandal in Nizamabad district urged the Forest Department to conduct quality testing of existing Redsanders plantation in Telangana. G. Rajesh of Pedda Valgot village in Sirikonda mandal of Nizamabad district lamented that his application for felling permission of Redsanders even after paying ₹40,000 fee is pending since three years with DFO office Nizamabad.
B. Gangadhar, Babapur village, Bheemgal mandal said that among the six delegates who met the Minister alone they have 5,000 Redsanders of different ages, in the entire State it would be in lakhs. E. Lingaih, Challagirige village, Dichpalli Mandal said: ”Our Redsanders is for our children, without an enabling policy our children cannot enjoy the fruit of our labour.”
M. Limbadri of Reddipet, Ramareddy Mandal in Kamareddy district said that Redsanders plantations were encouraged by Forest Department in the combined State, now it is not right to say Redsanders will not grow well in Telangana, our trees are healthy and growing well.
The cultivators pleaded with the Government to bring in a pro-cultivator Redsanders legislation, either through the Forest or any other Ministry to bail out of the growers groping in the dark.
