Thiruvanthapuram: The Kerala cabinet on Saturday approved a draft Bill allowing private landowners to cut and sell sandalwood trees, provided they obtain permission from the Forest Department.

A special cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has approved the draft of the Kerala Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2025, to amend the Kerala Forest Act, 1961, according to a statement from the CM's office.

The Bill provides for granting permission to cut and sell sandalwood trees on private lands through the Forest Department, while ensuring that farmers receive the sale proceeds.

Meanwhile, Forest Minister A K Saseendran said sandalwood cultivation can be promoted in the state by ensuring the farmers receive the proceeds from the sale of sandalwood trees. The current market price of one kilogram of sandalwood ranges between ₹4,000 and ₹7,000, depending on the quality and is likely to increase further, he said in a statement.

"Now, even if a sandalwood tree is stolen from one's own land, a case has to be filed against the land owner. That is why people are not willing to plant sandalwood trees," the minister said. Under the present law, only dead or dangerous sandalwood trees are allowed to be cut. He said it also allows cutting of trees on lands where houses are built for personal use.

The Bill does not allow the cutting of sandalwood trees on revenue-assigned lands, reserved for the government, Saseendran said. For this, amendments should be made to the Land Revenue Act regarding the granting of title deeds, he added.

Currently, there is no provision to compound forest crimes that reach the court, and the Bill also includes a provision to compound some of such crimes with the permission of the judiciary, Saseendran said.