Sandal trees on private land can now be cut for rituals and medicinal purposes in Kerala. The Forest department has amended the Kerala Forest (Restriction on cutting and selling of sandal trees and grant of licence for possession and transport of sandalwood and sandalwood oil) Rules, 2012.

A new clause on bonafide use has been inserted under the amended rules. This includes the use of sandal tree for rituals or medicinal purposes of the owner or his spouse, sons, daughters, widowed daughters, brothers below the age of 18 years, unmarried or widowed sisters, father, mother and children of a pre-deceased son or daughter.

The government has amended the rules to relax the restrictions for cutting sandal trees from private lands, other than those reserved to government
during assignment of land and those in the notified area under the Kerala Preservation of Trees Act, 1986, so as to promote planting of sandal trees.

The department has also included a provision for granting permission to the land owners to sell sandalwood through the forest department and to remove the sandal tree for any bonafide use. The amendments also aim to speed up the disbursal of price of sandalwood to the owner and to delegate the power vested on the Authorised Officer to enable speedy removal of the same upon the request of the owner, according to the notification issued by Minhaj Alam, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Forests.

The amendments intend to speed up the process of appeal and to rationalise the timeline given to the Depot Officer for the treatment of sandalwood received and reporting of its details to the Authorised Officer concerned.

Restrictions on cutting sandal trees based on certain conditions have been done away with in the amendment. At present, the Authorised officer shall ensure that no sandal tree below 50 cms girth at breast height is cut and the officer has to take into account silvicultural requirements in the case of plantations of sandal trees. These conditions have been omitted in the amended rules.

The government has also cancelled the condition mandating the Authorised officer to forward the application to the Committee authorised by the government for cutting sandal tree which is windfallen or constitutes danger to life or property. The need for an inspection by the committee is not mandatory anymore.