AP government steps up vigil on red sanders

Hyderabad: The state government is bringing in major changes to protect the red sanders trees in Seshachalam forest: it has decided to make the forest a zero tolerance zone for entry of any unauthorised persons and  vehicles.

It will divide the Seshachalam forest into grids on the basis of the number of trees and forest officials will be made responsible for each grid. If any unauthorised person or vehicle enters the forest area, the government will take serious action, not only against the person, but also against the officials concerned.

Special chief  secretary of the Forest department PV Ramesh said that the department was also going to concentrate on regeneration with replantation; the marketing of red sanders; and finally, value addition. The estimated cost of these changes is about Rs 100 crore.

There are plans to increase manpower and acquire the latest weapons. The state government will fix an electronic chip to every red sanders tree that would alert officials located at base camp if anyone attempted thievery. It will fit drones with high-resolution cameras so that the entire forest area could be watched.

A Special Task Force will be established to protect the red sanders from smugglers.

The state government is calling for international tenders to sell red sanders wood, but there is a feeling also that there are some loopholes in the present tender system which need to be plugged or changed.

It is also proposing to survey the countries where there is high usage of red sanders.

China, for example, uses red sanders plentifully in making furniture and the state government has discussed with some Chinese companies the possibilities of setting up their units in AP.

It has plans also to concentrate on research on red sanders as the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad has found that red sanders are useful in curing cancer.

Seshachalam forest has thick red sanders trees in some areas that are not growing properly.

The state government’s plan is to remove some of these trees in the more densely forested areas and replant them elsewhere in the forest, enabling them to grow properly and generate more revenue for the state exchequer.