Lok Sabha Question No. 3207 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-21
Subject: Cutting and Smuggling of Red Sanders
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: MEKAPATI RAJAMOHAN REDDY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  3207

TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.03.2017

## Cutting and Smuggling of Red Sanders

## 3207.    SHRI M.RAJA MOHAN REDDY:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether  cutting  down  and  smuggling  of  Red  sanders  are  prevalent  in  the  country especially in Andhra Pradesh;
- (b) whether logs of red sanders have been seized in some States;
- (c) if so, the details thereof, State-wise; and
- (d) the action taken by Government to check the aforesaid practice?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ANIL MADHAV DAVE)

- (a)      As per information received from Government of Andhra Pradesh, instances of cutting and smuggling of Red Sanders in the districts of Kadapa, Chittoor, Nellore, Prakasham and Kurnool have been reported.
- (b) & (c)  The details of seizures of red sanders are given in Annexure .
- (d) State Governments which are primarily responsible for the protection and Management of Forests  take  necessary  action  to  tackle  illegal  felling/smuggling  of  trees  as  per  the provisions of various acts such as Indian Forest Act, 1927; Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and  various  state  specific  rules  &  regulations  thereof.  Further,  the  State  Governments take various other measures for protection of existing forests including survey demarcation, fencing, patrolling, setting of check posts, use of Information Communication Technology (ICT).  Financial assistance is also provided under Central Sponsored  Scheme  (CSS)  of  Intensification  of  Forest  Management  Scheme  by  the Government to supplement these protection efforts.

Some of the important initiatives taken by the State Government of Andhra Pradesh for protection of Red Sanders include , interalia, setting up of Base Camps and Strike Forces, setting up of Armed Mobile parties for patrolling, apprehending notorious smugglers and conducting raids, setting up of Dog Squads, formation of Red Sanders Anti -Smuggling Task  Force  (RSASTF)  and  providing  arms  and  mobility  to  forest  staff. Further, Government  of  Andhra  Pradesh  has  amended  the  Andhra  Pradesh  Forest  Act  vide Gazette Notification dated 19.05.2016. As per this amendment interalia red sanders have been given special status and punishment for forest offences have been enhanced.

In  addition,  Government  of  India  through  Wildlife  Crime  Control  Bureau  has  taken  a number of steps to prevent smuggling of Red Sanders. These include inspection of flora and  fauna  consignments  at  exit  points  to  detect  violations  of  provisions  of  Wildlife Protection Act, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) etc and sensitization of various agencies and trade regulation as per Export-Import (Exim) Policy.

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## Annexure referred to in reply to part (c) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3207 due for answer on 21.03.2017 regarding 'Cutting and Smuggling of Red Sanders'.

The details of seizure of red sanders in Andhra Pradesh during the last five years:-

| Year                     |   No. of cases |   Red Sanders wood seized (in tons) |   No. of Vehicles seized |   No. of persons arrested |
|--------------------------|----------------|-------------------------------------|--------------------------|---------------------------|
| 2011-12                  |           1556 |                            1437.18  |                      985 |                      2658 |
| 2012-13                  |           1488 |                            1389.58  |                     1002 |                      3139 |
| 2013-14                  |           2058 |                            1889.21  |                     1566 |                      4345 |
| 2014-15                  |           1385 |                             918.49  |                      994 |                      3952 |
| 2015-16                  |            753 |                             355.658 |                      480 |                      2587 |
| 2016-17 (As on 3.3.2017) |            833 |                             445.136 |                      647 |                      2976 |

The details of seizure of red sanders in Tamil Nadu during the last five years:-

| Year    |   No. of cases detected |   No. of accused arrested |   Quantity of wood seized (in kilograms) |
|---------|-------------------------|---------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| 2011-12 |                      23 |                        28 |                                 100101   |
| 2012-13 |                      43 |                        53 |                                 331236   |
| 2013-14 |                     100 |                       134 |                                 128831   |
| 2014-15 |                     136 |                       136 |                                  87680.5 |
| 2015-16 |                      66 |                        26 |                                  45302.9 |
| Total   |                     368 |                       377 |                                 693150   |

Region-wise  details  of  cases  of  Smuggling  of  red  sanders  through  exit  points  detected  by Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) during the last two years

| Name of Regional Office of WCCB   |   Year 2015-16 (Cases in No.) | Year 2015-16 (Cases in No.)   |
|-----------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
| Northern Region                   |                            85 | 63                            |
| Eastern Region                    |                             2 | Nil                           |
| Southern Region                   |                             1 | 3                             |
| Western Region                    |                             6 | Nil                           |
| Total                             |                            94 | 66                            |