Kochi: The forest department has launched a clearing of matured teaks in the teak plantation under Thattekkad bird sanctuary area coming under the Malayattoor forest division with the trees attaining an age of 60 years.
“Such teaks have to be clear-felled otherwise they will be of no use. Hence the felling has been launched and it is not any forest destruction activity,” said H Nagesh Prabhu, principal chief conservator of forests.
A senior forest department official said that the felling has been undertaken after the department got clearance from the Central Government under the Forest Conservation Act.
“The felling of teak trees that are more than 60 years old is a practice that dates back to the colonial period. The Forest Department carries out the felling, then the replanting, on the basis of approved working plans. This year, in Malayatoor division alone, 21 hectares of teak plantations have already been felled. The Department has sought permission for the felling of another 30 hectares,” the official said.
The felled timber is transported to the department’s sales depots where it will be sold through e-auction. The price of teak is determined by the girth and quality of the wood. If the girth is 180 centimetres or above, a single cubic metre of teak will command over Rs 2 lakh. The teak is also classified as A, B, C, and D on the basis of quality. There are nearly 60 varieties of teak wood, each priced within a spectrum of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 15,000 per cubic metre.
On an average every year, the department sells timber worth Rs 300-350 crore of timber. Of this, 80 per cent of the income comes from the timber auctioned through the depots.
