TIMBER OPERATIONS:

• The State Government has issued a Notification as “Tree Felling Regulation, 2017” which will facilitate felling/ selling of timber by villagers, from Private Plantations under supervision of the Forest Department through Transit Permits. This regulation covers felling of trees from non-forest areas including Tree Plantation in non-forest area.
• Ban on export of round logs below 4 (four) feet in girth on the pretext of firewood or otherwise to any place outside the State continued.
• Operation of Forest Produce other than timber, such as cane, agar, etc continued to be regulated by ‘Mahal’ system, on outright sale as per the provisions of Mahal settlement rules contained in the Nagaland Forest act, 1968. The system continued without any change.
• Ban on issue of ‘FREE PERMITS’ on Timber continued in order to plug leakage of Government revenue.
• e) On 12th December, 1996 the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide order No.597/95/PIL/WRIT in the matter of T.N. Godavarman Vs Union of India & Others dated 17.12.1996, New Delhi has passed order banning the felling of trees including transportation of logs, veneers/ plywood and timbers, and has ordered the closure of all mills (saw/ veneer/plywood) with immediate effect. As per the direction of this order, the State Government/ Department had followed the Hon’ble Supreme court Orders accordingly. Pursuant to the Supreme Court Orders dated 04.03.1997, the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India, New Delhi had constituted a High Power Committee (HPC). As per the instructions of the committee, inventories of timber and timber products in all forms lying in various parts of the State was prepared and taken into stock. The State Government vide No.FOR/GEN-1/97 dated 06.06.1997 has constituted a State Level Committee as well as the District Level Committee to verify and check the inventory of stocks of timber. Till now, the HPC had given the clearance for quite a number of mills in the state for operation and those mills cleared by the HPC have been given the final clearance by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Nagaland, Kohima. In compliance with supreme Court order dated 15.1.1998, the State Government has constituted Committees for :
  • Pricing
  • Preparation of Working Plans ; and
  • Notification of industrial estates.

  The High Powered Committee at the Centre is dissolved now.

WOOD BASED INDUSTRIES:

Any industry which processes wood as its raw material (Saw Mills/ Plywood/ Veneer/ Pulp or any other form such as sandal, katha wood etc). It does not include furniture unit.

• Saw mill- means plants and machinery in a fixed structure or enclosure, for conversion of round logs into Sawn sizes.
• Veneer Mill or Plywood Mill – means plants and machinery and the premises in which or in any part thereof, conversion into required size, slicing, peeling, fashioning or seasoning of timber/ wood, including preservation and treatment thereof either by mechanical or chemical process with the aid of electrical or mechanical power or manually is carried out.
• Furniture unit – mean plants and machinery and the premises including the precincts thereof in which or in any part thereof wood based finished products are manufactured using sawn timber, cane, bamboo, seed, plywood or any other wood based product, except a round log, outsourced from licensed wood based industrial units or other legitimate sources and operating without a bond Saw or re-saw or Circular saw of metre than 30 cm diameter

RATES OF ROYALTY:

To augment the collection of Forest Royalty and in pursuance of the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s order dated 15.01.98 in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 202 of 1995 ( as per Clause 11), the State Government issued a Notification No. FOR/ GEN/2001 dated 21st November 2001 to increase the existing Forest Royalty rates by 20% on all Forest Products. The rates are as follows: