Tamil Nadu Hill Areas (Preservation of Trees) Act, 1955
No: 17 Dated: Sep, 02 1955
TAMIL NADU HILL AREAS (PRESERVATION OF TREES ACT
(ACT XVIII OF 1955)
An Act to provide for the regulation of the cutting of trees and the cultivation of land in hill areas in the State of Tamil Nadu.
Whereas there has been indiscriminate cutting of trees in hill areas the State of Tamil Nadu involving large-scale deforestation and resulting in considerable soil erosion;
And Wiiereas with a view to prevent deforestation and soil erosion and also to preserve the special characteristics of the hill areas as regards landscape, vegetal cover and climate, it is necessary, to regulate the cutting of trees also the cultivation of land in hill areas in the State of Tamil Nadu.
Be it enacted in the Sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title and application. - (1) This Act may be called the Tamil Nadu Hill Areas (Preservation of Trees) Act, 1955.
(2) It applies to all hill areas in the State specified in the Schedule and to such other hill areas as may, by notification, be specified by the Government.
(3) The Government may, by notification, exclude from any hill areas to which this Act applies, any area within or include within any such area, any area in the vicinity thereof.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "Committee" means any committee constituted under section 2-A and having jurisdiction;
(b) "cultivation" means raising of cereals, tubers or plantation crops, but shall not include the raising of kitchen gardens or flower gardens;
Explanation. - "Kitchen garden" in this clause means the area not exceeding fifty cents appurtenant to a residence and used for growing vegetables or bona fide consumption of the residents therein;
(c) "Government" means the State Government;
(d) "new cultivation" means cultivation of land which remained uncultivated for three consecutive years;
(e) "notification" means a notification published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette;
(f) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(g) "tree" includes bamboo, but does not includes brushwood.
2A. Constitution of Committee. - (1) The Government may, by notification, with effect from such date as may be specified therein, constitute for each hill area a committee for the purpose of this Act consisting of the following members, namely:-
(a) the District Collector having jurisdiction as Chairman of the Committee;
(b) the District Forest Officer having jurisdiction over the hill area;
(c) the Tahsildar having jurisdiction over the hill area;
(d) the Executive Engineer of the Agriculture Department in-charge of soil conservation having jurisdiction over the hill area;
(e) the Personal Assistant (General) to the Collector of the District, who shall be the Secretary of the Committee.
2B. Meetings of Committee. - (1) The Committee may meet as often as may be necessary and shall, subject to the provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3), observe such rules of procedure in regard to transaction of business at its meetings (including quorum at meetings) as may be prescribed by the Government under this Act, provided that not more than two months shall elapse between one meeting of the committee and another.
(2) The Chairman of the Committee or in his absence any member nominated by him on that behalf shall preside at a meeting of the Committee.
(3) All questions at a meeting of the Committee shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting and in case of an equality of votes, the Chairman of the Committee or in his absence the person presiding, shall have a second or casting vote.
2C. Vacancy in Committee, etc. not to invalidate acts or proceedings. - No act or proceeding of the Committee shall be deemed to be invalid by reason only of the existence of any vacancy in the Committee or any defect in the nomination of a member thereto, or on the ground only that more than two months have elapsed between one meeting of the Committee and another.
3. Prohibition of cutting of trees. - (1) No person shall, without the previous permission in writing of the Committee -
(a) cut, uproot or bum, or cause to be cut, uprooted or brunt, any tree, or
(b) fell or remove any tree which, constitutes danger to life or property, or is dead or diseased or wind fallen, or has silviculturally matured, or
(c) cut or remove any tree for the improvement of coffee crop in any coffee plantation in such area in any hill area as the Government may, by notification, specify in this behalf:
Provided that where permission to cut or remove a tree is granted on the grounds referred to in clauses (a) to (c) above, the Committee shall impose as a condition the effective regeneration of an equal number of the same or other suitable species of trees, and for that purpose, may require the person to whom the permission is granted to deposit with the Committee a sum not exceeding one hundred rupees for each tree permitted to be cut or removed.
(1-A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), permission may be granted by the Government to any person to clear any land by cutting, uprooting or burning or causing to be cut, uprooted or burnt any tree subject to the condition, that the land so cleared shall be used for growing coffee or tea.
(2) No person shall cut or otherwise damage, or cause to be cut or damaged, the branch of any tree:
Provided that this shall not be deemed to prevent the pruning of any tree as required by ordinary agricultural or horticultural practice:
Provided further that nothing contained in this sub-section shall be deemed to prevent the cutting or pruning of the branch of any tree for the purpose of providing proper shade for coffee or tea plantation.