Tamil Nadu Rosewood Trees (Conservation) Act, 1994
No: 1 Dated: Jan, 14 1995
Tamil Nadu Rosewood Trees (Conservation) Act, 1994
(Tamil Nadu Act 1 of 1995)
An Act to provide for the conservation of rosewood trees in the State and for matters connected therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto.
Whereas the population of rosewood trees are on the decline in view of vast felling, removal, transport and sale of rosewood trees due to its increased market value resulting in the extinction of its species in the forests of Tamil Nadu;
And Whereas, rosewood tree is one of the important wood species endemic in the forests of Southern India, especially in Tamil Nadu;
And Whereas, the rosewood is a rare species which is almost impossible to regenerate except by natural growth;
And Whereas, under the existing provisions of law it is not possible to arrest the diminishing trend in the existence of rosewood trees in the State;
And Whereas, to conserve the existing rosewood trees in the forest and in the interest of maintaining the heritage of forest, it has become necessary to prohibit the cutting, felling, transport, sale and possession of rosewood trees in the State immediately;
Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Tamil Nadu in the Forty-fifth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title, extent, commencement and duration. - (1) This Act may be called the Tamil Nadu Rosewood Trees (Conservation) Act, 1994.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Tamil Nadu.
(3) It shall come into force at once and remain in force for a period of fifteen years.
(4) Upon the expiry of this Act, the provisions of section 8 of the Tamil Nadu General Clauses Act, 1891 (Tamil Nadu Act I of 1891) shall apply as if this Act has then been repealed by a Tamil Nadu Act.
2. Definition. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(1) "Forest" includes waste or communal land containing trees, shrubs, and roads, pasture land, and any other class of land declared by notification by the Government to be a forest.
Explanation. - For the purposes of this clause "communal land" means -
(i) beds and buds of tanks and of supply, drainage, surplus or irrigation channels;
(ii) threshing-floor, cattle-stands, village-sites and other lands which are set apart for the common use of the villagers;
(2) "Government" means the State Government;
(3) "prescribed authority" means, an authority, officer or person empowered by the Government, by notification, to be the prescribed authority for the purposes of this Act;
(4) "Rosewood tree" includes Blackwood, rosewood, Indian rosewood and Malabar black wood, their stumps and brush woods and also includes rose wood trees when they have fallen or have been felled and all rose wood whether cut up or fashioned or hollowed out for any purpose or not.
3. Prohibition of cutting, etc., of rosewood tree. - Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force or in any custom or usage, or in any judgment, decree or order of any Court or other authority, no person shall cut, fell, girdle, lop, tap, uproot or bum or otherwise damage any rosewood tree in any forest or do any act likely to endanger its existence or result in the extinction of its species:
Provided that dead or fallen rosewood tree may be removed with the permission of the prescribed authority in accordance with such rules as may be prescribed.
4. Prohibition of transport, sale or possession of rosewood tree. - No person shall transport, sell or have in his possession, any quantity of rosewood tree which was procured in contravention of the provisions of section 3.
5. Power of entry, inspection, etc. - (1) The Collector or any Forest Officer not below such rank as the Government may, by order, specify in this behalf, may,-
(a) enter and inspect at any time by day or by night, any place in which it is reasonably suspected that an offence under this Act has been, or is being, committed;
(b) seize any rosewood tree in respect of which he has reason to believe that any provision of this Act has been, is being, or is about to be contravened along with the packages, coverings or receptacles in which such rosewood tree is found or tools or weapons used for the commission of the offence or animals, vehicles, vessels, boats or conveyances used in carrying such rosewood tree and thereafter take all measures necessary for securing the production of the packages, covering, receptacles, tools, weapons, animals, vehicles, vessels, boats or conveyances so seized, in a Court and for their safe custody pending such production.
(2) All searches under sub-section (1) shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974).