THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Steps have been taken to transfer the ownership rights of trees such as sandalwood, rosewood, teak and ebony in title deed land in forest border areas to the state government again. These will be included in the list of schedule trees. The file regarding this came back after recording the opinion of the forest department. The order will be issued soon. However, the stance of the revenue department is that the ownership rights of the trees planted or grown on the land should be given to the land owner. A detailed discussion about this was held in the meeting of the Ministers of Revenue, Forest and Law, but no final decision has been taken.

With the 2017 amendment to the 1964 Kerala Land Assignment Rules, the government lost ownership rights of the royal trees. The amendment allowed the owners to cut the trees planted or grown after obtaining the title deed. The government lost the authority over such trees. Cutting of trees became rampant using this loophole. The new decision is taken to avoid this.

The government has the rights over the trees in title deed land. But they can be cut after paying the tree price and taking prior permission. A permit is also required to transport timber.