BENGALURU: Forest, Environment and Ecology Minister Eshwar B Khandre on Wednesday said all measures should be taken to prevent illegal felling and smuggling of sandalwood trees. He said an action plan should also be prepared to protect sandalwood trees.
After holding a meeting with officials of the forest department and Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd (KSDL), he said sandalwood is vital for KSDL so the action plan should also include measures on increasing the area of sandalwood plantation.
KSDL Managing Director A N Gowda said the company will give Rs 50 lakh to the forest department to plant one lakh sandalwood saplings annually. They will also partner with the forest department and sign a MoU for the protection of the state tree in urban and peri-urban areas and in forests using bar coding and GPS technology. The forest department has done experiments in the past and has been successful.
At the meeting, it was decided to organise a workshop on sandalwood plantation and conservation in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, University of Dharwad.