71 species of trees to be exempted from prior registration & prior felling permission

way2barak, Nov.23: In the weekly Assam Cabinet on November 23, several key decisions related to govt holidays for 2023, construction of new Anganwadi centres & a trumpet interchange in Gauripur, new handloom & tourism infrastructure, tree-felling outside forest areas, etc., among others were taken. The Cabinet Meeting held at Assam House, New Delhi was chaired by Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Tree-felling Outside Forest Areas:

Approval granted to Assam Trees Outside Forest (Sustainable Management) Rules, 2022:

Features:

• 71 species of trees, including commonly used/commonly grown tree species and Shade Trees to be exempted from prior registration and prior felling permission vis-a-vis 11 exempted species in the old Rules of 2002. Transportation of these tree species do not need issuance of transit pass
• Online felling permission and certificate of origin, if proposed felling site is above 5 km from nearest forest, shall be generated within 48 hours of application. If it’s not provided within the timeline, the same is deemed to be issued, provided all the online application requirements are satisfactory.
• In case of plantations located within 5 km of felling site, if the felling permission is not generated within the stipulated time, the same would be deemed to have been issued.