1,000 indigenous trees felled from Cardamom Hill Reserve area at Uchilukuth in Idukki

Nearly 1,000 indigenous trees that grew naturally were felled from the Cardamom Hill Reserve (CHR) area at Uchilukuth, near Pethotty, in Santhanpara in Idukki.

Suni P.A., forest officer for the Ponmudi section, said the department had registered a case for illegal activities on the CHR land. “The Forest department found that around 1,000 indigenous trees that grew naturally were felled from 40 acres in the area. The Forest department has estimated that 11 cubic meters of timber and 50 cubic meters of firewood were lost from the area and their monetary value is estimated at ₹2 lakh,” said the official.

The official further stated that the Forest department had already seized four earth movers used for tree felling and construction activities. “A case has been registered against the landowner, and we will register another case against the leaseholder,” said the official.

According to officials, the landowner had leased 40 acres to an Adimaly resident for cardamom cultivation. The total extent of the plot is 43 hectares.

Only pruning allowed

According to sources, there is no permission to fell any trees from the CHR lease lands (Kuthakapattam). “Pruning of trees in the plantations is allowed to help the growth of cardamom plants. Only trees having a girth of less than 30 inch are allowed to be felled. Clearing the undergrowth is also permitted. But in Santhanpara, massive tree felling occurred under the guise of cardamom replanting,” said the source.

Environmentalist M.N. Jayachandran said that he would file a complaint before the Chief Wildlife Warden and the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) seeking to count the actual number of trees felled and the biodiversity loss in the area due to the tree felling. “The probe by an independent agency is needed to find the actual loss of trees on the CHR land. A detailed verification is needed to find the number of trees cut from the hills,“ said Mr. Jayachandran.

Another incident

The Forest department had registered another case after large-scale tree felling was reported from the CHR area at Pethotty. Around 440 trees were cut from the area under the pretext of replanting cardamom.

Various types of indigenous trees that grew naturally covered the CHR area of Pethotty and the Uchilukuth, according to a senior Forest department official. “The trees are environmentally important rare trees,” said the official.