What are the Government Approvals Required for Chandan (Sandalwood) Tree Farming?

The Indian Sandalwood tree popular as Snatalaum Album is probably the most expensive wood on the planet. The reason is the cosmetic and therapeutic value of this plant.

There is a major international demand for it due to its fragrant heartwood that is priced at more than Rs. 10,000 per kg. These trees thrive very well in South Indian soil, particularly in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and have a requirement of a very little amount of water.

Fruiting happens all through the year in this tree and its tiny fruits allure birds for instance cuckoos and parrots. And when we ultimately cut the trees for harvesting of wood during their lifetime, like any other tree they also function as a carbon sink and are used to generate oxygen.

Until 2002, the growing of Sandalwood by individuals was banned. Nowadays, we can do Chandan Tree Farming, but it is still illegal to do cutting and harvesting of the sandalwood. Along with this, it is also illegal to use sandalwood or sell it in the open market.

There is a requirement for permission for cutting and harvesting sandalwood from the state forest department. The state forest department will send its officials for cutting trees and purchasing the sandalwood.

Such kinds of bans distract most people from growing sandalwood trees. There is also a security threat because there is a scarcity of sandalwood which may grab undesired attention.

90 percent of our sandalwood trees have been lost because of these restrictions and soon, these sandalwood trees may become endangered in our country. On the other hand, other countries are freely growing and exporting sandalwood.

Professor D. Narasimhan, associate professor, Centre for Floristic Research, Department of Botany, Madras Christian College says that, if we promote widespread cultivation of sandalwood trees and facilitate them with unprohibited harvesting, then the genuine demand for sandalwood will be met and the security threat will also be negated around it.

Are we missing out on a huge opportunity as a nation? When we take into consideration the economic benefits offered by sandalwood trees, it should be permitted to do Chandan Tree Farming along with its harvesting on farms and in homes.

City-based builder Jaswant Singh, who is indulging in growing Indian Sandalwood in his home garden said that, if people are allowed to harvest their own sandalwood tree, then it would become commonplace. And if they are permitted to sell it in the open market, it would minimize the smuggling and theft of sandalwood.

Jaswant Singh who also convinced and petitioned the government for lifting the prohibition on the harvesting of Sandalwood said that if each child is provided with a sandalwood tree for nurturing, the tree would end up fetching a tidy sum of money for him.

And by the time it grows up, it might also be proved to be an incentive for the plantation of trees. Those farmers sometimes find agriculture worthless, so the commercial cultivation of sandalwood serves him with hope.