The Kerala Preservation of Trees Act, 1986 (Act 35 of 1986)

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THE KERALA PRESERVATION OF TREES ACT, 1986
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(Act 35 of 1986)
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CONTENTS
Preamble ,
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Sections
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. Authorised officers and appellate authorities.
4. Restriction regarding cutting, etc., of trees.
5. Prohibition of cutting of tree in notified areas.
6. Application for permission.
7. Appeal.
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8. Revision.
9. Penalties.
10. Offences by companies.
11. Powers of authorised officers and appellate authorities.
12. Powers of entry and inspection.
13. Power to seize timber and other articles involved in com—
mission of offence.
14. Power to release property seized under section 13.
15 Procedure by Magistrate.
16. Procedure as to perishable property seized under section 13.
17. Savmg of power to release property seized.
18. Institution of prosecution.
19. Cogmzance of offences.
20. Bar of jurisdiction of civil courts.
21.
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Indemnity.
22.
Restxéictlon
regarding cutting, etc., of trees in future assign-
men 9.
23. Power to make rules.
24. Laying of notifications and rules before Legislative
Assembly.
25. Power to remove difficulties.
26. Repeal and saving.


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THE KERALA PRESERVATION OF TREES ACT, 1986
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(Act 35 of 1986)
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An Act to provide for the preservation of trees in the State of Ke'rala.
Preamble—WHEREAS there has been indiscriminate felling
and destruction of trees,in the State of Kerala resulting in consider-
able soil erosion and destruction and loss of the timber wealth of
the State;
AND WHEREAS with a. view to prevent soil erosion and des-
truction and loss of the timber wealth in the State, 1t is necessary
to regulate the felling and destruction of trees in the State;
BE it enacted in the Thirty-seventh Year of the Republic of
India as follows:—
1. Short title, extent and commencement.——This Act may be
called the Kerala Preservation of Trees Act, 1986.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala.
(3) it shall be deemed to have come into force on the 18th
day of June, 1983.
2. Definitions.—-—In this Act, unless the context otherwise
requires,—
(a) “appellate authority” means an appellate authority
appointed under sub-section (2) of section 3;
(b) "authorised officer” means an officer appointed under
sub-section (1) of section 3;
(0) “owner” in relation to any land, includes a mortgagee,
lessee or other person havmg right to possession and enjoyment
of that land;
A
(d) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this
ct;
((e) “tree” means any of the following species
of trees,
namely:
—
Sandalwood (Santalum alb11m‘,) Teak (Tectena grandis), Rose-
wood (Dalbergia latifolia), Irul (Xylia Xylocarpa), Themnavu (Ter-
miualia tomantosa), Kampakam (I-Iopea parviflora), Chempakam
(‘vIechelia ehempaca), Chadachi (Grewia t111aefolia), Chandana
vempu (Cedrela toona), Cheeni (Tetrameles nudiflora).
“Received the assent of the President on the lst day of December,
1986 and published in the Kerala Gazette, Extraordinary No.
1091 datedp lst December, 1986.

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3. Authorised ofiicers and appellate Authorities—(1) The
Government may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint such oflicers
not below the rank of a Ranger as they think fit to be authorised
officers for the purposes of this Act and may assign to them such
local limits as the Government think fit.
(2) The Government may, by notification in the Gazette.
appoint such officers as they think fit to be appellate authorities
for the purposes of this Act and may assign to them such local
limits as the Government think fit.
4. Restriction regarding cutting, etc., of trees—(1) No person
shall. without the previou permission in writing of the authorised
ofiicei, cut. uproot or bu. n, or cause to be cut. uprooted or burnt.
any tree.
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t 2) The permission under sub-section (1) shall not be refused
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(a) the tree constitutes a danger to life or property; or
1b) the tree is dead, diseased or windfallen:
Provided that where permission to cut a tree is granted on
the ground specified in clause (a) or clause (b), the authorised officer
shall impose as a condition for the grant of such permission the
effective regeneration of an equal number of the same or other
suitable species of trees; or
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to) such cutting is to enable the owner of the land in which
the tree stands to use the area cleared or the timber cut for the
construction of a building for his own use.
(3) No person shall cut or otherwise damage, or cause to be
cut or otherwme damaged, the branch of any tree:
l‘rov1ded that the prOViSions of this Sub-section shall not be
deemed to prevent the priming of any tree as required by ordinary
agricultural or horticultural practices.
(4) No person shall, Without the previous permission in mi
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ing of the authorised officer, destroy any plant of any tree or do
any act which diminishes the value of any such plant.
(5) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2)
or sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) shall apply in respect of any
tree or plant in.the compound of any residential building:
Prowded that where such compound exceeds one hectare in
extent, the prowsmiis of this sub-section shall apply only in respect
of an extent of. one hectare immediately surrounding the residential
building.

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5. Prohibition of cutting of tree in notified areas.——,(1)Not-
withstanding anythung contained in any law for the time being in
force, or in any judgement, decree or order of any court, tribunal
or other authority, or in any agreement or other arrangement, the
Government may, with a View to preservmg the tree growth in
private forests or in the Cardamom-Hills Reserve or in any other
areas cultivated with cardamom, by notification in the Gazette,
direct that no tree standing in any such area specified in the not-1-
fication shall be cut, uprooted, burnt or otherWise destroyed except
on the ground that—
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(a) the tree constitutes a danger to life or property; or
(b) the tree is dead, diseased or windfallen~
Provided that the provisions of this sub-section shall not be
deemed to prevent the pruning of any tree as required by ordinary
agricultural or horticultural practices.
(2) No person shall, Without the prewous permission in writ-.
ing of the authorised officer, cut, uproot, burn or otherwise destroy
or cause to be cut, uprooted, burnt or otherwise destroyed any tree
in any area speCified in the notification'under sub-section ( 1) on any
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of the grounds speufied therein.
Explanation l.—For the purposes of this section, the term
“tree” shall include any species of tree.
Explanation IL—For the purposes of sub-section (1), the
expression “private forest” m'eans any land which immediately
before the 10th day of May, 1971, was a private: forest as defined
in the Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971.
6. Application for permzsszon.—7(1)Every application for per-
mission under section 4 or section 5 shall be in such form and shall
contain such particulars as may be prescribed and shall be made to
the authorised officer.
(2) The procedure to be followed by the authoused officer
in granting or refusing permission under section 4 or section 5 shall
be such as may be prescribed.
7. AppeaI.—(1)Any person aggrieved by an order refusing to
grant permission under section 4 or section 5 may, within ninety
days of the receipt of such order, prefer an appeal to the appellate
authority:
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Provided that the appellate authority may admit an appeal pre-
ferred after the expiry of the said period of ninety days if it is satis-
fied that the appellant had suifiment cause for not preferring the
appeal within the said period.

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(2) An appeal under. sub-section (1) shall be in such form
and shallrcontaiii such particulars as may be prescribed.
(3) On receipt of an appeal under sub-section (1), the appel- ‘4late authority shall, after givmg the appellant an opportunity of
being heard. pass such order thereon as it thinks fit.
8. Revmon,——(1)The Government may, either sue motu or any
application by any person aggrieved by an order of the appellate
authority under section 7, call for and examine the record of any
order passed by the appellate authonity for the purpose of satisfying
themselves as to the legality, propriety or regularity of such order
and pass such order thereon as they think fit.
(2) The Government shall not of their own motion revise
any order‘under sub-section (1) if that order has been passed more
than three months previously.
(3) An application under sub-section (1) by an aggrieved
person shall be made Within a period of sixty days from the date on
which the order of the appellate authority was communicated to him:
Provided that the Government may adinit an application made
after the expiry of the said period of Sixty days. if they are satisfied
that the applicant had suffiCient cause for not making the application
within that period.
(4) An (Jl'del prejudicial to a person shall not be passed under
sub-section (1} unless «that person has been 'DJUl a reasonable
opportunity of sliowmg cause against such order. .
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Explanation—An order declining to interfere shall, for the
purposes of this sub-section, be deemed to be an order prejudicial
to a person.
9. Pcnalties.——Wlioever contravenes any of the provisions of
section 4 or'sub-section (2) of section 5 or a direction contained in
a notification under sub-section (1) of section 5 or any of the terms
and conditions subject to which a permission has been granted
under this Act shall be punishable,—
(a) in the case of first offence, with imprisonment for a. term
which s‘nali not be less than Six months but which may extend to
two years, and With fine which shall not be less than five hundred
rupees but which may extend to two thousand rupees; and
(b) in the case of a second or subsequent offence, with im-
prisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but 13‘which may extend to three years, and with fine which shall not be
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less than one thousand rupees but which may extend to five thousand
rupees.
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10. Offences by companies.—(1)Where an offence under this
Act has been committed by a. campany, every person who, at the
time the offence was committed, was in charge of, and was res-
ponsible to the company for the conduct of its busmess, shall be
deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded
against and punished accordingly:
Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall render any
person hable to punishment if he proves that the offence was com-
mitted without his knowledge or that he had exerc1sed all due
diligence to prevent the comm1ssion of such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1),
where any offence under this Act has been committed by a
company and it is proved that the offence has been committed w1th
the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the
part~of any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the
company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall be
deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded
against and punished accordingly.
Explanation—For the purposes of this Section,—
(a) “company” means any body corporate and includes a
firm, society or other association of individuals; and
(b) “director”,—
(i) in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm;
(ii) in relation to a society or other association of
individuals, means the person who is entrusted,
under the rules of the society or other association,
with the management of the affairs of the society or
other association, as the case may be.
11. Powers of authorised officers and appellate auth01‘1ties.—
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Every authorised officer and appellate authority shall, for the
purpose of performing his or its functions under this Act, have
all the powers of a. civil court while trying a suit under the Code of
Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act 5 of 1908), in respect of the
following matters, namely:—
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person
and examining him on oath;
(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavit; and
.
((1) such other matters as may be prescribed,
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: 12. Powers of entry. and inspectwn.—The authorised officer or
any other ofiicer generally or specially authorised by the Goverrunent
in this behalf may, with such assistants, if any, being persons in the’
service of the Governmm-t, as he thinks fit, at all reasonable tunes
enter upon any land for the purpose of ascertaining whether any of
the provisions of this Act or any of the terms and conditions
subject to which any permission has been granted under this
. Act has been contravened.
13. Power to seize timber and other articles involved in
commisswn of offline—(1) Where any oflicer of the Forest
Department not below the rank of Forester or any Police Ofiicer
not below the rank of Sub Inspector has reason to believe that any
tree has been cut in contravention of section 4 or sub-section (2) of
section 5 or a direction contained in a notification under sub-section
(1; of section 5, he may seize the timber of such tree together with
all tools, ropes, chains and other articles used in the commission of
such offence and all boats, vehicles and animals used for carrying
SJCh timber.
\ Explanation—The terms ‘fboat" and “vehicle” in this section.
se tion 14 and. section 15 shall include all the articles and machinery
kept in the boat or vehicle, as the case may be whether fixed to the
same or not.
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.
.
(2) Every oliicer seizing any timber under sub-section (1)
shall place on such timber a mark indicating that the same has been
so seized and shall, as soon as may be, make a report of such seizure
to the authorised oflicer.
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(3) On receipt of a report under sub-sectibn (2), the
authorised oflicer shall,—
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(a) if he is satisfied that the timber mentioned in such
report is of any free out in contravention of section 4 or sub-section
(2) of section 5 or .a direction contained in a, notification under
sub-section (1) of section 5, make a report of such seizure to the
,ludicial Magistrate of the First Class having Jurisdiction over the
area in which such seizure has been made;
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(b) if he is not so satisfied, make a report of such seizure
to such authority‘as may be prescribed.
(4) The authority to which a report is made under clause (b)
01 sun-section (3) shall,—
(a) if it is satisfied that the timber mentioned in such
report is of any tree cut incontravention of section 4 or sub-section
(2) of section 5 or a direction contained in a notification under
sub—section (1) of section 5, make a report of the seizure of such
timber to the Judicial Magistrate of the First Class having jurisdiction
rover the area in which such seizure has been made; -. , -.
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(b) if it is not so satisfied, order that such timber and any
tool, rope, chain or other article or any boat, vehicle or animal seized
along with it shall be returned to the person from whom they were
seized. . .
14. Power to release property seized under section J8.——The
authorised officer may release any tool, rope, chain or. other
article or any boat, vehicle or animal seized under section. _13
and in respect of which a report has been made to the Judicial
Magistrate of the First Class under clause (a) of sub-section (3) or
clause (a) of sub-section (4) of that section, on the execution by
the owner thereof of a bond for the production of the property so
released, if and when so required, before such Magistrate.
15. Precedure by MagistratB.—Up0n the receipt of a report
under clause (a) of sub-section (3) or clause (a) of sub-section (4)
of section 13, the Magistrate shall take such measures as may be
necessary for the trial of the accused and the disposal of the timber
and any tool, rope, chain or other article or any boat, vehicle or
animal seized along with it, according to law.
16. Procedure as to perishable property seized under
section 13.—-7(1) Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained,—
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(a)_ the Magistrate to whom a report is made under
section 13 may direct the sale of any property seized undér that
section, which is subject to speedy and natural decay; and
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(b) if, in the opinion of the authorised officer, it is
necessary to dispose of the property, which is subject to speedy and
natural decay. such officer shall immediately after, and in any case
not later than one month from, the date of Report under section 13
make an application to the magistrate referred to in clause (a) for
permission to sell the property by such officer himself and on getting
such permission may sell the property himself. remit the sale
proceeds into the nearest Government Treasury and make a report
of such sale and remittance to that Magistrate and thereupon
such Magistrate shall take such measures as may be necessary
for the trial of the accused.
(2) The Magistrate may deal with the proceeds of the sale of
any property sold under clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-section (1)
in the same manner as he might have dealt with the property if it
had not been sold.
17.1 Sawing of power to release property seized—Nothing
hereinbefore contained shall be deemed to prevent the authorised
officer from directing at any time the immediate release of any
property'seized under section 13 and the withdrawal of any-charge
made in respect of such property:
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Provided that the powers under this section shall be exercised
by the authorised officer only for good and suflicient reasons to be
recorded in writing and with the previo‘us approval in writing of the
Divisional Forest Officer concerned.

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18. Institution of prosecution—No prosecution shall be
instituted against any person without the sanction of the authorised
officer.
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19. Cognizame of ofiences.—No court inferior to that of a
Judicial Magistrate of the First Class shall try any offence under
this Act.
20. Bar of jurisdiction of civil Gonna—No civil court shall
have jurisdiction to settle, dec1de or deal with any question or to
determine any matter which is by or under this Act required
to be settled, decided or dealt With or to be determined by any oflicer
or authority or the Government.
21. Indemnity—No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings
shall lie against the Government or any officer or authority or any
other person for anything which is in good faith done or purporting
to have been done under this Act or any rule or order made
thereunder.
22. Restriction regarding cutting, etc, of trees in future
assignments—Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for
the time being in force, any assignment after the commencement of
this Act, of land belonging to the Government, under any law
for the time being in force shall be subject to the condition that the
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assignee shall not, without the previous permission in writing of the
authorised officer, cut, uproot or burn, or cause to be cut, uprooted
or burnt, any tree standing on such land at the time of such
assignment, and the provisions of this Act shall apply in
relation to such permission as if they apply in relation to a
permission under section 4.
23. Power to make rules—(1) The Government may, by
notification in the Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes
of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of
the foregoing power, such rules may provide for—-
(a) the girth of trees which may be permitted to be cut;
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(b) the terms and conditions subject to which permission
may be granted;
(c) the procedure to be followed by the authorised olficer
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before granting or refusing permission;
(d) the procedure to be followed by the appellate authority
in the disposal of an appeal under section 7;
(e) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed.

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24. Laying of notifications amd. mics before Legislative
Assembly-—Every notification issued under sub-section (1) of
section 5 and every rule made under section 23 shall be laid, as soon
as may be after it*s issued or made, before the Legislative Assembly
wh1le it is in session for a total period of fourteen days which may
be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and if
before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session
immediately following, the .
Legislative Assembly makes any
modification in the notification or rule or decides that the notification
or rule should not be issued or made, the notification or rule shall
thereafter have efiect only in such modified form or be of no effect,
as the case may be; so however that any such modification or
annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything
previously done under that notification or rule.
25. Power to remove d/ifiiculties.—-(1) If any difliculty arisesm
giving effect to the provisions of this Act the Government may,by order published in the Gazette make such provisions not inconsi-
stent with the provisions of this Act. which appear to them
necessary for the purpose of removing the difficulty:
(2) Every such order made under this section shall, as soou
as may be after it is made, be laid before the legislative Assembly.
26. Repeal and saving.———(1) The Kerala Restriction on Cutting
and Destruction of Valuable Trees Act, 1974 (7 of 1974), and the
Kerala Preservation of Trees Ordinance, 1986 (65 of 1986) are
hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding the repeal of the Kerala Preservation of
Tiees Ordinance, 1986 (65 of 1986), anythin done or deemed to
have been done or any action taken or deem to have been taken
under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or
taken under this Act:
Provided that no person convicted of an offence with respect to
anything so deemed to have been done under this Act, shall
be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been
inflicted under the law applicable to such offence, in force at the timeof the commission of such offence:
Provided further that nothing contained in this section shall
render any person liable to be convicted of an oifence in respect of
anything done or omitted to be done by him after the let day of
August, 1983 and before the 30th day August, 1983 and after the
6th day of January, 1984 and before the 15th day of February, 1984.

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