JOIN US The committee in its report had suggested amendment to the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act (KPT) - 1976 to bring 42 different species of trees including several ficus species, rubber, yellow bamboo, mango, guava, jack fruit, sapota, cashew among others, from the ambit of the Act.
“The proposal has now been stayed by the State government. The recommendation will now be studied and discussed in detail by environmentalist before taking a final decision,” Western Ghats Task Force Chairman Ananth Hegde Ashisar told reporters in Bangalore on Friday.
The KTP Act allowed only a few species like silver oak, coconut and ecaluptus felled without permission.
Feeling of 42 more species would not have required prior permission of the forest department if the amendment to the legislation had been passed.
Forest officials had justified their decision stating that it was done on request by farmer groups. Ashisar said a meeting of environmentalist would be convened within two weeks.