[1][THE TIMBER TRANSIT RULES, 1959 In exercise of the powers conferred by Sections 38,
39 and 93 (2) of the Travancore-Cochin Forest Act, 1951 (Act III of 1952) and
in supersession of the existing Rules on the subject, the Government of Kerala
hereby make the following Rules, namely:- In
these rules.- (a)
"The Act" means the Travancore-Cochin Forest
Act, 1951 (Act III of 1952); (b)
"Form" means a form annexed to these rules; (c)
"Travancore-Cochin" means such portions of the
erstwhile "Travancore- Cochin State" as now form part of the State of
Kerala; (d)
"Timber" includes all classes of timber as
defined in the Act except; (i)
timber not grown in India; (ii)
timber fashioned into doors and windows and into articles
of furniture, boxes or bales; (iii)
timber removed under the concession granted in the rules
made under Section 29 of the Act; and (iv)
small wood for fuel not exceeding 2 1/2 feet long and 6
inches in diameter. Note:-
Timber found on, or on the margin of, any public road, whether loaded in carts
or other vehicles or not and timber found in any river or stream whether tied
into rafts or not, shall, for the purpose of these Rules, be deemed to be
timber in transit. It
shall not be lawful to import timber into Travancore-Cochin or to export it
save by the following routes and unless accompanied by a pass as specified in
rule 4. (1)
The ports of Munambom, Cochin, Alleppey, Quilon and
Trivandrum. (2)
By water at Vallam, Kokkalai and Karanchira. (3)
By land at Parassala, Vellarada, Arienkavu, Kottavasal
(to the west of Mekkara) Kumily, Ramakkal, Thevaram, Chinnar, Malakipara and at
the Tana stations viz., Vaniampara, Chemthuruthi. Karanchira and Nemmara. (4)
By railway at Shornur and Arienkavu. It
shall not be lawful to remove timber by land, by rail or by water in any part
within the area specified in the schedule appended to these rules, unless it is
covered by a pass as specified in rule 4, and unless it is stamped with a
Government stamp or a stamp registered as laid down in rule 10. (a)
All passes granted by the officers of the Forest
Department, whether for export out of Travancore-Cochin or for transport within
the scheduled area, of timber shall, except as provided in rules 6, 7 and 8 be
in Form 1, and shall be printed in triplicate, and shall have all the columns
filled up by a duly authorized officer who shall sign and date each part, hand
over the original to the applicant, send the duplicate to the officer in charge
of the Division or Range as the case may be and keep the triplicate attached to
the book as counterfoil for record in his office. (i)
Export passes shall be printed on red paper and marked
"Export", and shall be issued by Divisional Forest Officers or other
officers authorized by the Chief Conservator of Forests to issue them, on
production of proof that the article mentioned has been properly obtained. (ii)
Passes for timber belonging to the Government, purchased
from Government land or from Government depot or elsewhere shall be printed on transparent
paper and issued by Range or Depot Officers or by any other officer authorized
in that behalf by the Chief Conservator of Forests. (iii)
Passes for timber grown on private lands situated within
the schedule area, shall be printed on yellow paper and be marked
"Private". Such passes shall be issued by the Divisional Forest
Officer on production of proof that the timber was obtained from the place
mentioned in the application and subject to such procedure as may from time to
time be prescribed by the Government. Every applicant for a pass under this
rule shall, in the case of land lying contiguous to Government forests or to
lands at the disposal of Government, have the surveyed boundaries cleared and
correctly fixed or demarcated on the ground and a declaration to the said
effect by the applicant shall accompany every such application. (b)
In the case of timber sold from a sale depot situated
within the limits of a town, it shall be enough if the timber be covered by a
way permit in Form 1A in cases where the timber is not intended to be conveyed
beyond the limit of the town in which the depot is situated and is for
consumption within such limits. (c)
The owner of a property situated outside the area
described in the schedule who is desirous of transporting timber from his land
to a place situated outside the schedule area past established watch stations
shall himself issue a permit in Form IB as detailed below. This
form shall be triplicate and may be either printed or in writing. The original
shall be given to the person transporting the produce, the duplicate sent to
the Divisional Forest Officer of the Division within whose jurisdiction the
private property is situated and the triplicate kept for record for a period of
three months. But
such timbers shall not be transported from the place of collection before the
expiry of 12 days from the date of dispatch of the copy of the permit by the
owner of the timbers to the Divisional Forest Officer concerned. (d)
The following procedure shall be followed for granting
free passes for private timbers within the area described in the schedule
appended to these Rules. (1)
Application for the issue of passes for the removal of
timber from private lands, situated within the area specified in the schedule
appended to these Rules, shall be made to the Forest Range Officer having
jurisdiction over the area from which such timber is proposed to be removed. Exceptions:-
Notwithstanding anything contained in this rule, no pass is required for
removal of:- the following kinds of timber, viz., Jack, Cashewnut,
Casuarina, Puvarasu, Mango. Tamarind, Nattupunna, Anjali, Vaha species Puvan,
Konna, Thanni, Illuppa, Kodumpuli, Uthi, Margosa, [2][Murukku,
Rubber and the Ficus species.] (2)
Every application for a pass shall be accompanied by a
list showing approximate quantities of timber to be removed and should specify
the village, the survey number and the sub number (if any) and the approximate
area of the private land so as to enable the officer to identify the land. If a
Forest Ranger to whom an application has been made, requires any further
particulars about the ownership of the land, he shall obtain such information
direct from the Village Officer of the village concerned. The Village Officer
shall invariably supply the information called for by the Forest Ranger within
seven days from the date of the receipt of the requisition. Delay on the part
of the Village Officer in supplying the information shall be reported by the
Ranger to the Tahsildar for suitable notice. (3)
(i) On receipt of an application for the removal of
timber from private lands lying within the scheduled area the Range Officer
shall, after calling for such other information as may be required, personally
inspect the area, verify the survey boundaries pointed out by the applicant or
his agent and check the timber collected and if satisfy that the timber has
been collected from the area mentioned in the application, check the list and
submit all the records to the Divisional Forest Officer with his recommendation
or other remarks and a certificate of inspection as noted below:- "Certified
that the land has been inspected by me on
........................................and that the boundaries thereof have
been checked and verified by me and that the timber as per the accompanying
list has been collected from the area specified in the application." (ii)
The Chief Conservator of Forests may empower by name, any Range Officer to
issue passes for removal of timber from private lands situated within the
scheduled area. The Range Officer thus empowered shall, after personal
inspection of the area and verification of the timber intended to be
transported and after fully satisfying himself that the timber has been
collected from the area specified in the application and after recording a
certificate of verification to that effect, issue the pass himself in the
manner provided in this rule. Such powers given may also likewise be withdrawn
by Chief Conservator of Forests. The Range Officers who are thus empowered
under this rule shall send the duplicate of every pass they issue to the
Divisional Forest Officer by the next post. (4)
The Divisional Forest Officer shall, on receipt of the
records mentioned in clause (3) check the details and if satisfied that the
applicant is entitled to get a pass, issue the same not later than a fortnight.
He shall allow in the pass such time as may, in his opinion, be necessary for
the removal of timber subject, however to a maximum limit of six months from
the date of stamping. (5)
The Range Officer shall on receipt of the pass with the
duplicate, stamp the timber, and hand over the pass to the party within a week
of its receipt from the Divisional Forest Officer and also allow the transport
of the timber to the extent noted and within the time allowed in the pass. (6)
If the satisfactory conduct of any inspection referred to
in clause (7)
involves the clearance of the surveyed boundaries of the
private lands concerned, the applicant or his agent shall, on being called upon
by the inspecting officer in writing, clear such boundaries and if he fails to
do so within a reasonable time the application shall be rejected. (8)
The whole procedure in each case shall be completed
within two months from the date of receipt of application for the pass, but if
the applicant or his agent falls to fulfill any of the conditions obligatory on
him within a reasonable time, the application shall be rejected and the
applicant shall be given an immediate endorsement rejecting the application
with reasons therefor. If the endorsement cannot be delivered personally to the
applicant or his agents, it should be sent to the former by Post and a note of
it made in the concerned office record. (9)
Extension of time to the original pass may be granted by
the officer issuing the pass on application from the original pass holder on
production of the original pass with the actual removals noted overleaf and
certified by the checking guards at the watch stations through which the
removals have been made. The application for extension shall be made to the
Range Officer concerned, who shall after verifying the balance left unremoved
at site, grant the extension himself within a month if the original pass had
been issued by him or submit it with his remarks within a fortnight to the
Divisional Forest Officer who shall grant such extension within six weeks at
the latest. (10)
In any case a pass first issued shall be valid only up to
a limit of 12 months from the date of Issue, after which any application for
extension of time on the strength of the original pass shall be treated as if
it were an application for a fresh pass. In such cases the prescribed procedure
shall be gone through again and a fresh pass issued. (11)
If any application be made for the issue of a copy of a
pass already issued on the plea that the original was lost by mischance, etc.,
a copy of the pass may be issued, on production of the required copying stamp
papers and after inspection and verification of the timber if necessary. (12)
The passes issued under this rule are intended only for
transport of timber within Travancore-Cochin and when the timber has to be
exported, export passes should be obtained from the Divisional Forest Officers
on the strength of the passes issued under these rules. In
the case of timber imported from abroad:- The
pass shall be in Form II and may be either written or printed. In the case of
timber transported from place to place, within the area covered by the schedule
appended to the rules by merchants or others who have registered their property
marks, the pass shall also be in Form II printed, the forms being obtained from
the Forest Department. The language employed in this case must be English,
Malayalam or Tamil. Passes
in Form II shall be in duplicate and shall have the columns filled up by the
other State Government Officer or by the owner or his authorized agent; the
original shall be handed over to the person authorized to move the timber and
the duplicate shall be kept as a counterfoil for at least one year from the
date of issue, and shall be produced for inspection at any time within that
period on the application of any Forest Officer not below the rank of a
Forester. Passes
for transport of Government timber from a forest to a sale depot or from one
sale depot to another, or from one place to another within Travancore-Cochin
shall be printed in Form III in quadruplicate, and issued by the Range, Depot,
or other officer authorized by the Divisional Forest Officer, whether such
timber is worked down by Forest subordinates or by contractors employed by the
Forest Department for the purpose. Where
difficulty is experienced by Forest subordinates, contractors or merchants in
moving at the same time all the timber covered by a single pass, the Divisional
Forest Officer may issue to such subordinates, contractors or merchants a
numbered pass book, known as "Bandyman's Pass Book" in Form IV, and
shall, at the same time, authorize, the forest subordinate or contractor, or
merchant or his agent to issue one of these as a subsidiary pass for each bandy
load or raft of timber. All the columns in the pass shall be filled up by the
forest subordinate, contractor, merchant or his agent as the case may be and it
shall be signed and dated by him. Every such pass shall bear the number and
date of the main pass under which it is granted and shall be recovered and
filed by the Depot Officer when the produce is received in the depot, or by the
officer in charge of the last watch or checking station on the route when the
produce is intended for private destinations. These passes will take the place
of the main pass in Form I, II or III which shall, however, be sent with the
last pass in Form IV. Passes
for the removal of fuel, charcoal, bamboos, reeds, incha and other forest
products, purchased from reserved forests or unreserved Government lands on
payment of prescribed seigniorage fees, shall be in Form V, printed in
triplicate, and shall be issued by the Range Officer of the Range or any other
officer specially authorized in this behalf by the Conservator of Forests. In
Divisions where transport of reeds is effected by land in head loads, head load
permits shall be issued in Form V A in lieu of the permits in Form V, whenever
necessary. Permits for headloads of reeds shall be in the form of tickets
printed on card board or otherwise and shall have the description of produce
and value entered on them, in print, besides the tickets being consecutively
numbered, on both their right and left hand edges in print and perforated in
the middle. Each ticket shall be printed in the same denomination viz., for one
head-load of 30 reeds valued at 12 naya paise and shall be current or valid
only for a day of 24 hours. Fees paid as seigniorage for articles of minor
forest produce including Etta and Bamboos shall not be refunded on any account. Passes
or permits issued under these Rules shall not be valid unless all the columns
have been filled up and unless they have been duly signed and dated, and in the
case of passes issued by Forest Officers, stamped with the official seal of the
Divisional Forest Officer, while those issued by merchants and others in Form
II are stamped with their registered property mark. Such passes, permit or
ticket shall invariably accompany the timber which they cover and any vehicle
carrying timber has to stop when demanded by any Forest Officer in uniform so
as to make it possible to check the pass: Provided
that it shall not be lawful to take any timber by any other route than that
mentioned in the pass or to take any timber off any road or river on which a
watch or checking station has been placed, with the intention to evade the
production of the article at the watch or checking station. The quantity of
timber must not be greater than or different from that entered in the pass and,
if it is less, the quantity actually passed every time shall be entered on the
back of the pass and the entry signed and dated by the checking officer and the
pass returned to the person producing it to cover the timber during further
transit till it reaches its destination; provided that the total quantity
removed does not exceed that entered in the pass and that the last removal is
effected within the time noted in the pass. With
the exception of imported timber, all timber in transit within the areas
specified in the schedule appended to these rules must for purposes of
identification, be stamped. All timber for which passes are given by Government
servants shall be stamped with a Government stamp, but timber transported by
merchants and others owning or trading in timber shall be impressed with
private stamps or property mark. All such stamps or property marks shall be
registered at the office of the Divisional Forest Officer in whose Division the
principal timber yard of such person or persons in situate; and it shall not be
lawful to use any mark which has not been registered. Impressions of the
property mark registered by a Divisional Forest Officer shall be furnished by
him to all the other Divisional Forest Officers for their information and for
being filed in a book to be maintained for the purpose which shall contain all
particulars about the merchant noted by the registering officer in his register
or property mark. The property mark registered in one Division shall be honored
in all other Divisions. In cases of renewal or cancellation of registry, the
Divisional Forest Officer doing so shall intimate the fact to all the other
Divisional Forest Officers for their information. For the purpose of
registration or renewal of a property mark, it shall be open to the Divisional
Forest Officer, or to any officer not below the rank of a Deputy Ranger deputed
by him, to inspect the timber yard or trading place of the applicant, check the
timber or the accounts of the applicant, before or at any time after registration
of renewal of his property mark. The fee for the registration of each property
mark shall be Rs. Ten and for each renewal of registration shall Rs. Five. The
registration shall hold good until the 31st March following the date of issue
of the certificate of Registration. A certificate of registration shall be
granted by the Divisional Forest Officer in Form VI to the person registering: Provided
that the Divisional Forest Officer may refuse registration and may cancel the
registration of any property-mark, if he considers that such property-mark
cannot be easily distinguished from a Government mark or from a property-mark
used by another person, or for other good and sufficient reason which shall, in
every case be placed on record by him. Against such refusal, an appeal shall
lie, within forty-five days from the date of receipt of the Divisional Forest
Officer's order, to the Conservator of Forests, whose decision shall be final. The
Chief Conservator of Forests may, with the sanction of the Government, open new
watch or checking stations or close those in existence, at any time. The names
of all such stations opened and the closing of others shall be published in the
Gazette and they shall be considered as opened or closed, as the case may be,
from the date of publication of such notification. If
any tree falls or if any timber sinks or lies floating in the water of any
river, stream, canal, creek, or other channel natural or artificial, in
Travancore-Cochin in such manner as to obstruct the passage of boats or timber
rafts, the person in occupation of the ground where the tree was growing or the
person in charge of the timber which has sunk or lies floating shall within 24
hours, cause the removal thereof. Any
person whose boat or timber raft is, obstructed in its passage or any Revenue,
Police, Public Works or Forest Official, may forthwith cause the removal of any
such obstruction and may report the fact to the nearest Magistrate having
jurisdiction, whose order as to the recovery of expenses thus incurred shall be
final. It
shall not be lawful to close or obstruct a stream or river or channel or other
water-way, natural or artificial by throwing timber, brushwood, stones or earth
or any other material, or in any other manner so as to prevent or obstruct the
floating rafting of timber or passage of boats. Such obstruction may be removed
by any Forest, Revenue, Or Police Officer and the cost of such removal shall be
recovered from the person causing the obstruction in addition to any punishment
to which he may be liable under rule 22. All
timber stored on the banks of rivers, streams, canals, creeks, and other
channel natural or artificial, or in places which are liable to be flooded,
shall be securely fastened by ropes or chains to posts driven securely into the
ground, or to trees or other naturally secure holds to prevent the timber being
floated away by the water. Unless
otherwise provided in any other law relating to public canals and public
ferries for the time being in force the floating of timber on rivers, streams,
canals, creeks and other channels where it has to pass bridges, locks, or other
public works shall be regulated as follows:- (a)
timber rafts shall not exceed 150 feet in length. (b)
timber rafts shall not exceed in width one-half of the
narrowest span of any bridge, or one-half of the narrowest portion of any lock
or other public work past which the timber has to be floated. (c)
a timber raft in being passed through any bridge, lock or
other public work shall have the following number of able-bodied persons in
charge of it:- For a raft under 50 feet in
length 2 persons. Do. above 50 feet
and under 100 feet 3 persons. Do. above 100 and
under 150 feet 4 persons. (d)
the persons in charge of such raft shall be supplied with
suitable poles of sufficient length or other suitable appliances for guiding
the rafts. (e)
no two rafts shall be anchored abreast of each other. (f)
a light shall be applied to every raft at night. (g)
every three rafts whether anchored or moving elsewhere
than through any bridge, lock or other public work shall always have at least
one able-bodied person in charge thereof. Yenadi,
Pandalam, Chengannur, Manimala.- In
addition to the provisions contained in rule 15, the following rules shall
apply to the bridges noted above :- (a)
no raft shall be more than 30 feet in length and 10 feet
in width unless otherwise specially permitted by the Conservator of Forests. (b)
not less than two persons shall be in charge of the rafts
passing the bridges referred to in this rule. (c)
the persons in charge of such rafts shall be supplied
with:- (i)
two suitable poles of sufficient length or other suitable
appliances for guiding the rafts. (ii)
one bill-hook (vakkathi). (iii)
fifty feet of coir rope one inch thick. (d)
persons in charge of timber rafts passing the bridges
referred to in this rule shall before shooting the bridges, ground their rafts
on the bank at a point not less than 500 yards above the bridge. They shall
then have their passes endorsed by P.W.D. officers in charge of such bridges
that the rules have been complied with. No raft shall be allowed to leave the
mooring 500 yards above the bridge until the necessary endorsement has been
obtained. The P.W.D. officer may refuse to endorse a pass if in his opinion the
condition of any bridge at the time is such that by allowing the raft to pass
under, the bridge is likely to be damaged. (e)
if any raft collides with the structure of the bridge and
is thereby detained obstructing the channel, no raft shall leave the point of
mooring until the raft in collision shall have been freed and passed through
the bridge. All
Village Officers and all other Revenue Officers not below the rank of Revenue
Supervisor and all Magisterial Officers, all Police Officers of the rank not
lower than that of the Head Constable, all Forest Officers and all officers in
charge of bridges, locks or other public works are authorized:- (a)
to seize and detain all timber stored in contravention of
rule 14. (b)
to seize and detain, until reduced to proper dimensions
all timber rafts exceeding the dimensions prescribed in these rules. (c)
to seize and detain all timber rafts which are being
floated in contravention of rule 15 clauses (c), (d), (e), (f) and (g) and rule
16 clauses (b) to (e), until the required conditions are fulfilled; (d)
to seize and detain all timber which has caused damage to
bridges, locks, or other public works. The
person making the seizure and detention shall, without delay, report the fact
to the nearest station-house officer of Police. The
station-house officer of Police shall thereupon report the fact to the First
Class Magistrate having jurisdiction over the area, who is hereby authorized to
issue such orders as may be required. The
amount of damage done shall be assessed by the P.W. Division Officer in whose
charge the bridge or other public work is, but the District Magistrate may
revise the assessment so fixed, and his orders thereon shall be final. The
officers of the Forest department may store timber on private land or transport
it across such land, if such a step is necessary; and if any damage or loss is
caused by such storage or transport, fair compensation shall be paid for the
same or the damage shall be repaired at the expense of the Government. If
compensation is to be paid, the damage shall be assessed by the Divisional
Forest Officer. Whoever
commits any breach or infringement of rules 2, 3, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 14 shall on
conviction by a Magistrate be liable to imprisonment for a term which may
extend to six months or to fine which may extend to five hundred rupees or to
both provided that in cases where such offence is committed after sunset and
before sunrise, or after making preparation for resistance to the execution of
any law or any legal process or where the offender has been previously
convicted of a like offence, the convicting the Magistrate may inflict double
the penalty prescribed for such offence in these Rules. 1.
The
portion of Travancore-Cochin lying to the east of a line starting from the
Shomur Railway Station and passing along the Railway Line till it crosses the
main Central Road near Karukutty, thence along the main Centred road and
crossing the Periyar River at Thannipuzha ferry, and passing the towns of
Perumbavoor, Moovattupuzha, Kottayam and Kottarakkara till it reaches the
Trivandrum East Fort and then along the Trivandrum-Cape Commorin road till it
reaches the State boundary at Parassala. 2.
Villages
Numbers 22, 28 to 35, 40 to 45 and 51 to 54 of Thalappalli taluk, the river
route through Karanchira and also the railway land at Chalakudy not included in
para one above.THE TIMBER TRANSIT RULES, 1959
PREAMBLE