PARLIAMENT QUESTION: TREE FELLING AND TIMBER TRANSIT FRAMEWORK

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) regulates tree felling and timber transit for agro‑forestry through State Forest Acts, the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and court orders. It has issued guidelines to liberalise transit permits, revised Wood‑Based Industries guidelines in 2022, and released a National Transit Pass System (NTPS) in December 2023 that has issued 4,36,258 transit passes nationwide. In June 2025, MoEFCC issued Model Rules for felling trees on agricultural land to promote agro‑forestry. The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) has released 69 tree varieties for agro‑forestry, and the Ministry has published FAQs and booklets on cultivation of select tree species.