Economy of red sanders

Is AP eyeing the endangered wood to spruce up revenues?

The mind boggling economics of the smuggling of the endangered species, ‘Red Sanders’, had driven the ruling TDP to risk many things including cordial relations with neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. The AP government is using every opportunity to raise revenues for the arduous tasks ahead - capital building, creating urban infrastructure, developing rural medi-care besides boosting information technology.

AP Forest department has explained how the country's treasured wealth is being squandered by a cartel of smugglers who had full patronage of not only inter-state politicos and bureaucrats but also national and global smuggling gangs. Interestingly, all the ports on east-coast including Chennai, Mumbai, Tuticorin, Kolkata and now latest Visakhapatnam are being used on a regular basis for smuggling activity.

Nearly about 5 lakh hectares of plantation in the Sheshachalam forests of Chittoor district is seen as the big apple of every trader in and around the border districts which provide much needed ambiance. Smuggling is the largest labour intensive trade and for which mostly exploit woman, children and aged persons who are able to carry up to a weight of 5 kg.

Sources in the forest department say, the labour will be paid in the range of Rs 200 to 500 per kg of sander wood log depending on the urgency and demand in the market. The wood logs, after harvesting, stocked in deep forests and moved out of the forest in a very clandestine manner.

Red Sanders are equivalent as gold and makes big business for the smuggling mafia in the inter-state boarders. And it is not newly happening thing as the sander wood is being smuggled for decades taking advantage of political feuds and laxity in inter-state regulations.

Interestingly, it was listed as endangered in the year 2000, thus making it difficult for easy transportation besides the Centre has banned felling trees, movement, sale and export of it. Despite restrictions, the wood logs are being smuggled out in ship containers or as air cargo, often masquerading as foodstuff, allegedly with the collusion of customs officials, sources reveal.

Red Sanders bearing formations are estimated to extend over around 5,160 kms in its principal geographical range. About 23 per cent of red sanders formation is dense, 34 per cent has moderate cover and the remaining is open. Reports say that about mafia agents in each of the 274 small villages, which are close to the Andhra borders, ensure a steady stream of labour for the smugglers.

According to sources, around 3,000 people were involved in smuggling red sanders after they are assured of Rs 10,000 to 15,000 for three days, the agents make around Rs 75,000 to Rs 1 lakh per week, as commission on smuggling the timber. It is to be noted that the Andhra Pradesh government could able to raise around Rs 1,000 crore in December 2014 in the auction of seized timber.

Interestingly, in the smugglers market the red sanders priced from Rs 16-20 lakhs per tonne while it can fetch Rs 80 lakh a tonne in the international market. Even Tamil Nadu government also has Rs 450 crore worth of seized products lying in their go-downs.

Besides Chennai, Mumbai and Tuticorin, smugglers used Vizag port to ship red sanders felled in the Seshachalam forests. Chennai port emerged as one of the major hubs from where these smugglers ‘exported’ their consignment to East Asian countries like Malaysia, Japan and China.

There are at least three cases that are being investigated by the directorate of revenue intelligence sleuths, who confiscated containers, carrying red sanders. The fact that the police and DRI had made a few arrests of kingpin smugglers from Vellore and Chennai is an indication that red sander smugglers operated even beyond the state boundary without linguistic barriers.

According to the reports, in the last five years, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Chennai, unit had seized 155 tonnes of red sanders worth over Rs 415 crore from the Chennai port and also some go-downs located in and around the Tamil Nadu capital.

As per the reports, a karakattam dancer surrendered in a Vellore court after the police seized over Rs 4 crore worth red sanders from her house in Vellore. Even Andhra Police arrested Rajendran, a brother of a Chennai politician, when he tried to smuggle red sanders in his BMW car in August last year. Vellore district has turned into one of the major transit points to smuggle red sander logs from Andhra Pradesh to Chennai and Bangalore.

All these drive to a point, that while smuggling of Red Sanders thriving over the years, the recent thrust of Andhra Pradesh government to contain the smuggling in order to use the timber for its revenue generation. Hence it started cracking down on the red sanders smuggling and even touched sensitive nerve of the huge mafia leading to political uproars and demonstrations.

Already the State government has sold 4,500 tonnes red sanders worth Rs 1,000 crore through e-auctioning and it has stocks of another 8,500 tonnes ready for sale, says sources.