Chapter II GENERAL PROVISION RELATING TO THE MANAGEMENT OF,

The State Government may, by notification and subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the Forest Officer concerned, prohibit the cutting, felling, girdling, lopping, burning, stripping off the back or leaves or otherwise damaging any tree or counterfeiting or defacing marks on trees or timber in such private forest as may be specified.

In every private forest in respect of which a notification is issued under section 4, the Forest Officer shall, within a period of one year from the date of publication of such notification, demarcate the limit of such forest in accordance with the revenue records, and shall erect thereon such number of boundary pillars at such points of the line of demarcation as may be necessary at Government expense.

In the forest notified under section 4 A the rights of the landlord and, notwithstanding anything contained in any record-of-rights prepared under any law for the time being in force, the rights of any other person to cut, collect or remove trees, timber or other produce in or from, or to pasture any cattle in any forest shall not be exercised in contravention of the provisions made in or under this Act.

In view of the necessity for conservation of soil and moisture and in the interest of the general public- (a) a person who has a right to cut, collect or remove trees, timber or fuel from any notified forest shall not cut, collect or remove such trees, timber or fuel except under a permit granted by the Forest Officer in this behalf and in accordance with such conditions as the Forest Officer may impose: Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to any trees, timber or fuel which is required by the owner or right-holder for domestic purposes, manufacture of agricultural implements or cremation of dead bodies; (b) a person who has a right to reclaim any land in notified forest for the purpose of cultivation and is the owner of the notified forest shall not reclaim any land therein except with the previous permission of the Forest Officer obtained in writing and in accordance with such conditions as the forest officer may impose.

No person with a felling permit shall, in a private forest, cut down any tree at a height of more than six inches from the ground or any bamboo culm less than one year old.

No person, not being a landlord, a person A acting under the authority of a landlord or an officer acting under the provisions of this Act or rules made thereunder shall sell or otherwise transfer any timber obtained by him in the exercise of a right to cut timber in any notified forest, and the timber cut by him in excess of his requirement shall be liable to forfeiture by the State Government.

The landlord, or a lessee or other person claiming through the landlord, shall not cut or remove or permit any person to cut or remove any trees, timber or other forest produce in or from any notified forest so as to effect the right of any person which such person may, subject to any rules made under this Act, enjoy under any custom or usage.

(1) A Forest Officer may, on the application of the landlord or owner, grant a license for the felling of trees for such purpose and with such conditions as he may deem proper keeping in view the necessity for conservation of soil and moisture and the interests of the general public, and thereupon it shall be lawful for the landlord or the owner to carry out felling in accordance with the terms of the licence. (2) The landlord or owner selling trees shall pay 15% of the sale Price as fees to the State Government and the timber shall not be removed from the forest unless fees have been paid. (3) The owner may exercise the option of selling the trees either through the Forest Department or direct to any contractor. In the event of selling the trees direct, the owner shall have to pay 15% fees as prescribed above on the price of the trees calculated in accordance with the prescribed principles.

(1) The Forest Officer may direct any owner of the notified forest to prepare within a specified period a working plan in the prescribed manner for management of the forest. (2) The owner of such notified forest may either himself prepare the working plan or request the Forest Officer to prepare a working plan on his behalf. (3) The Forest Officer may, after considering each working plan submitted to him, by an order in writing, accept or modify such working plan in such manner as he may consider necessary or substitute another working plan for it. (4) If any owner of such notified forest does not submit a working plan within the period specified under sub-section (1) or does not request the Forest Officer to prepare one on his behalf within the period specified in sub-section (2), the Forest Officer may prepare a working plan in respect of such forest. (5) The cost of the preparation of the working plan under sub-section (2) and (4) will be borne by the owner in the case of forests which will be at a profit and by Government in the case of forests rum at a loss. Where the cost is payable by the owner such cost may be realised as arrears of land revenue when the landlord fails to pay it within the period to be specified by the Forest Officer.

The forest for A which an approved working plan exists will be managed by the owner himself according to prescriptions made in such working plan with the assistance of such trained staff as may be prescribed in the working plan and under the superintendence of the Forest Officer. No deviation from the prescriptions of the working plan will be permitted without the previous sanction of the Forest Officer.

(1) Save as provided in the foregoing sections, no tree, unless marked and no timber, unless hammer marked by the Forest Officer shall be cut or removed from the private forest and no tree or part thereof or timber from the private forest shall be launched into any river, stream or water, unless it bears property mark or marks and is covered by a permit granted in this behalf and fees therefor are first paid, provided always that no removal of a tree or part thereof or timber or fuel shall be done by land, unless covered by a challan issued by the Forest Officer subject to such restrictions as he may consider necessary to impose as regards its check while in transit and the time between which the movement of such tree, timber or fuel shall remain suspended. (2) No resin will be extracted, removed or carried from private forest except in accordance with the rules framed under the Act.

(1) Where a licence under section 11 is issued for the sake of tree, timber or fuel from a private forest, the licences shall not be permitted to remove such trees, timber or fuel unless all prescribed fees payable to the State Government are first paid in full. (2) The removal of such trees, timber or fuel as are mentioned in sub-section (1) shall be subject to such conditions as the Forest Officer may deem necessary to impose.

A contract entered into by an owner with any person after the commencement of this Act conferring on such person the right to cut, collect or remove trees, timber or fuel from the private forest shall be void unless the owner has first obtained a licence in this behalf under section 11.

No person shall in exercise of any customary right or other right, pasture or cause to be pastured in any notified forest, any cattle of which he is not the owner.

(1) Any A person who contravenes any of the provisions of this chapter or deviates from the prescriptions of the sanctioned working plan without the previous sanction of the Forest Officer, shall be punishable with a fine not exceeding Rs. 1,000 or simple imprisonment not exceeding three months or both. (2) Offences under this section shall be triable by a Magistrate of the first or the second class and proceedings under this section may be instituted on a complaint made by the landlord of the notified forest in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed or by any right-holder of such a notified forest or by the Forest Officer or by any officer specially empowered by the State Government in this behalf. (3) When any person is convicted of an offence under this section, any trees, timber or other forest produce in respect of which the offence is committed may be liable to forfeiture. If such trees, timber or other forest produce has or have been destroyed or converted or otherwise disposed of by him, the value thereof may be recoverable from him in the same way as a fine imposed on him under sub-section (1). (4) Any trees, timber or other forest produce forfeited under this section shall be disposed of in such manner as the Collector may, subject to rules, if any, direct.