Grant, renewal and revocation of a license or Registration certificate to a Wood Based Industry.

(1) No license to a Wood Based Industry shall be granted or renewed without obtaining prior approval of State Level Committee. However, State Level Committee may delegate the power of renewal of license to a Wood Based Industry to the Divisional Forest Officer of the concerned Division in which the Wood Based Industry is located. (2) All Wood Based Industries are required to be licensed or registered under these rules. (3) No person shall establish, expand the installed capacity, shift location or operate Wood Based Industries, including the existing unit, unless a license or registration certificate is previously obtained by him in accordance with these rules. (4) Following Industries or Processing units shall not require license under these rules, namely :- (i) Industries or processing units not operating with a band saw or process already sawn wood; (ii) Industries or processing units operating with a circular saw upto thirty centimeter diameter; (iii) Industries having specialized requirement (as decided by the State Level Committee) and using circular-saw upto sixty centimeter diameter; (iv) Industries or Processing units not using round logs of domestic origin i.e. using imported wood or timber from outside the country irrespective of size and type of saw. However, such Industries or processing units shallbe required to provide the requisite documentation regarding this as may be specified by the State Level Committee; and (v) Industries or processing units using round logs of the species notified as agriculture or agroforestry produce and/or exempted from the regime of felling and transit regulations,irrespective of size and type of saw. (5) All Industries or processing units mentioned in sub-rule (4) which have been exempted from licensing shall, however, be required to get themselves registered with the Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation under rule 10 of these rules and shall also have to establish the source of raw material for their industry. Irrespective of the exemptions listed in sub-rule (4), all existing units shall also be required to register themselves with the Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation within a period of six months from the date of coming into force of these rules. If any unit fails to get itself registered, such unit shall be deemed to be violating these rules and shall, hence, be liable for action. (6) Transfer of licence or registration certificate on sale/succession etc. shall be done only with the prior approval of State Level Committee. (7) The Wood Based Industry shall have to be set up within six months from the date of grant of license or registration certificate, as the case may be, failing which the license or registration certificate, as the case may be, may be extended; or revoked by the Divisional Forest Officer after three months' notice under intimation to the State Level Committee : Provided that in case it is extended, not more than three months' extension shall be granted by the Divisional Forests Officer. (8) All Wood Based Industries shall follow all environmental and other regulations laid down by the Punjab Pollution Control Board, Central Pollution Control Board and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, as applicable to these industries under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (Central Act No. 29 of 1986) and other Central and State Acts.