According to the model rules, applicants are required to register their plantations on the National Timber Management System (NTMS) portal, which is currently under development. This involves submitting basic plantation data, including land ownership information, location of the farm with a KML file, species, plantation period, etc.“I find the model rules do not help the farmers but further complicate the process by allowing forest officers to keep checking the plantation to maintain records,” said Ashish Mondal, an Agroforestry expert engaged in making the national agroforestry policy.“Our effort should be to remove the role of forest officer in the whole process, as agricultural land doesn’t fall in their mandate. The model policy fails to reverse the process where forest officials should be made to prove that wood doesn’t belong to their forest,” said Mondal.Meanwhile, the letter said that states and UTs shall examine the model rules to consider their adoption and notification for felling of trees in agricultural land.“MoEFCC will extend necessary technical support to states and UTs for adoption and implementation, and capacity building required for integration of agroforestry,” the letter said.
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