The Centre has introduced draft model rules to ease the felling of trees on agricultural land, aiming to promote agroforestry, boost tree cover beyond forests, and help farmers generate income. The new guidelines encourage states to streamline permissions through a national digital platform, aligning with climate goals and addressing the lack of uniform procedures that has long restricted the growth of farm forestry.
Agroforestry has emerged as a key strategy to double farmers’ incomes while tackling environmental degradation and timber shortages. However, cumbersome tree felling rules have discouraged many from planting commercial species on farmland. The Centre’s new model rules aim to resolve this by simplifying procedures and using technology, encouraging farmers to integrate timber trees with crops without legal uncertainty or time-consuming approvals.
According to the draft, a state-level committee—expanded to include revenue and agriculture department representatives—will now oversee agroforestry permissions. The committee will guide how to simplify felling rules, approve verifying agencies, and empanel bodies to monitor tree-cutting activities. Their role is to ensure transparency and ease of business in the rural economy, without compromising environmental accountability or market access for farm-grown timber.
The National Timber Management System (NTMS) portal is central to the new approach. Farmers must register plantation details, including sapling count, species, and geotagged images of trees. Those with fewer than 10 trees can directly upload images and expected felling dates, triggering automatic approvals. For larger plantations, physical verification by authorised agencies will determine the felling permit, with all activity monitored online for transparency.
The draft also mandates quarterly reviews by divisional forest officers to assess the performance of verifying agencies, maintaining oversight across regions. These digital and decentralised processes are expected to reduce delays, empower smallholders, and encourage timber production without harming ecological standards. With India aiming to reduce timber imports and increase green cover, the initiative aligns economic resilience with environmental sustainability.
By easing tree felling on farmland, the Centre hopes to integrate agroforestry into mainstream agriculture, reduce reliance on imported timber, and support sustainable rural incomes. With a strong push for digital transparency and streamlined governance, these draft rules could unlock new opportunities for climate-smart agriculture, promote ecological balance, and contribute to India’s ambitious green and income-generation targets in the coming years.
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Centre Makes Tree Felling Rules Easier to Help Farmers and the Environment
