(a) whether the Government has seized all the owners of illicit transport vehicles in connection with Red Sander smuggling and other forest produce offence cases registered as per Andhra Pradesh Forest Act, 1967 in Andhra Pradesh particularly in the forest areas of Seshachalam;
(b) if so, the details thereof and loss estimated for Government from such smuggling; and
(c) if not, the reasons for not taking any action on the red sanders smugglers?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(DR. MAHESH SHARMA)
(a)As per information received from Government of Andhra Pradesh, all the vehicles involved in smuggling of red sanders wood which are caught are seized as per Andhra Pradesh Forest Act, 1967.
(b) & (c) The details of vehicles & red sanders wood seized and number of persons arrested in the last three years in the offence cases involving red sanders smuggling are as follows:-
Year Number of Cases Red Sanders wood seized (in Metric Tons) Number of vehicles seized Number of persons arrested
2015-16 753 355.658 480 2587
2016-17 911 487.632 705 3344
2017-18 876 360.338 680 2743
Total 2540 1203.628 1865 8674
The quantity of 1203.628 Metric Tons red sanders seized in the last three years, is valued at Rs. 4753.12 lakhs based on offence forest schedule of rates.
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