THANE: More than 80 metric tonnes of rare species of sandalwood –
red sanders – that has been seized from smugglers will be up for grabs at the first-of-its-kind 24-hour global online auction starting Wednesday noon. The auction is being organised by the Thane forest circle.
The auction is expected to fetch anywhere between Rs 20 to Rs 30 crore for the forest department. Over the years, the forest department has seized over 600 metric tonnes of wood. Only a small portion of the stock will be up for grabs on Wednesday.
“Red sanders wood is found in only two districts of
Andhra Pradesh and because of the continuous hacking of this for timber, the sale was banned by the government. Over the past decade, the state has seized over 600 metric tonnes of red sanders, which is the most expensive wood worldwide. We have put up over 80.46 MT for sale,” said R S
Kadam, chief conservator of forest (Thane).
While the online auction will be held from 12pm on May 16 to 12pm on May 17, buyers have already started visiting the forest department’s depot in
Khalalpur to inspect the stock.
“There are three grades of wood for sale. Over 1.02MT of Grade A, which is the most expensive, is up for sale. Around 9.03MT of Grade B and the remaining under Grade C will be auctioned. From April 23 to May 15, we have seen many groups coming to inspect the stock at our
Sajgaon depot in Khalalpur range,” Kadam said. Once the bidding is complete, the stock will be transported to the highest bidder who will pay the forest department according to the rules of the Maharashtra State Trading Corporation.