Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy has said steps will be initiated to check illegal export of red sanders from the Seshachalam forests.
Addressing the media here on Sunday, Mr. Reddy said The felling of the precious wood widely found in the forests was not only rampant but also unlawfully smuggled to States such as Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
“A high-level meeting with officials of all the four States will be held soon to discuss ways of checking the menace,” he said.
Mr. Reddy claimed that it was he, as an ordinary party worker, who had played a key role in bringing the menace to the notice of the then State government a few years ago.
He avoided giving a reply when asked for his comments on the issue of granting Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh.