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" Just 10% of our total efforts have gone into the actual process of e-auction as there has been a huge response from the businessmen in China and other countries while we had to spend the rest of our time and efforts to avert any fresh court stays against the sale," P K Jha, additional principal chief conservator of forests said today.
If the first day's auction is taken as a base average price, the Andhra Pradesh government is expected to get as much as over Rs 1,200 crore from sale of red sanders wood in the first phase.
Of the total permitted quantity of 8,584.13 tonnes of red sanders the government has put about 4,160 tonnes for the auction in the first phase , scheduled between November 24 and December 1, 2014.
The Andhra Pradesh government had to get the extension of time for 6 more months from the Director General Foreign Trade (DGFT) to complete the red sanders sale after it could not complete it by last month owing to a last minute stay granted by the Chennai National Green Tribunal.
Jha said they had put their officers on alert in eight courts including the Supreme Court, High Courts of Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai to avert any fresh legal hurdle as the vested interests representing the red sanders smuggling industry were trying to stop the sale by hook or the crook. Fresh petitions challenging the auction process were filed yesterday in Chennai High Court and today in Hyderabad High Court but the judges refused to entertain the petitioners plea, according to Jha.
The C grade quality, which comprises almost 95% of the total red sanders stock available with the government, had attracted a price ranging from Rs 16.51 lakh to up to 35.16 lakh per tonne while the lots under the B grade had got a price ranging from Rs 56.65 lakhs to Rs 155.22 lakhs, according to Jha. However, Jha refused to reveal the average price quoted for the C Grade as the government expects to push as much competition as possible into this segment since most of the stock is of this grade.
Based on the permission given by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the DGFT had issued a notification in October 2013 amending the EXIM Policy and gave clearance to AP government for a sale sale of the above quantity of red sanders, endangered plant species.
Chinese furniture manufactures and investors are among those taking part in the ongoing auction process.
