Model Rules on felling of trees in agricultural land to promote agroforestry
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued advisory Model Rules in June 2025 to guide States and Union Territories on felling and transit procedures for trees grown on private agricultural land for agroforestry.
- Agroforestry means growing trees with crops and/or livestock on the same land to support farmers’ incomes.
- Model Rules work as a template: States and Union Territories decide whether to adopt and implement them through their own process.
- Procedures for tree felling and timber transit help control legal compliance and make tree movement more trackable.
- Adoption of the Model Rules would be meant to simplify and streamline State-level steps for felling and transit.
What happened: Ministry of Environment issues advisory Model Rules for felling and transit in private agricultural land
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change released advisory Model Rules on “Felling of Trees in Agricultural Land” in June 2025.
The stated objective of the Model Rules is to encourage and promote agroforestry among farmers by providing a procedure framework for felling and transit of trees grown on private agricultural land.
UPSC can frame this as administrative design for natural-resource regulation: expert advisory model rules aim to reduce differences in approvals and procedures across States, making it easier for farmers to adopt agroforestry while still keeping oversight over felling and movement of timber.
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