State govt. approves renewal of land lease to KFDC

The State Cabinet has approved the land lease renewal for the Kerala Forest Development Corporation (KFDC) for the next 25 years. The agreement maintains the same terms and conditions as the previous contract for wood crop areas covering an extent of 7,748.441 hectares.

According to officials, the renewal is based on the Advocate General’s opinion that silvicultural operations do not fall within the ambit of Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act; therefore, no prior approval from the Union government is required for such activities.

“The trees that will be felled and removed are Eucalyptus and Acacia, in a phased manner, which will be replanted with native species. By renewing the lease, the KFDC will be able to manage its plantations according to the State’s eco restoration policy. The KFDC also has an approved management plan from the MoEF, which legally enables it to carry out felling operations until 2030,” an official said.

In an order issued by Additional Chief Secretary Minhaj Alam—a copy of which was accessed by The Hindu—it was noted that the KFDC’s previous lease for the silvicultural operational area had expired on December 31, 2025. Following this, the KFDC Managing Director requested a license renewal to ensure the corporation’s smooth functioning.

The order stated: “The State government reviewed the matter in detail. The Advocate General provided a legal opinion asserting that since KFDC’s lease plantations follow silviculture methods, prior approval from the Central government is not required for renewal. Forest protection activities were excluded from the definition of ‘non-forest purposes.’ Consequently, the State government has approved the renewal of the 7,748.441-hectare lease to the KFDC.”

KFDC’s role

The KFDC is a government-owned company established in 1976. According to officials, initially, 10,618.897 hectares of land from various forest divisions were handed over to the corporation to cultivate forest crops. While 7,748.441 hectares have been renewed for the next 25 years, an additional 2,968 hectares of cash crops are managed by the KFDC through the payment of lease amounts on an operation-and-maintenance basis.

Officials noted that following the expiration of the previous agreement, the KFDC had temporarily halted tree-felling operations across approximately 95 hectares of land. The government’s decision to renew the license provides significant relief, allowing the corporation to continue its plantation activities for another quarter-century.

The KFDC is a major player in Kerala’s tourism and plantation sectors. It manages prime tourism projects in Gavi, Suryanelli (Munnar), and Nelliyampathi, alongside the cultivation of cash crops such as tea, coffee, and cardamom, and timber plantations across the State.