Karnataka, especially forests coming under the Mysuru division, was once known as Srigandada Nadu (the land of sandalwood). But over the years, it lost this distinction owing to the fast depletion of sandalwood reserves.
To promote sandalwood cultivation on private land, the Forest Department has been distributing sandalwood saplings at subsidised rates. “Each sapling is sold at ₹3 and the department is ready to supply any number of saplings if people are keen to cultivate them commercially. They can be grown in farmlands. On an average, 5,000 to 10,000 saplings are distributed every year,” said K. Karikalan, DCF, Mysuru.
Kerala is now the major sandalwood supplier to the State, followed by Tamil Nadu. Sandalwood prices had shot up sharply over the years owing to the exhausting reserves.