KOCHI: Actor Mohanlal can soon flaunt his personal ivory tusk stockpile in public as the Union Forest Ministry has given permission to declare his ivory tusk stock before the state government/chief wildlife warden. The permission was given on a letter written by the actor to the Union Environment and Forests Ministry requesting to relax some of the provisions in the Act. A senior forest officer confirmed to ‘Express’ that the actor had declared a pair of ivory tusks before the office of the chief wildlife warden and the department is examining the details of his declaration. Once the formalities are over, the department would give licence to the actor to possess the wildlife articles, he said.
Acting upon his plea, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had recently informed that the Ministry had initiated review of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and informed that cases for declaration of wildlife articles would be considered during the review process and also directed the applicant to take up the matter with the sate government/ chief wildlife warden under Section 40 (4) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. However, Om Prakash Kaler, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (BDC), said the Union Ministry directive was only applicable to Mohanlal as the directive was issued based on his plea. A pair of elephant tusks was seized from the actor’s home at Thevara during an income tax raid in 2011. Though the Forest officials registered a case against Mohanlal at the Kodanadu Range under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 for illegal possession of ivory at his house, no action was taken against him.