The Gujarat government has decided to request the Centre to relax rules pertaining to the closure of saw mills which do not have appropriate licences. On October 29, 2002, the Supreme Court had directed all states to ensure that no saw mill operates without a licence. The apex court had also set up an empowered committee to oversee the implementation of the order. Following this, the Gujarat government had sealed more than 500 of the total 4,000 saw mills operating in the state. According to Manibhai Patel, secretary, Gujarat Timber Merchants Association (GTMA):
