Development of forest policy in india during british india
Answers
Policies are guidelines for the government and the people and help in making various decisions. Forests are a vital part of any nation, not only for the commercial value, but also for the quality of life that it guarantees. Hence it was considered imperative, even during the British Rule, that India must have a Forest Policy.
The British were the first to officially recognize the natural wealth of India and it was they who initiated the process of forming a forest policy during the second half of the 19th century.
Their scheme was to plunder the natural wealth of the nation as much as possible, since timber trade was a highly lucrative trade during those times. Hence, their policies were aimed at putting themselves in an advantageous position and to exploit the resources to the extent possible.
The sequence of their efforts in this direction (by means of Acts and Policies) are given below:
(i) The first Conservator of Forests was appointed in the year 1850 by the British, in Bombay, and the first Forest Department was set-up in the year 1864.
(ii) In order to generate income, the Forest Act of 1865 was brought out, which classified the forests into reserved forests and unclassified forests. The former were out of bounds of the local people and the latter un-surveyed forests were progressively reclassified as reserved forests before the end of the century and the process was speeded up to contain the provision in the revised Forest Act of 1878.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(iii) The Forest Act, 1865 was first enacted to counteract various local population.
(iv) By the Forest Act of 1878, even the village forests were closed, and what was the right of the people was translated into privileges, and that to for a fee.
(v) The first Forest Policy was in the year 1894, which gave priority to agriculture over forests.
(vi) The next Forest Act was enacted in the year 1927, which made the rules more stringent and the people’s privileges were curtailed further.