examine the various causes behind deforestation in colonial India
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(i) In the colonial period, cultivation expanded rapidly for various reasons. First the British encouraged the production of commercial crops like jute, sugar, wheat and cotton. The demand for these crops increased in the 19th century and forests were cleared to meet the food grains and raw materials needed for industrial growth in Europe.
(ii) The spread of railways from 1850 created a new demand. To run locomotives, wood was needed as fuel and to lay railway lines sleepers were necessary to hold the tracks together. The government gave out contracts to individuals and the contractors began cutting the trees rapidly. Forests around the tracks disappeared.
(iii) Large areas of natural forests were cleared for tea, coffee and rubber plantations. Forests were cleared for them
(ii) The spread of railways from 1850 created a new demand. To run locomotives, wood was needed as fuel and to lay railway lines sleepers were necessary to hold the tracks together. The government gave out contracts to individuals and the contractors began cutting the trees rapidly. Forests around the tracks disappeared.
(iii) Large areas of natural forests were cleared for tea, coffee and rubber plantations. Forests were cleared for them
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