Question

The 1878 Act divided forests into three categories. Name them.

Answer 1

Hint: This act was passed by the British Government in India for the preservation of forests. The act divided forests on the basis of the level of protection provided to the forests.

Complete answer:
The first Forest Act that was passed in India was in 1865, when the Imperial Forest Department tried to establish the control of British over the forests in India. By this Act, any land that was covered in trees was declared as a government forest.

In 1878, another Forest Act was passed, which enabled the government to demarcate and administer the forests. They decided the level of availability of the forest to the locals. They attempted to regulate the collection from forest dwellers and declared certain activities as punishable offenses.

According to the Forest Act of 1878, the forests were classified into:
i) Reserved Forests – these were the forests with the most restrictions. They were acquired or owned by the Government. These forests are declared so by their respective state governments. Hunting, grazing, entry of locals, etc. is banned in these forests. Entry of anyone is allowed only by a Forest Officer.
ii) Protected – These are forests from which the government has the right to use trees and other resources to generate revenue. These forests are less restricted than reserved forests and more people (generally government authorized personnel) have access to these forests.
iii) Village – These forests are the least protected ones and the locals have complete access to them. The rights to the forests are assigned by the Government to the concerned village or community.

Note:
- In later years, the Indian Forest Policy, 1952 was introduced, which considered the importance of increasing the forest cover of India to one-third of its total land.
- The Forest Conservation Act of 1980, promoted agro-forestry in forest areas.
- The National Forest Policy of 1988, aimed at maintaining environmental stability and ecological balance by conserving forests.