Answer:
The
1878 Forest Act divided forests in India into three categories: reserved, protected
and village forests.
Foresters and villagers had very different ideas about a 'good forest'.
(i) Villagers wanted forests with a mixture of species to satisfy
different needs-fuel, fodder and leaves.
Villagers could not take anything from 'reserved' forests.
For house building or fuel, they could take wood from protected or village
forests. On the other hand forest department needed trees that could provide
hard, tall and straight woods for commercial price. So, they encouraged to
plant only Teak and Sal and other trees were cut.
(ii) In forest areas people use forest products roots,
leaves, fruits, tuber, etc. Almost everything is available in the forest for
their livelihood. The Forest Act meant severe hardship for them. All their
everyday practices
cutting wood for their houses, grazing their cattle, collecting
fruits and roots, hunting and fishing became illegal.
(iii) Now villagers were forced to steal wood and if they were
caught, they were at the mercy of the forest-guards, who even claimed bribe
from them.
(iv) Women who collected fuel wood and food were scared from
the forest guards.
(v) It became common practice for police constables and forest
guards to harass villagers by demanding free food for them.
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