entertained that the Tapti Forests would "recover” if they were to be farmed out! And this is the view which the Secretary of State took when he subsequently read this astonishing proposal. “I must,” he wrote, "express some doubt on one point; namely, the expediency of farming the produce of the forests of the Tapti, which it is not proposed at present to make into actual reserves. It seems to me that under such a system it will not be easy to bring round the forests as it would be if they were managed by the Forest Department. The only new establishment asked for was for the Nerbuda Reserve ; but in addition the Governor-General considered that sufficient ground had been shown for the permanent appointment of an Assistant Conservator for those forests. “The advantages to be derived,” the Resolution continued, " by all concerned from a proper administration of the Nimar Forests are unquestionable. The officiating Conservator in his Report, para. 36, gives such an account of the vexatious nature of past control, or rather tax-gathering, that the action of the Chief Commissioner in anticipating the orders of Government may well be approved." For the Nimar Forests alone it was anticipated that the total charges would be Rs.8,544 and revenue Rs.25,000, giving a surplus of Rs.16,456, against Rs.4,574 in 1863-4 before the reservation. The last paragraph of the Resolution is of interest : “Referring to para. 50 of the Report, the desirability of securing the lease of other contiguous forests from Holkar and the Jagheerdar of Chandgurh, by which more natural boundaries will be obtained, should receive the Officiating Chief Commissioner's attention. The increasing wants of the railway, and of the public generally, plainly indicate that forest operations cannot be overdone in these parts. The question of proprietary rights, referred to in paragraph 40 of the Officiating Conservator's Report, should also be disposed of at an early date." In addition to the above-mentioned remarks of the Secretary of State in this matter, he wrote (Rev. For., No. 10, dated 28th February, 1866): “These measures appear to have received careful consideration, and to have been framed so as to confer benefit on the inhabitants of the district, as well as on the Government and the community in general, by preserving the supply of timber and fuel. It is clearly desirable to secure leases of the neighbouring tracts of forest, that uniform measures of conservancy may prevail throughout the whole of the district." In July, 1864, the Chief Commissioner had proposed to divide the territory over which the operations of the Forest Department extended into six main divisions, each division to be made the separate charge of an Assistant Conservator, with the requisite establishment, the whole to be under the general supervision and direction of the Conservator. This proposal was referred to the Financial Department, Government of India, the Chief Commissioner being at the same time requested to furnish a statement of the income present or prospective that might be expected to meet the new charge, and a sketch map showing the area of the proposed divisions, and the extent to which the district Civil Officers could co-operate in forest management. The following were the recommendations made : “I. The partition of the forests in the Central Provinces into six permanent divisions. II. The permanent appointment of an Assistant Censervator to each division; three on Rs.500 each and three on Rs.400 each. III. The revision of the subordinate forest establishment, and the final adoption of the establishment now recommended. These measures involve an addition to the present scale of establishment of Rs.201 per mensem, raising the permanent cost thereof to Rs.6,252 per mensem, or Rs.75,024 per annum, The six divisions, which it is proposed to make permanent, are already constituted as follows: A Division, comprising the districts of Saugor, Damoh, Mandla, Jubbulpur and Bijoragogurh. B Division, comprising Raipur, Bilaspur, Sambulpur (the Chutteesghur Division). C Division, comprising Nursingpur, Seoni and two-thirds of Chindwarra. D Division, comprising Nimar and two-thirds of Hoshung abad. E Division, comprising Betul, one-third of Hoshungabad, and one-third of Chindwarra. F Division, comprising Nagpur, Bhundara, Chanda, Wurdah and Upper Godavery." The following table shows the area of each division, and the establishment proposed to be employed under the Forest Officers, exclusive of Office Establishment : Though much has been done in the way of demarcating reserved forests, yet much remains to be done. The unreserved forests are only beginning to yield revenue. These last are under the charge of the Civil Officers, who are aided by “darogahs.” The Chief Commissioner is of opinion that, even after the forests are in proper working order, the development of operations will demand the retention of the same number of Assistant Conservators as are now employed, of whom four are permanent and two temporary; and the main object of the present proposal is to obtain confirmation of the two temporary appointments. It is observed that, in a recent Despatch on the progress of forest management in the Central Provinces during the year 1863–4, the Secretary of State remarked as follows : Para. 3. There is, however, much to be done before the system is really established, and it seems evident that, without a larger staff of European officers to act as Assistant Conservators than the Department has hitherto had, the progress cannot be as rapid nor as satisfactory as could be wished. The six divisions among which the work of such districts as are brought under conservancy is apportioned are very extensive, and require each an Assistant Conservator; and it is not, as Mr. Temple remarks, desirable that the Conservator himself should undertake the direct management of any one of these divisions. There are, however, only four of these officers for the six divisions, and even these divisions do not comprise the whole of the forests which require superintendence; a most important block, all the forests from Deogurh in the west to the Lanjee Hills in the east, being left out of the arrangement. Dr. Brandis, from his great experience in forest matters, urges the necessity of valuation surveys of the forests being taken, and the importance of the selections for cutting being all made by competent officers. He approves the formation of provisional reserves, from which ultimately the actual reserves will be taken. This measure, although it will render more supervision necessary at first, will, it may be expected, ultimately require less. It will, I am of opinion, be a short-sighted policy if we stint the measures of conservancy, more particularly at this time, when their importance is recognised not by ourselves alone, but by the owners of private forests, and when the requirements of the railways in India have opened a fresh market for timber, by the demand for wood for sleepers, and for other purposes connected with the construction of the lines.” The remarks in the first paragraph of this extract are not altogether applicable to the present time, but in other respects there is much force in them. Other modifications in the existing establishment are also proposed, involving both increases and decreases as shown in the following table : |