TheImprovement ofTropical and Subtropical Rangelands

30& IMPROVBlD:NT OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL RANGELANDS
Sacred Groves
The sacred groves were strictly protected patches of forests that
were only occasionally utilized in times of distress. Consequently,
they had some of the best preserved natural vegetation. The British
attitude towards these groves is well expreseed in the following quot..
tion from Buchanan, one of the earliest British chroniclers of Peninsular
India:
The fOnlt. are the property of the toda of the viIlat- iD which
they are .ituated, ud ~e t~ 0lllht not to be cut without
haviDl obtained leave &om the . . . prielt to the temple of
the vill&le lod. The idol rec:eivee no~iIll for trUtml th.
permillionj but the n8llect of the ceremony of wiDl hit leave
brin.. VeDleuce on ~e piky perIOn. Th......., therefore,
merely a contrivuC8 to prevent the lOftnUIleDt &om claiminl
the property. (Buchuu 1802j reprinted 1958).
All the groves on communal land were taken by the state as
reserved forests, leaving thoee in the midst of cultivated land under
private control. In this tract, the sacred groves taken over were
constituted a so-called -green forests" from which people were authorised
to remove only dead and fallen wood. These groves retained
well-preserved tree cover throughout the colonial period.
Minor Forest
Roughly half the uncultivated land was put under the control
of the land revenue authorities of the government and constituted
either a minor forest or a leaf manure forest land. The entire local
community had full accees to the minor forest land for meeting their
fuelwood, grazing, and leaf manure requirements without payment
of any charges. This right .included the cutting of live wood. With
no communal management, the minor forests were overutilized and
depleted in many areas.
Panchayat Forests
A few pockets of minor forest land continued under the control
of local communities, which constituted a council or IHlflClatJ,tJt for
their management. With continuing control by village communities,
many such ptJflClatJ,tJt forests were managed in a IIUIItainable fahion
and retained good forest stock throughout the British period.