1 ( 4 )
2 of free timber, firewood and grazing to land-owners for their own use, and for
3 agricultural and domestic purposes only.
4 18. The local officer, Mr. Ellis, with much zeal and with praiseworthy
5 painstaking, endeavoured to remedy various evils; but I
6 soon perceived that his perfectly well-meant efforts, which
7 were violently opposed of course by all classes, and even by the local authori-
8 ties, could not avail to effect a permanent and satisfactory system of forest
9 Pe ees ek control without a definite distribution of forests into “ Ke-
10 " gerved” (for strict control) and “ Unreserved” (for the
11 wants of the people subject only to general protective regulations).
12 19. I accordingly met Mr. Philip Egerton, then Commissioner of the
13 Rules providing for ae Division, and, in concert with him and with Mr. Murray,
14 paration of forest area. the Deputy Conservator of the Division, and Mr. Ellis,
15 the local.Assistant Conservator, after two days’ careful discussion of the whole
16 subject, drew up a set of rules which I afterwards cast into a more formal shape
17 and submitted for sanction under Act VII. of 1865. It is expected, I may
18 add (though this does not appertain to the year 1871-72), that they will soon
19 appear in the Crazette.
20 Attempted remedy.
21 90. The main feature of the rules, as far as this section is concerned, is
22 that the second-class rakhs are to be managed as strictly reserved forests, being
23 undeniably the property of the State absolutely, and that, to settle the conser-
24 vancy of the Marri and Kahtita Tahsils, an area of the best forest, not to exceed
25 30 per cent. of the whole waste land, is to be ‘“‘reserved” free of all rights
26 (except in certain cases, which are unavoidable, and which will have clearlye
27 defined and recorded rights only). The remaining 70 per cent. is open as, in
28 fact, a sort of “communal” forest to the wants of the people. Governinent,
29 however, have the right to cut fuel and timber within such area, provided they
30 do so with regard to the wants of the people, so as not to diminish the supply.
31 The management of this tract is mainly to be carried out by the village head-
32 men, who are to report the number of trees felled, &c., by permit to right-holders.
33 A distribution of a portion of the proceeds of forest sales is to be mado to
34 deserving headmen and others.
35 91. The preliminaries for this selection of the 30 per cent. of reserves
36 have been taken, but I expect will not be completed with
37 a proper survey for some time. It appears that somo years
38 ago an attempt was made to reserve the best tracts (under what orders I cannot
39 Former attompt to re- discover), and pillars were actually put up with a view to
40 servo forests revived and indicating such places. The Deputy Commissioner has
41 old pillars restored. kindly directed, at my request, the restoration of these
42 pillars, and it may be found that the reservation of tracts can bo done merely
43 by following or slightly improving on these bounds.
44 Progress made.
45 29, To facilitate the survey, the Surveyor-General has been ‘asked for
46 poi aries charts showing the fixed points of the trigonometrical
47 ie aceney on Captain survey and lines of intersection ; and by using these points
48 Waco’s ‘plane table sys- ond determining certain subsidiary ones asa basis the
49 oe remainder of the survey will be carried out by the plane-
50 table,—a simple plan on which Captain Wace of Hazdéra has prepared a most
51 valuable paper, which might well be published, as its interest for all Settlement
52 and Forest Officers is very great.
53 93. ILloshidrpir Forests.—The complete settlement of the Lohara Forest
54 District, by consent of the people, was fully reported on last
55 year, and & paper on the subject is in the Report of the
56 Conference of 1871-72, page 61.
57 Lohara Forest settled.
58 24, Permanent boundary pillars, to replace the temporary ones at impor-
59 Demarcation made per- tant points, are being erected, and maps are in the course
60 sacha of preparation to supplement the map which was first
61 made, and shows on a “ general map” the position of the new reserved blocks
62 of Lohara.