The roots of power erosion

1893: The British notify all Himalayan wastelands as protected forests, provoking violent reactions among the people of Kumaon and Garhwal, who lose their traditional rights over forests.

1911-17: Additional areas are appropriated as reserve forests and given to the forest department. Protestors set several hectares of forests on fire.

1931: To avoid further trouble, the British create van panchayats in the Uttarakhand area under which some forests are handed over to panchayats.

1956: The post of the divisional van panchayat officer is abolished and the responsibilities transferred to the district magistrate (DM).

1970s: The forest department begins exploiting the forests and blames degradation on the people.

1976: The van panchayat rules are revised and the spending of van panchayat income is controlled by the DM.

1993: The state government issues a draft notification aimed at increasing the role of the revenue department in the control of van panchayats.

1994: The forest department proposes changes in the Indian Forest Act to wrest control of the van panchayats.