644 Forestry Quarterly 



Working Plans office, consisting of one Conservator and two as- 

 sistant Conservators, was constituted as a branch of the Inspector 

 General's office, the Inspector General arranged with the various 

 local Governments for work to be undertaken in the provinces. 

 Surveys were so necessary before plans could be undertaken that 

 working plans were held in abeyance and the office became a 

 forest surveys office. 



Working plans remained largely a matter of the personal accom- 

 plishment of the Inspector General who drew up rough schemes as 

 he toured various forests. Special working plans officers were 

 appointed in 1880 in the United Provinces, Burma and Punjab. 

 Another change was made in 1882 before these officers had an 

 opportunity to accomplish anything, when an Imperial Work- 

 ing Plans Office was constituted, presided over by a special officer 

 working under the direction of the Inspector General. The idea 

 was that the plans would be made in the various provinces by 

 local officers and would be supervised and checked by the Imperial 

 office. In 1884, they introduced another change, the working 

 plans officer became the Assistant Inspector General, all working 

 plans were sent to the Inspector General's office for checking and 

 approval. This arrangement continued until 1906. 



A Superintendent of Working Plans was then appointed at 

 Dehra Dun, who was made responsible for the maintenance of the 

 required standard in working plans. This officer, however, was 

 soon made Silviculturist, charged single-handed with the investiga- 

 tion of Indian silvictiltural problems. Obviously working plans 

 suffered. 



The pendulimi then swung back to the Inspector General, who 

 with the abolition of the Working Plans Superintendent in 1911 

 was made examiner of working plans in provinces where there were 

 no Chief Conservators. The Inspector General may also bring 

 to the notice of Local Government defects in existing working 

 plans, but may not issue instructions. 



Under the regime of the present Inspector General who has 

 selected as his assistant the previous Silviculttirist at Dehra Dun 

 there has been a renewed concentration on working plans. A 

 difficulty which still exists is the lack of officers to prepare the 

 plans, even where the necessity of plans is recognized by the local 

 governments. As has already been pointed out there are abso- 

 lutely no forest officers in the provinces excepting the number 



