Forest Manual Volume IV.Pdf
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(For office use only) FOREST DEPARTMENT HIMACHAL PRADESH FOREST MANUAL Volume-IV (Technical Matters) CHIEF MINISTER VIRBHADRA SINGH HIMACHAL PRADESH SHIMLA-171 002 MESSAGE Forests, constitute the essential life support system besides being source of timber, fuel, fodder, medicines etc. Besides their aesthetic and cultural value, forests are rich repository of biodiversity and recognized for their role in regulation of air quality and climate, soil formation and nutrient recycling and in hydrological cycle. Almost 66% of the area of the state is legally defined as forest land. This underscores the importance of forests in the lives of people of Himachal Pradesh and burdens Forest Department to shoulder responsibility. The importance of a Departmental manual can scarcely be overstated. It lays down the manner in which the department transacts its business and must therefore internalize the elements of propriety, simplicity and procedural clarity along-with the need for efficiency. I am sure the Forest Department in its endeavour has inked best ideas and practices. I wish the Department all the success and hope that the Manual will prove to be a handy tool for forest officials and officers. (Virbhadra Singh) Forest Minister THAKUR SINGH BHARMOURI Himachal Pradesh MESSAGE The state of Himachal Pradesh is blessed with natural resources. Forests of the State are important catchments for five major rivers i.e. Beas, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej & Yamuna that flow through it. Out of the total geographical area of 55,673 Km2, about 37,000 Kms2 is forest land and is managed by the Forest Department. Forest Department of Himachal Pradesh is one of the oldest department and one of the biggest in terms of its vast spread. The Department performs multifarious functions and its character has changed over the decades from being a regulatory entity into an organization that is aligned with development, while fulfilling the needs of the community. The changes in Government orders and notifications etc. are required to be reflected in a compiled form easily accessible to all. Against this backdrop, it gives me great satisfaction to know that Department has thoroughly revised and updated the Forest Manuals as a set of 4 Manuals relating to various aspects of forest administration and management like Acts & Rules, Service matters, Budget & Accounts and Technical matters. It shall be the Department's endeavor to make full use of the new Manuals in their day to day working. (Thakur Singh Bharmouri) Additional Chief Secretary (Forests) TARUN SHRIDHAR I.A.S. Government of Himachal Pradesh MESSAGE Forest Department of Himachal Pradesh, apart from fulfilling its traditional role of a regulator and protector, is now being called upon to take up the emerging challenges relating to management of forests, climate change, fulfilling the aspirations of various forest dependent communities and other stakeholders and generally being in sync with the changing times. These changes are also reflected in the various facets of forest administration and have called for a thorough and comprehensive revision and compilation of Forest Manuals in the form of Acts & Rules, matters relating to Budgeting, matters relating to Establishment and those relating to Technical issues. It gives me immense satisfaction to know that Forest Department has brought out a set of Forest Manuals which are a revision of earlier Manuals and I congratulate the officer Shri P.K. Sinha, APCCF (Rules & Manuals) and also the staff working with him who have painstakingly gone over each Act/Rule/Order & Notification and Technical matter and brought out the new set of Forest Manuals. The utility of such a compilation can hardly be emphasized and it is my hope that the new Manuals would be used by all the officers and staff, resulting in clarity and ease of operations. (Tarun Shridhar) Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & SUSHIL SRIVASTAVA I.F.S. Head of Forest Force, Himachal Pradesh PREFACE Forest Department had brought out compilation of Acts & Rules, Budget & Accounts, Service Matters and Technical Matters in the form of four Manuals in the mid-eighties under the guidance of Dr. M.P. Gupta, CCF, Himachal Pradesh. Since the last almost three decades many new Acts & Rules have been enacted-service matters have undergone sea change, changes have taken place in the way budgets are prepared and there have been revised delegation of financial and other powers, economy instructions etc. A need was felt to revise and update the existing Forest Manuals. The task of revising and updating the Forest Manuals was entrusted to Shri P.K. Sinha, Addl. Pr.CCF and the present revision/updation is an elaborate effort carried out under his vast experience and guidance. I appreciate the hard working that has gone into revision and for bringing out the revised Manuals. I congratulate all who have contributed in compiling these Manuals, which shall be of great help to officers and staff in their day to day working in coming years. If there are any suggestions to supplement the information/ manuals the same may be sent to the Head Office so that it could be incorporated in future editions/revisions. (Sushil Srivastava) Addl. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests P. K. SINHA I.F.S. (Finance) and (Rules & Manuals) Himachal Pradesh FOREWORD It is my pleasure to present the first revision/updation of Himachal Pradesh Forest Manual which was brought out earlier in mid-eighties. I had been assigned the task of revision/updation of Forest Manuals in the year 2013 and it took me almost two years to accomplish this mammoth task. The document makes available all updated Acts, Rules, Policies and technical instructions related to Forest Department's working at one place and should prove quite useful for reference, record and general day to day working. I would like to express my gratitude to Sh. Sushil Srivastava IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (HOFF) for his constant guidance, support and motivation for enabling me to successfully complete this challenging task. I am particularly indebted to Sh. Rajnish Ahluwalia, who not only assisted me for preparation of manuals even sitting late hours, but also took the responsibility on his shoulder for carrying out the typing, setting, designing and also formatting in printable form plus whatsoever help he could have rendered. I am also indebted to Sh. Brij Thakur P.A., who carried out lot of typing works and also helped me in many ways. I am thankful to Shri Surinder Kumar Addl. PCCF, Sh. D.P. Sinha Addl. PCCF, Sh. Harsh Mittar Addl. PCCF, Shri Nagin Nanda Addl. PCCF and Sh. R. K. Sood CCF (WL) all of whom provided relevant materials pertaining to their subjects. Thanks are especially due to Sh. D. K. Vij ACF, who always helped me and remained with me during work and was of great assistance. I place on records my appreciation for Sh. Laiq Ram and Shri Mohinder Singh Peon who rendered all possible logistical support to me and my staff. I am generally indebted to all the staff at Mist Chamber Forest Complex who assisted me in every possible way. I am also indebted to Sh. Harish Gupta, Registrar (Budget) and all the staff of Budget, Accounts, Management & Sales Sections of Talland Office for providing copies of relevant records incorporated in the compilation. I am thankful to Sh. J. S. Walia, PCCF (Wild Life) for allowing me to incorporate the write up on Soil and Water Conservation in the manual on technical matters. Last but not the least, I convey my sincere gratitude to Shri Anish Sharma, DFO, Publicity, Shri Dinesh Gupta, Superintendent and Shri Vishnu Sharma, Photographer in Publicity Division for making all-out effort to get the manuscript published in the shape it has taken. I hope this compilation would be useful to not only to forest staff but also to academicians, researchers and all others who is concerned with the working of the Forest Department. (P. K. Sinha) VOLUME IV INDEX Technical Matters Sr. Subject Page CHAPTER I 1. Thinnings 1 – 5 CHAPTER II 2. Natural Regeneration of Conifers 6 – 12 CHAPTER III 3. Nursery Work 13 – 44 CHAPTER IV 4. Forest Seed 45 – 52 CHAPTER V 5. Artificial Regeneration 53 – 63 CHAPTER VI 6. Closures 64 – 65 CHAPTER VII 7. The Burning of Slash 66 – 67 CHAPTER VIII 8. Forest Maps 68 – 69 CHAPTER IX 9. Protection against Damage by Fire 70 – 76 CHAPTER X 10. Timber Extraction Works 77 – 88 CHAPTER XI 11. Construction and Repair of Buildings 89 – 116 CHAPTER XII 12. The Storage of Explosives and Methods of Blasting 117 – 120 CHAPTER XIII 13. Resin Tapping Instructions and Rules 121 – 142 CHAPTER XIV 14. Road Construction 143 – 158 CHAPTER XV 15. Aerial Ropeways 159 – 179 CHAPTER XVI 16. Biosphere Reserves 180 – 182 CHAPTER XVII 17. Soil and Water Conservation 183 - 223 CHAPTER XVIII 18. General Guidelines for Establishment of Depots 224 – 228 CHAPTER XIX 19. General Guidelines in respect of dealing with Forest Offence 229 – 242 Cases. CHAPTER XX 20. Annual Administration Reports 243 – 266 * H.P. Forest Manual (Vol. IV) on Technical Matters approved vide H.P. Govt. Letter No. FFE-B-C (1)-7/2013 dated 21st February, 2014. CHAPTER I THINNINGS A- General In order to ensure the general application of the principles of thinnings in the various types of forest found in Himachal Pradesh, which experience has shown to be the best; and to ensure continuity of policy in the matter of time and manner in which thinnings should be performed, it has become necessary to lay down standing instructions regarding the conduct of this operation for the guidance of everyone concerned. Thinning is a necessary cultural operation for the proper development and growth of forest crops.