What policy did British rule adopt to control forests?

Correct answer: Forest laws and forest departments

The direct answer is A: forest laws and forest departments. Colonial governments wanted to regulate forests, obtain timber and control how people used forest land and products. They therefore made forest laws and created forest departments to survey, classify and administer forests. These measures often declared some areas as reserved or protected and limited customary activities such as grazing, collecting fuelwood or hunting. Option A is correct because laws provided the legal rules and forest departments enforced or administered them. Option B, sea laws, concerns maritime matters and does not specifically create control over forests. Option C, sports rules, has no connection with managing woodland resources. Option D, folk song rules, concerns cultural expression and cannot explain government control of forest land. The important reasoning chain is: colonial economic and administrative interest → forest laws and departments → restrictions and official control. A weak student should notice that the question asks for a policy, so the option containing both an official law and an administrative department is strongest. Memory cue: “Forest control came through forest laws plus forest departments.”