Which is the most balanced explanation of the causes of deforestation?

Correct answer: यह कृषि, राजस्व, रेलवे, जहाज, बागान और व्यापारिक जरूरतों से जुड़ी थी — It was linked with agriculture, revenue, railways, ships, plantations and trade needs

Deforestation under colonial rule resulted from several interacting economic and administrative demands rather than from one isolated cause. Forests were cleared for cultivation and to expand taxable land; timber was required for railway sleepers, construction and shipbuilding; and natural forests were replaced by commercially valuable plantations. Expanding trade also encouraged the extraction and sale of forest products. Option C is the most balanced because it includes this range of agricultural, revenue, transport, industrial and commercial motives. Option A unfairly reduces the process to farmers, option B ignores human policy, and option D reverses the historical meaning of deforestation.