How was expansion of cultivation a double benefit for colonial rule?

Correct answer: It could increase both food production and land revenue

Direct answer: Option A, it could increase both food production and land revenue. Cultivation expansion was called a double benefit because it served two colonial aims at the same time. First, more fields could produce crops and therefore increase the supply of food or other agricultural goods. Second, land brought under cultivation could be measured, assessed, and taxed, giving the government regular revenue. The fact chain is: forests cleared, agricultural area enlarged, production increased, taxable land increased, and colonial income rose. Option A correctly includes both parts of this argument. Option B is wrong because clearing forests does not automatically make them dense; it usually reduces forest cover. Option C is wrong because expanding cultivation did not end the demand for railway timber; railways still required large quantities of wood for sleepers and fuel. Option D is wrong because colonial forest and land policies often restricted customary rights of local people rather than always increasing them. The useful exam cue is that ‘double benefit’ means crops or food plus land tax, not two environmental benefits.