Which power balance changed in local grazing systems as the forest department grew stronger?

Local use began depending on official permission

When a forest department became stronger, authority over forests and grazing did not remain mainly with local users. Officials could mark forest boundaries, issue permits, decide when and where grazing was allowed, and punish use that broke official rules. As a result, activities that had earlier been based on custom or community practice increasingly depended on government permission. This changed the balance of power from local control toward administrative control.

Option C is correct because it directly describes this change: local use became dependent on official permission. Option A is impossible because pastoralists did not become owners of the forest department. Option B reverses the direction of authority, while option D wrongly gives villages complete power to make forest laws. The key evidence is the shift from customary access to regulated access controlled by officials.

This is a Class 9 History question. Chapter: Pastoralists in the Modern World. Topic: Colonial Rule and Pastoral Life.