V. K. Seth , K. P. Tiwari

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V. K. Seth , K. P. Tiwari

Abstract

The paper highlights the results of the socio-economic survey of Forest
labourers carried out in Kesla and Rampur-Bhatodi sub.projects under MPSFLC.
The employment of forest labourers 50 far has been of a casual nature which
has resulted in per capita low productivity A clasiification of forest labourers
into six distinct units namely Tribal and non-tribal forest villagers. Tribal
and non-tribal permenent Camp labourers. Tribal ane Don-tribal Temporary
Camp labourers was found to be culturally. Socially and economically significant,
A comprehensive sociological and economic analysis on Inheritance, Family
structure, Sustenance and Nutrition Health and Education, Attitude towards
Forest Works, Skill and Productivity and income and Expenditure Pattern bas
provided insight into the problems of low productivity and poor economic status of three labourers.

MPSFDC has emerged as a big change agent by providing increased level
of activity, diversity of employment throughcut the year, a chain of labour
welfare activities like housing, medical, education, grain shep vocational training
and innovative methods of work for specialization in forest works which has
broken the vicious cycle of low income and low produoivity amongst the forest
Lobourers. These measures have produced a positive response in the labour
force employed by the Corporation and have brought the staff and labour closer
together in the stupendous task of forestry development. It could be said that
for the first time forest Labour is coming to be recognisied as an integral and
important part of the system. The ideas and innovations being tried in MPSFDC
are not only worthwhile, but they are also timely. This is the way to achieve
growth with social justice and other organisation could emulate the work of
MPSFDC.

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V. K. Seth , N. D. Jaju

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Management and organasation go hand is band, and the success or failure of an organisation primarily depends on the Management cadre. It is the motivation, guidance, and control of employees at all levels Which brings success. A good organisation is one where equal opportinuties are available to people to grow and which provides for special rewards to there who do better. It is not enough to expose the weaknesses or shortcomings of employees and to punish them for the same. What is of greater importance is to ensure that employees are rewarded for good work. This Would be possible if there is a forward looking system of monitoring and performance appraisal in an organisation. The Madhya Pradesh State Forest Development Corporation, has during its four years Of existence, pioneered several significant managerial innovationas. The latest is the evolution of a methodology for monitoring and performance appraisal. The methodology for monitoring and performance appraisal has been explained in the paper. It is hased on identification of primary and secondary functions, activities and important parameters for evaluation. Points are to be allotted on the basis of field visits, compilation of data and scrutiny of returns Reports in order to determine ranking of divisions. The merit of the methodology lies in its elasticity and its applicability, with suitable adaptation to all field units down the line or to any other organisation. In MPSFDC it is proposed to evolve a system of rewards and incentives, based on monitoring and appraisal. Considerable importance is attached by the Central Government and State Governments to performance appraisal. As such this paper should be of topical interes. The State Governments could adopt this type of methodology for carrying out performance appraisals of state level Corporations and the Agriculture Ministry could use it for comparing tbe performance of the different Forest Development Corporations is the country.

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V. K. Seth , N. D. Jaju

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Corporate planning is an attempt to ensure that Managers are continually measuring their performance against the Company's long-term profit and market objectives, evaluating alternative methods of reaching their goals and keeping in touch with rapid changes in the market as well as techniques. Profit is the criterion of efficiency. In the State undertakings, social objectives are more important than profit. The MP State Forest Development Corporation aims at generating employment in the remote and under-developed areas not only to improve the standard of living of the tribal people, but also to ensure rapid economic growth by building up required infrastructure. This publication deals with financial review, profitability analysis and performance appraisal in relation to corporate objectives and socio-economic aims of MP State Forest Development Corporation. The performance appraisal should aim at finding out if the existing forest produce has been exploited as economically and expeditiously as possible and as to whether the same has been prudently replaced by raising successful plantations of economically valuable and useful species,in addition to its financial liquidity and return on capital. The study is an attempt to present for a three year period of Corporation's existence, planting performance, productivity and profit analysis, economic growth and finacial visibility, profitability and return on capital employed, financial break up of revenue expenses in relation to value of production, funds utilisation analysis,employment generation and review of staff expenses.

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V. K. Seth , K. G. Venkataraman , N. D. Jaju

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The lease rental concept evolved by the National Commission on Agriculture (NCA) in its report on "Production Forestry-Man.Made Forests" (1972) could well be regarded as a landmark in Indian Forestry. NCA had recommended that for forest areas transferred by the State Governments to Forest Development Corporations (FDCs) the State should take as revenue only an equivalent of the average revenue of previous three years it has been receiving from them and to leave tbe rest of the income from clearfelling to support the programme of harvesting and raising plantations and their maintenance plus suopporting industries. In formulating the ahove recommendation, NCA overlooked the implications of a crippling dose of corporation taxes, which would be payable by the FDCs. Actually, it has been noticed that payment of heavy corporation taxes would defeat the very purpose for which FDCs have heen formed. An in-depth study has been carried out in the Madhya Pradesh State Forest Development Corporation (of which this paper is the result) on the suggestion of the Board of Directors, as well as the State Governtnent on the implications of the lease rental concept in relation to profitability and taxation liabilities. Detailed projections have been made on assumed optimum norms for the next ten years taking into consideration the inflow of money from equities, institutional finance and liabilites for repayment of borrowed money with interest and then the pivotal role of lease rental have been examined. From. The above study, it clearly emerges tbat a static concept or lease rental in a dynamic situation of resource mobilisation fails to serve the desired purpose of transferring benefits of extended working or improved efficiency to the State Government. It cannot be denied that the State Government has a bigger stake in the activities of MPSFDC than the Centre. A new formula for the determination of lease rental has been proposed on the basis of cashflow and generation of runds and it has been shown that its adoption would ensure proper distribution of profits of MPSFDC and at the same time, provide for its growth. The suggestion is to charge 60% of tbe Gross Surplus or 15% of the Gross Income as lease rental. By adopting this new formula the distribution of gross income on the basis of lease rental, payment of corporation tax and dividends would amount to 67.2% for the State Government, 31.1% for the Central GovernlDent and 1.7% (for generation of reserves) for the Corporation. This would be in keeping with the effective contributions of the State Government and the Central Goveroment. It is hoped that this study would lead to the adoption of a pragmatic approach to the determination of lease rental for FDCs in the country on the basis of facts and reasoning rather than on emotions or ad-hocism.

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V. K. Seth , I. S. Kohli , C. S. Jain

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Periodical appraiaals of the performance of an organisation are not only desirable, but are absolutely essential to ensure its growth along healthy lines. A Company is not only an earning concern, but also an institution for instilling confidence amongst its creditors and shareholders and in the community in general. Although there are a number of aspects to the working of an organisation, profit is a fairly precise device to measure the effectiveness of its policies' and thus provide a guide to the future. Profits, not prophets, can foretell the future. This study of tbe performance of the Madhya Pradesh State Forest Development Corporation Ltd. Over a three year period, while briefly dealing with achievement of physical targets, mainly concerns itself with the performance of the Corporation in financial terms, The figures considered in the study for the first two years are those based on actuals as per audited accounts, while those for the third year (july 1977 to June 1978) are as per budget estimates. For the purpose of this study, the technique used is Trend Analysis, i.e. a study of trends of events or business operations as revealed through financial ratio analysis over this period. Financial judgements have to be based not only on the earning capacity of a concern but also on whether it has a sound base of properly proportioned assets and liabilities that can sustain it through ups and downs of business flactuations. The ratio of current assets to current liabilities for all the years is maintained at 1.9 : 1 and is quite satisfactory according to the orthodox principles of corporate finance. Fixed Assets Ratio and Proprietary Ratios are highly satisfactory, but the ratio of dividend paid to profit earned is adverse in the third year. The gross and net profit ratios have also been quite satisfactory, in the second and third year. While the study reveals tbat tbe performance of the Corporation over this period has been quite satisfactory, it also underlines an urgent need for diversification of the activities of the Corporation and setting up of industrial units by the Corporation.

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V. K. Seth

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The paper describes how within the last ten years a sound and practicable technique of carrying out thinnings in naturally regenerated teak areas has been developed and how it is being applied to the forests of Betul Division. The technique adopted is the best suited to the conditions that obtain in the forests and the results obtained are most gratifying.

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V. K. Seth

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The article describes the composition and history of the forests of Italy and then goes on to discuss the recent progress. made in that country in the field of railing fast growing species or, as they call it in Italian, trees with "rapido accrtscimento", i.e., the cultivation of trees with rapid increment. The author, who had been on a Italy tour of Italy spent six useful and instructive months in that country studying the techniques of raising plantations of fast growing species, especially poplars in the Po Valley, Conifers on the Alps and Appennines in the North and Eucalypts in the South.

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E. G. Freden , V. K. Seth , M. S. Tomar

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The paper deals with the scope of using a helicopter in inventory work in difficult or inaccessible forest areas and the experience gained in this field in the Preinvestment Survey of Forest Resources Project in India. It is for the first time that a helicopter has been used in India to assist in inventory work in inaccesible terrain. It has been found that there is an ample scope for developing this technique which could introduce more efficiency and economy in forest inventory work. Besides, the use of a helicopter would be an asset in training photo interpreters and field crews to locate field plots, check the stratification of forest areas on aerial photographs and also to check photointerpretation work by frequent visits to the forest areas. A limited use of a helicopter would also be for delineation and stratification of forest areas and for general reconnaissance purposes. An area of nearly 6000 square kilometres was selected in the Central Zone out of which nearly 40% was inaccessible. A systematic sampling design was laid out and there were 768 plots of 1/10th hectare size to be inventoried. Out of these 376 plots were actually laid out on the ground and enumeration of tree growth over them completed within a short period of 20 days by using a helicopter for reaching all the plots which were inaccessible by road.

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V. K. Seth , M. S. Tomar

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Useful experience was gained in the Preinvestment Survey of Forest Resources Organization in carrying out aerial reconnaissance with a fixed wing plane and helicopters, in the forests of Central and Southern Zones in Bastar District of Madhya Pradesh and Kerala State. The overall cost of aerial reconnaissance would not exceed 0.4 paise per hectare or Re. 0.40 per square kilometre. Considering this low figure or cost and the mass of useful information that is obtained from an aerial reconnaissance, it would be worthwhile to carry out an aerial reconnaissance of the forested area of India. This could be achieved within 150 flying hours and an expenditure of Rs.200,000.

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V. K. Seth , Y. Sudhakara Rao

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In spite of the sizeable forest area of India, its contribution to the national economy is not appreciable (being 7%). Projections of wood requirements show that by 1980 the demand for industrial wood will be 27 million cubic metres as against the present production figure of 7 million cubic metres. The challenge before the Forester would be to supply the spiralling needs of a developing industrial economy. This can be met by regarding forestry as an economic activity and investing heavily on measures to maximize production. Forestry improvement works are a long-term investment, requiring continuity of plan. Several instances have been given in this paper of the setting up of autonomous bodies and national forestry funds in different countries. The scope of participation by bodies like the Agriculture Refinance Corporation, Life Insurance Corporation, Industrial Finance Corporation, banks and industries has been highlighted.

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V. K. Seth

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The pulp and paper industry in Japan has made rapid strides in recent years. It has scored an annual growth rate of 10 per cent and now occupies the world's third position. Paper and board production is expected 10 rise from 12.2 million tons in 1970 to 35.4 million tons in 1990. The accompanying rise in the requirement of pulpwood would be from 22.7 to 86.7 million cubic metres. Domestic pulpwood production in Japan could not be raised beyond 31.2 million cubic metres. There would be a huge deficit pulpwood in Japan (to the tune of nearly 55 million cubic metres annually). At prresent Japan is importing pulpwood and pulp from several countries. Several new projects are also under way. There is a growing trend for importing pulpwood in the form of chips. Due to tecbnologiical advances and intensive research, the percentage use of hardwood chips is going up rapidly. The paper sets out to describe some of the salient feature of the Japanese pulp and paper industry and some of the recent arrangements made with Australia for the supply of eucalypt chips. India could also play an active role in the matter of supply of hardwood chips to Japan. This trade would be to tbe mutual advantage of both countries. The forests of Godavari catchment are known to contain rich, though undeveloped and uncommitted hardwood resources and it should be possible to export 1 million tons of hardwood chips from these forests to Japan via Vishakhaptatnam, Kakinada and Paradeep Ports. Iron ore is already being exported from these areas, and it is estimated that the value of total exports of iron ore and hardwood chips from tbese areas could be Rs. 930 million annually (Rs. 730 million for iron ore and Rs. 200 million for chips). The investment required for undertaking chip supply to Japan would be around Rs. 40 million. This trade would provide ample employment opportunities in the rural sector and would confer a rich economic value on the hitherto untapped and uncommitted hardwood resources. In addition, this trade would augment the earnings of forest departments and give a much needed boost to the question of intensification of forest management and raising of industrial plantations of fast growing species for the pulp and paper industry The hesitation of the Indian pulp and paper industry for using more and more hardwoods as raw material would be largely removed by the example set by tbe Japanese industry and the way would be paved for the setting up of large new pulping and paper manufacturing units in the hitherto undeveloped forest areas.

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V. K. Seth

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V. K. Seth

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The forests of Bastar district in Madhya Pradesh are very much in the news. The rich, untapped resources of the region await stepped-up development. The paper acts out to assess the forest resources of Bastar and to formulate an action programme for an integrated development of these resources, and forest-based industries. The principles on whicb the forests could be worked have also been touched upon briefly. The region holds a promise of yielding hlgb dividends on investments and, apart from providing gainful employment to the rural populace, it can help substantially in meeting the spiralling needs of the country of wood and wood-products.

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V. K. Seth

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The paper deals with the question of surveys of forest resources for industries. For a proper knowledge of the forest resources of a country, region or an industrial catchment, it is necessary to assess reasonably accurately the volume of the existing growing stock and other connected indices such as increment, drain, accessibility, etc. All these are obtained through forest resources surveys. The survey methodology and techniques which have been developed in several countries have been described, and the role of aerial photography and photo-interpretation in modern surveys has been highlighted. There is much to commend in the inclusion of a provision in the Canadian Forest Act for carrying out provincial inventories and the allocation of Federal assistance for this purpose. The Swedish and Finnish National Forest Surveys could serve as useful models, and the concept of a "continuous inventory" on a national scale, which has been developed in them, could constitute the ideal to aim at. Nevertheless, keeping the financial considerations and technological stage of development of a country in mind, it would be necessary to tailor the surveys to provide the required data and answers. The use that is made in Sweden and more especially in Finland of forest Inventory data for formulating silvicultural, management and industrial plans, shows what an important role such resource surveys can play. The MERA development plan for Finland could serve as a good illustration. The idea of financing a resource survey in Mexico by a Bank is worthy of emulation by developing countries. This would generate a healthy developmental trend and provide the much needed capital for formulating regional development plans based on resource survey. Wood-based industries, especially those of pulp and paper, are capital-intensive items and it would be appropriate for any country to decide to invest say at least one per cent of the projected outlay on resource surveys of the areas from where raw materials are to be obtained.

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V. K. Seth , M. S. Tomar

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Small scale photographs on 1:60,000 scale have been used for forest resources survey over 10,416 sq km in East-Godavari, Andhra Pradesh during the year 1970. The photographs were used for location of sample plots on ground, eliminating non-forested plots from ground cruising, area estimates of different landuse and forest cover types and locating them on one-inch maps. The various landuse and forest cover types interpreted on aerial photographs are (1) agriculture including habitation, (2) water surface, (3) blanks and grasslands, (4) shifting cultivation, and (5) forest land. The forest land was further stratified in (a) high volume, (b) medium volume, (c) low volume and (d) plantations. The three volume strata were further sub-classified into five crown density classes of 20%. Suitable plantation sites were also interpreted. The main contribution of photo interpretation lies in making error in area estimation very small. Estimation of stratum area from ground data alone is subject to high sampling error. Therefore, estimation of total volume by strata, taking area information from photo and volume/ ha from ground plots, results in significant gains in precision. This is in addition to the landuse and forest cover types maps which are obtainable from aerial photo-interpretation as by-product. The cost of photography, photo-interpretation, area calculation and mapping (excluding the cost of ground sampling) came to Rs. 8.00 sq km.

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V. K. Seth , B. C. Kharbanda

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The pulp and paper industry in India has developed significantly during the last two decades and has to grow steadily during the coming years. With the growth of the industry the use of hardwoods as raw material has also been increasing. The need to evolve grading procedures for hardwood pulping material had been stressed at the Hardwood Conference which was held at Dehra Dun in 1971. This paper puts forward ideas on grading hardwoods for pulping and illustrates them by applying them to the forest resources of Bastar for whicb a good deal of inventory information is available. It bas been shown that at least 50 percent of the net available volume of the growing stock in the Sal, Teak and Miscellaneous Strata per hectare could be taken as belooging to the better grades of pulpwood. Similar studies could be done for different regions of the country and a national system of grading could be evolved. The effect of intensification of management, reduction of rotations and raising of fastgrowing plantations of pulpwood species on the production of better grades of pulpwood has also been examined. The need for evolving grading procedures or pulpwood would soon be felt both in the forestry and industrial sectors if it has not already been felt. Development of Pulp and Paper Industry in India.

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V. K. Seth

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In this paper an appraisal has been done of trained manpower requirements in the forestry and forest-industries sectors for the year 1985 based on prognoses of demands for industrial wood and fuelwood. Norms have been adopted for working out requirements of technicians (Rangers) based on F.A.O. studies and experience in the field. The requirements of supervisory staff (Officers) have been worked out by adopting supervision ratios. Based on a projected demand in 1985 of 50 million cubic metres of industrial wood and 300 million cubic metres of fuelwood, the requirement of technicians and officers works out to 30,000 and 7500 respectively in round figures as against the 1970 figures of 6000 and 1900. To fill this large gap nearly 500 officers and 2000 technicians will have to be trained annually with an input of Rs. 20 million. For this purpose more training institutions and centres will be required. There is a pressing need for an evaluation of national manpower requirements in the forestry sector and integrating human resources planning with economic development. It is hoped that this study will help in the identification, formulation and operation of new projects in the field of forestry education, the establishment of priorities and the coordination of the efforts of governments and industries.

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V. K. Seth , L. C. Sharma

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V. K. Seth

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The forests of Madhya Pradesh account for nearly a quarter of the total forest area of the country. Likewise, the Bamboo potential of the State constitutes nearly one fourth of the total potential of the country. Since the availability of Bamboo is a major constraint for the development of the pulp, paper,and newprint Industry, an appraisal has been made in this paper of the Baboo potential of the State, and its distribution by broad regions. Based on this study a blueprint bas been put forward for the allocation of capacities, and for the location of new units. It has been shown in this paper that the total capacity which Madhya Pradesh could claim would be 800,000 tonnes of finisbed products, which works out to 10 per cent of the projected requirements of the country for the year 1988-89. The break-up by items of manufacture would be : paper, and paper board 400,000 tunes; newsprints 250,000 tonnes; and rayon grade pulp 150,000 tones. It bas been shown in the paper that the setting up of pulp, paper, and newsprint mills would, contribute significantly to the economy of the State, and that the benefits to the backward and remote areas would be significant. The Government of Madhya Pradesh have recently taken a decision to nationalize Bamboo trade. This would present the State authorities an excellent opportunity of reviewing past policies, and actions with a view to formulating a rational and pragmatic policy of allocating the Bamboo resources for the development of pulp, paper, and newsprint industries.

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V. K. Seth

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Forestry Sector, in India, is in dire need of proper scientific evaluation techniques for planning and monitoring modern projects, howsoever complex they may be. The evaluation techniques employed presently are of statistical nature. They may spell out the progress of work done and the balance of work yet to be done, but they fail to determine the interdependence of different activities in terms of time at any fixed moment. The quality of evaluation of different parameters is, therefore, not upto the mark, and this could be one reason why higher investments are not attracted in the Sector. Network Analysis is one of the latest techniques used for planning and scheduling all non-repetitive projects. It is known by different names such as Programme Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method (CPM). It is being extensively used in industrial and construction projects at the moment, and if used in Forestry Sector, is sure to better the planning and management practices. It will also enable greater attention being paid to the activities requiring emphasis in order to optimise resources as well as completion of targets. Network analysis is composed of three parts, the first dealing with graphic representation of events and activities, the second with activity duration time and other categories, of time, and the last with the scheduling. Use of this technique has been illustrated of this article through an example of a project for "Development of Virgin Forest Resources". The Scheduling part of the illustration has with been dealt through bar charts drawn to the predetermined time scale.

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V. K. Seth

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Inspite of its rich forest resources and its central location, the State of Madhya Pradesh does not have a single veneering and plywood unit. In this paper an appraisal has been made of the forest potential of the State, and a plea has been made for the esablishment of six units, which would require 20,000 cubic metres of Teak timber and 70, 000 cubic metres of miscellaneous timber. Likely locations of the proposed six units have been indicated. These units could produce 11.25 million sq. metres of plywood. Investments on setting up the units would be Rs.90 million. Market value of manufactured items would be Rs. 105 million. Royalty earning of Forest Department would be Rs.27 million annually. Employment generation potential would be 10,000.

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V. K. Seth

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Due to an escalation in prices of paper and paper boards, there is a scramble for the establishment of mini paper and strawboard units in the country. Madhya Pradesh, by virtue of its central geographical situation, happy power position, plentiful availability of water and substantial incentives and concessions offered, could well be the first choice for investment decisions. In this article a case has been made out for the establishment, during the next five years, of 10 mini paper units of 10 tonnes per day capacity and the same number of mini strawboard units in Madhya Pradesh, indicating their locations and pointing out their contribution to the country in general and the State in particular.

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