Van Panchayats , the village forest councils set up under rules framed in 1931, are a feature of which hills?

The correct answer is B, the Kumaon hills. After years of protest against the reservation of hill forests, the colonial government allowed Kumaon villages to manage part of the civil forest themselves through elected Van Panchayats under rules framed in 1931. A Van Panchayat regulates grazing, the lopping of fodder and the collection of fuel in its own forest, and the institution still survives in Uttarakhand, where it is one of the oldest working examples of community forest management in the country.

Option A is wrong because the Nilgiris are managed through sanctuaries, tea estates and tribal settlements. Option C is wrong because the Khasi hills work through clan and durbar control of land, including sacred groves, not Van Panchayats. Option D is wrong because the Aravallis have Orans and bani patches instead.