§ 13. Mr. SIMPSONasked the Under-Secretary of State for India in what provinces the Forest administration is a reserved subject and, in those provinces, what percentage of the gazetted staff is European; and whether any difficulty has been experienced in obtaining Indian candidates for the Forest service in those provinces?
§ Mr. RICHARDSThe administration of Forests is a reserved subject in every province but Burma and Bombay. Indian probationers for the Imperial Forest Service are ordinarily selected in India. The Government of India have not informed my Noble Friend of any recent difficulty in obtaining the required number of qualified candidates. I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the figures asked for in the second part of the question.
§ Following are the figures:
§ The following are the percentages of European officers of the Imperial Forest Service in the provinces other than Burma and Bombay taken from the most recent lists received from India:
| Assam | … | … | 94.12 |
| Bengal | … | … | 94.44 |
| Bihar and Orissa | … | … | 84.62 |
| Central Provinces | … | … | 88.88 |
| Madras | … | … | 85.42 |
| Punjab | … | … | 78.57 |
| United Provinces | … | … | 93.93 |
§ It would be necessary to ask the Government of India for information as to the percentages of European in the gazetted staff other than the Imperial Forest Service.