How can there be sustainable development when so many people are dependent on forests for their livelihood?
Sustainable development generates revenue. One must understand that there is no trade-off between sustainability and development in the long-term perspective. When sustainability is achieved, there will be a transitional period when you have to make investments to make sustainable use of forests possible.

Forests as well as wildlife species have been vanishing at an alarming rate in India. Don't you think we should stop felling trees altogether?
Forests are a renewable resource and you can cut trees as long as you plant more of them. You have to have a landuse plan for purposes such as preserving biodiversity, recreational purposes and maintaining a certain area of forest for carbon sequestration.

Sustainability doesn't mean that you lock up the forest. You can use the forest and still preserve it. Besides, India falls within the 15-18 biggest forest countries of the world. At the same time it has only 1.8 per cent of world's forests. The problem is that if you view forest resource in relation to per capita to the population, you have very little forests. That is why your policy of increasing forest cover is a step in the right direction.

Economic benefits from forest produce is one thing. But how can one put a price tag on wildlife and the ecological functions of forests?
Forests have two functions