Why and how were plantations started in Colonial India?

Why and how were plantations started in Colonial India?

Before the arrival of Britishers, Indian landmarkss was covered with vast areas of dense forest. But the Britishers had main objective of exploiting natural resource from India to enrich themselves.
Reason for starting plantation industry
(i) Considered forest as unproductive.
(ii) Growing need of commodities in European countries.
(iii) To enhance revenue of British government
(iv) To control the misuse of forest by local people as in shifting cultivation.
To start plantation industry government gave vast areas of forest to contractors and European planters at cheap rates.
These European planters started recklessly felling of trees to make way for tea, coffee and rubber plantations.
The British Government appointed German expert Dietrich Brand is as first inspector General of Forest. He recommended formation of rules and regulation of Forest Management and helped formulate Indian forest Act, 1865. Scientific forestry was introduced when forest was cleared for plantation.