Holta village initiated its own protection practices of communal land conservation (sanjaiti) around 1986.
According to the Holta villagers the water sources of the village had dried up and firewood and fodder had become scarce, as a result of unregulated and excessive forest use by surrounding villages and encroachments on the village land by local families. This compelled some village youth to lead by example as they began giving up their own encroachments, thus convincing the other encroachers to vacate the land. The village appointed an informal Forest Protection Committee (FPC), which had elected representatives from all hamlets and castes. The committee formulated a set of rules for grass, tree leaf fodder and firewood collection. These rules were strictly enforced.
Initially the committee did not have any women representatives. However, within a short while the committee realized that the women from their village as well as the neighbouring village continued to steal firewood and grass from the forest. These failed efforts in preventing women from stealing forest resources led the committee to induct four women as members of the committee.
Since Holta was part of the Tehri riyasat it did not have any van panchayat. The village initiated its own protection practices of communal land conservation (sanjaiti) around 1986.
The village appointed an informal Forest Protection Committee (FPC), which had elected representatives from all hamlets and castes and they set strict rules and penalties for people trespassing demarcated no-go areas.
By 2000 most biomass needs of the villages were met by the rejuvenated forests.