What was the purpose of setting up Van Panchayats?

The correct answer is Option (1) → It allowed women to develop nurseries and nurture tree saplings for planting in the hill slopes.

Option (1) It allowed women to develop nurseries and nurture tree saplings for planting in the hill slopes. — Correct. In Uttarakhand women do most of the work, villagers still cook with firewood, and deforestation made women walk many miles for firewood and fodder. To overcome this, women set up van-panchayats, whose members develop nurseries and nurture tree saplings for planting on the hill slopes and also police nearby forests against illegal felling.

Option (3) It helped women fight against domestic violence in the village. — Incorrect. Punishing men who harass women for dowry and commit violence against them is the work for which the Nyaya Panchayats, the village courts, have been effective, not the van panchayats.