The rural people in India, particularly the tribals and poor, depend on forest resources for meeting their energy needs, forest products, and for employment. This paper gives details of one estimation of dependency of people on forests in villages in the Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Gujarat states of India. Benefits derived by the people were reflected as a percentage of the total income of the house-hold. The dependency on forests varies from 37% to 76% in these villages. This kind of assessment would create a data base and provide indicators of sustainable forest management, especially for an understanding of the intricacies of Joint Forest Management. This information can be very useful in deriving the overall contribution of the forestry sector in the national economy and thus help the planners, administrators and foresters in evolving better management practices.