Final report of the revised settlement of the Shahpur district, 1894

· 1894 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

2In the Mohar cirele the cultivated land was divided into three classes :—

3(1) N&aldédar, or land irrigated by torrents.

4(2) Rariddr, or land irrigated by surface drainage,

5(3) Bardni, land dependent on local rainfall only.

6In the Hill cireles there are two distinctive classes of soil—

7(1) Hail—Cand surrounded by embankments to intercept the water of

8hill torrents.

9(2) Maira—Land which receives the surplus water from the hail or

10surface drainage only.

117. ‘Lhe proportion of the cultivated area held by tenants paying rents

12Prodace estimate and in cash being only 3 per cent., whilst 35 per cent. is the

13aotunl navesament, proportion held by tenants paying rent in kind; the chief

14basis for the assessment calculations was the estimated money-value of the rent

15in kind paid by tenants. ‘lhe factors of this calculation were naturally —

16(1) The average price at which the produce can bo sold.

17(2) The area actually harvested on an average of years.

18(3) The averago outturn per acre for each kind of crop.

19(4) The share of gross produce which actually roaches the landlord.

20Mr. Wilson says the prices he assumed might safely have been higher, but

21this, as has been said in para. 4 of this review, is somowhat doubtful. ‘The

22area actually harvested tends to increase year by year even aftor allowing for

23tho fact that the tendeney of the»patwiris is to understate the area of

24crops that have failed. The increased area harvested tends to correct any error

25that may have been made by ovet-estimating prices. The third factor ‘in tho

26calenlation is the weakost, as it is difficult to estimate accurately the ontturn

27per acre. Still a fairly good estimate is gonerally possible, and Mr. Wilson’s

28estimate is, the Financial Commissioner eonsiders, quite noar enough for all

29practical purposes. The last factor is the share of the gross produce which reachos

30the landlord, and this seems to have been calculated with a liberal allowance

31for all the deductions which have to be considered, and with due consideration,

32too, for all the landlord’s receipts, inclading straw and tho profits from uncultivat-

33ed laud. Another estimate is that which is obtained by applying ‘to the pre-

34sent cultivated area the revenue rates of the former settiement corrected by the

35rise in prices. This viso in prices is shown in para, 51 of the report to be something

36like 80 per cent., but the Settlement Collector took it at only 40 per cent.,

37because he thinks that in the present measurements a larger area of fallow was

38included in the cultivated area than was thecase at the regular settlement, and

39because the quality of the land newly brought under enltivation is probably infe-

40rior to the quality of the land previously under cultivation. Evenon this computa-

41tion the estimate fonnded on the old revenne rates exceeds the half net assets

42estimate. Finally, it was decided to fix the actual assessment at four-fifths of the

43half net assets estimte and defer a portion of the enhanced demand for five years.

44The general result is that the assessmont, as it now stands, is Rs, 5,94,052 or 38

45per cent. more than the assessment of the lust. year before revision, or 46 per

46cent. more if the water advantage revenue is included. The final assessment

47will be Rs. 6,44,864, or 49°29 per cent. more than the assessments of the year

48before revision when the deferred assessments fall in. Including water

49advantage revenue, the final assessment will be Rs. 6,73,064 or 56:98 per cent,

50more than the revenue of the last year before revision. The Financial Com-

51missioner’s forecast of the increased revenne to be obtained from the revised

52assessments was Rs. 5,85,000, so that the actual assessments have considerably

53exceeded the forecast. a

54&, The Commissioner considers the increase taken large, but. not too large

55Term of revised settle. Tf tho great increase in cultivation and gencral prosperity are

56meut. taken into consideration. The Government of India noted

57with reference to the assessments of the Klusbib tahstl, that the average

58incidence of the assessment was in spite of the rise in prices less per cultivated

59acre under the new than under the provions settlement, and that tho half net

60assets estimate was framed on an unduly low scale of prices and snegosted that