Final report of the second regular settlement of the Mianwali district

· 1908 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

212. The fixed assessments of Mr. Thorburn in the Mianwali and Isakhel

3Tahsils wore fair ones, but the extension

4of cultivation considerably lightened the

5weight of the demand. Owing, however, to the extremely variable nature of culti-

6vation suspensions amounting to Rs. 74,817 in Mianwaliand Rs. 38,946 in Isakhel

7had to be granted during the currency of the Sottlement, although the greator

8pari of the suspended revenue was recovered from time to time in good years, the

9total remissions amounting to Rs. 18,461 in Mianwali and Rs. 5,628 in Isakhel.

10The rates fixed for the riverain tract of the two tahsils were, Lowever, very full,

11and would have told heavily on the Kacha villages, had it not beon for the intro-

12duction, with the sanction ofthe Financial Commissioner, of the system of allowing

13remissions of revenue on account of failure of crops. On the whole, therefore, the

14Kacha did not fare badly either. In the southern tabsils, the riverain tract was

15asacssed at admittedly light rates (paragraph 9 of Settle ment Commissioner's

16review of the Indus Valley Assessment Report), and the assessment therefore

17worked quite satisfactorily on the whole. The assessment fixed by Mr. Tucker

18for the Bhakkar-Ieiah Thal worked well for a few years, but a cycle of bad

19Seasons commencing with 1886 resulted in its complete break-down. Steps were

20taken to introduce fluctuation, and eventually in 1892 the Financial Commissioner

21drew up a set of instructions authorizing tho remission of the revenue of a well

22or sharo of a well which was abandoned and the re-imposition of the same jama

23when the well was again brought under cultivation. These instructions were

24acted upon, but in effect, tho revenue not collected under these rules remained

25under suspension. The grazing assessment was also heavy and inelastic, and

26portions of the demand had to be suspended from time to time. ‘rhe total

27suspended revenue stood at—

28Bhakkar way aa .y Rs. «74,922 : ‘

29Leia note BE go'sa4 Rs 205,246 besides

30Rs. 11,970 cemitted from time to time, and the former sum had to be struck off

31the demand at the introduction of the now assessment.

32Working of the first Regular Settlement.

33CHAPTER JII.—PROGRESS SINCE LAST SKTTLEMENT.

3413. The total area of the district is 4,989,774 or close on 5 million acres,

35of which rather more than 18 per cent.

36. 33 unculturable, consisting mostly of

37hills, sand or river bed. Ovor 16 per cent. of the ares is incinded in Government

38Rakhs. ‘lho waste area available for cultivation represents 56 per cent. of the

39total, Only 14 per cont. of the total arca is cultivated. The small proportion of

40cultivation is due to the space taken up by the hills and by the extensive graz-

41ing waste in the Thal. The whole area of the Thal excluding cultivation has

42been returned as culturable waste for purposes of assessment of grazing fees,

43although some of the larger sandhills arc incapable of growing any crops what-

44ever, The total cultivated area registered at last S-ttlement was 475,173 acres,

45the corresponding figure now being 708,815 (see Appendix [1). The cultivated

46area would thus appear to have increased 41 per cent. But for reasons given in

47paragraph 17 of the Assessment Report of the Mianwali and Isakhel Tahsils, the

48comparison is not correct. The “cultivated area” in its present significance is

49a wider term than it was at last Settlement, The average sown area of a period

50f 5A i years prececing reassessment was 623,450 acres, which gives

51an increase of 81 per cent. over the cultivated (which was the same as sown) area

52of last Settlement. In this case the increase shown is not large enough, because

53the sown area of last Settlement covered three harvests. The true increaso of

54cultivation may therefore be estimated between 31 and Al per cont., or say 36

55per cent. ‘The avcrage cropped area given in Appendix II to this report is that

56upon which the assessments were based, 7.¢., for the decade 1896-97 to 1905-06 in

57Mianwuli and Isakhel, and the 5 years 1898-96 tu 1899-00 and 1896-97 to 1900-01

58respectively in the Jadus Valley and Thal Tract of the Bhakkar aad Loiah

59Tahsils. ‘The total for the district is 529,140 aores, t.e., nearly 75 per cent. of

60the area recorded as cultivated.

61Aroa.