1 REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE NORTHREN INDIA
2 REVIEW BYSECTIONS. been cleared. In this manner the manufacturers are paid for
3 PACHBADRA.
4 Condition of pits, charae-
5 fer of salt, and future
6 prospects.
7 every maund of salt taken from them by the Department.
8 The following figures show the payments for salt produced
9 which were made to these men during the past four years:—
10 Ri
11 Be
12 1893-94 eee ry nee gee one oo 86,765
13 1894-95 + oes ove vee vee 81,245
14 1896-96 aes to ae vee eee tes 44,386:
15 1896-97 vee
16 es = = se 44,870
17 The large payment of 1894-95 was due tothe trade of the
18 Source having been exceptionally brisk during that year and
19 in 1893-94, in consequence of the high price of Sambhar Salt.
20 Conditions were normal during the past two years, and the
21 sum paid was a little more than Rs. 44,000 annually.
22 53. There are 420 registered salt pits in the Pachbadra
23 Salt Source classified as follows :—
24 . No.
25 (1) Pits in good repair, containing good salt such as could be issued to the trade
26 under present conditions seo ane vee . 192
27 (2) Pits in bad repair, containing inferior salt which could not be issued in the
28 present state of the trade, but which might be disposed of if a failure of
29 stocks occurred at Sambhar and a rush were made on Pachbadra we 75
30 (3) Pits quite out of order, any salt in them being unsaleable see (158
31 Total ew. 420
32 ny
33 Of the pits in good order, salt was extracted from 61 during
34 the year, leaving 131 full of good salt. At the rate of maunds
35 10,000 to each pit—a low approximation—these 131 pits are
36 estimated to contain about 13 lakhs of maunds of really good
37 salt, such as is under issue at present. This quantity may be
38 looked upon as our reserve stock, in addition to the stock bal-
39 ance stored in heaps which has been given in the preceding
40 paragraph. The entire reserve of good saleable salt at this
41 Salt Source, therefore, stood as follows at the close of the past
42 year :—
43 F Mds.
44 Stock balance of salt stored in heaps
45 ove vee oe wae 8,64,292
46 Quantity of good salt lying in 131 pits in the Source... ve . 18,00,000
47 Total reserve stock «. 16,64,292
48 ————n
49 The 75 pits which are notin good repair are estimated to
50 contain about five lakhs of maunds of inferior salt. Their pro-
51 duce could only be disposed of if a failure of stocks were to occur
52 at Sambhar, and it is hoped that such a contingericy will not
53 arise.
54 A very large number of the pits which are shown not to be in
55 good condition (228 in all) are capable of being repaired and
56 of producing good salt. AsI have already mentioned. unre-
57 mitting attention has been given to improvement in this direc-
58 tion, and during the past year 30 pits which were in bad order,
59 were cleaned out and repaired, so as to be capable of yielding
60 salt of superior quality. I anticipate steady progress in the
61 future, as the manufacturers have come to understand that
62 their interests are bound up with the trade of the source, and
63 that the competition between Pachbadra and Sambhar and
64 Baragara salts is so severe that their salt has little chance in
65 the markets unless it is of superior quality. With care in
66 cleansing pits, and setting them properly with thorns to
67 facilitate the formation of good crystals, such salt can be
68 readily produced at the Pachbadra Source in large quantities,
69 Though the manufacture of salt at Pachbadra is not affect-
70 ed by climatic changes in the same manner as at the Sambhar
71 Lake, yet a certain quantity of rain is needed for the
72 renovation of the brine springs and for the dilution of the cen-
73 centrated brine in the salt pits. The rainfall of the past two
74 ( 52)