1 PACHBADRA.
2 Cost of manufacture,
3 e
4 Stock of sajt available,
5 Trade ;
6 Sales and issues of salt,
7 Sales.
8 Comparison of sales and
9 issues of salt which
10 paid full duty.
11 Sales and issues of duty-
12 free salt compared.
13 REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE NORTHERN INDIA
14 crystal formed, was somewhat inferior, It takes at least two
15 years for salt to form in full quantity in a pit, and the failure of
16 a single monsoon is not therefore as disastrous as at S4mbhar.
17 But during the past year the absence of rain reduced the depth
18 of the brine in the pits and increased its density, and caused in
19 some places a deterioration in its quality. If the rainfall in
20 1900 be even fair, the quality of the brine will be restored to
21 its normal condition.
22 The salt obtained during the year was purchased from the
23 manufacturers at the usual rate of one anna a maund. There
24 * are 269 working pits on our register, and of these 80 were
25 emptied of salt during the year, yielding onan average about
26 10,000 maunds of salt each.
27 The closing stock balance of the year appears low, but
28 this is owing to the system followed of bringing heaps upon
29 the stock account only when they have been completed by the
30 extraction of all of the salt in the pits. At the close of the
31 year there were approximately about 5 lakhs of maunds of
32 salt on the ground, and a reserve of about 12 lakhs of maunds
33 lying in the pits. These quantities are ample to meet any
34 demand likely to arise.
35 24, The sales of salt at the source during the past two
36 years are shown below. The sale price was uniform through-
37 out the year at one anna and three pies a maund (to which rate
38 it was reduced from one anna and six pies with effect from
39 the 14th December 1898); and the through traffic charge of
40 three pies a maund continued to be made on all salt cleared by
41 departmental agency.
42 : 1898-99. 1899-1900. Difference.
43 Fall duty paid salt— Mads. Mas. Mas.
44 Through trafic sales see we —:-5 41,496 10,00,897 +4,58,901
45 Ordinary trade ants ee nee 59,078 2,599 56,479
46 Total ww» 600,574 10,02,996 +-4,02,422
47 Duty free salt sold to the Jodhpur Darbar .... 1,70,000 1,23,400 —~46,600
48 Grand total of sales +» 7,70,574 11,26,396 +3,55,822
49 ee ee
50 The Jarge increase during the year in the trade in salt
51 which paid full duty was partly owing to the reduction in
52 price (three pies a maund) and freight (five pies a maund)
53 which occurred during 1898-99, but was mainly due to the
54 inferiority of the salt which was available for issue at the
55 S4mbhar Lake. Even with the reduction in cost which has
56 been effected, Pachbadra salt is dearer than Simbhar by one
57 anna a maund at the Kuchaman Road Railway Station on the
58 Lake, where the two salts meet ; and the Pachbadra trade will
59 probably fall off when, with a recurrence of seasons favourable
60 to manufacture, salt is produced at the Lake of the usual good
61 quality.
62 The sales of salt which paid full duty and the actual issues
63 during the past two years are compared below :—
64 1898-99. 1899-1900.
65 Mads. ds,
66 Sales eee pe vee ose een 6,00,574 10,02,996
67 Clearances ew. 5,75,998 9,24,811
68 Maunds 9,23,592 of the salt cleared were removed by
69 railway and only maunds 1,219 by road. No Banjara carriers
70 visited the source during the year, as the trade routes were
71 closed on account of the want of fodder and water; and the
72 small quantity of salt removed by road was conveyed on camels.
73 The Jodhpur Darbar purchased 1,23,400 maunds of sait
74 duty free during the year, and removed 1,23,693 maunds for
75 ( 14 )