AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

RURAL WAGES

Casual Labour.—Cultivators in Buldhana district employ casual labourers only when there is pressure of farm work such as collecting stubbles, sowing, weeding, harvesting, etc. It is reported that there exist a general scarcity of agricutural labour in this district as a whole but particularly near about Malkapur and Kbamgaon towns. In the district as a whole, the labourers are generally paid in cash. However in few cases, payment is made in kind also. Labourers get their wages for the week on bazar day so that they can purchase their requirements of food, clothing, etc.

The method of obtaining and employing casual labour in Buldhana district is peculiar. Those cultivators who want to engage labour on their farms have to go to the labourers house early in the morning where they get the required hands. This system of getting required labour is prevalent at more than 50 per cent of the places in the district. The following statement reveals the rates of wages paid to casual labour employed throughout the district:—

WAGES OF CASUAL LABOUR IN BULDHANA DISTRICT.

It will be seen that the wage rate for a male labourer varied between Rs. 1.50 and 3 per day. The former is the lowest rate while the latter is the highest wage rate paid during busy agricultural season near Malkapur, Chikhli, Khamgaon and Shegaon towns. In Malkapur tahsil there are high rates as irrigated crops are grown. Women labourers are usually paid at half the wage rate of men labourers. Thus the women labourers receive between Re. 1 and Rs. 1.50 per day. However, it may be noted that the practice of employing child labour is not in vogue. Few cultivators particularly in some parts of Malkapur tahsil make payment to casual labourers in kind instead of in cash. In kind a man receives 4.250 kg. of grain and a woman labourer 2.500 kg. of grain. After the Second World-War money wages have not undergone any upward change though prices of food-grains have gone up. In the case of women and child labourers, the quantity of grain given as payment in kind actually decreased from 2.500 kg. to 1.814 kg. and 1.500 kg. to 1.000 kg. respectively between 1959-60 and 1968-69.

Wages paid to casual labourers employed on farms vary according to the nature of agricultural operations. Wages are determined on daily basis and are usually paid in cash. Men labourers are usually paid higher wages than woman or child labour. Similarly, labourers performing those operations which involve heavy and skilled manual work are paid higher wages. Thus the worker driving tiffan for sowing is paid Rs. 4 per day. Harvesting and threshing also require a certain amount of skill and these operations have to be performed within a limited time. This leads to greater demand for the available labour force. However, with a view to getting the work done quickly, labour is employed on contract basis throughout the district. For instance, women and children are generally employed for picking cotton. They are paid wages on the basis of quantity of kapas picked during the day. This rate varies between Rs. 2 and Rs. 2.50 per maund of 28 seers of kapas collected. Similarly, groundnut is also harvested on contract system. The workers are paid at the rate of Re. 0.37 to Re. 0.50 for the collection of a tinful of pods; liquid capacity of the tin being 18.18 litres (4 gallons). Jowar crop is also harvested on contract basis. Many a time operations like harvesting and threshing of jowar and tying bundles of kadbi are entrusted to labour. They are paid Rs. 15 to Rs. 20 per acre on contract basis. If these operations are performed on daily wage rate basis, a labourer gets Rs. 1.50 for harvesting. These rates are subject to variation depending upon the time within which these operations are completed. The labourers also prefer contract system as it enables them to put in more work, earn higher average daily wages and finish the work rapidly.

Annual Servants or Saldars.—Saldars are annual servants employed by those cultivators who can provide continuous and regular employment throughout the year either because they have large holdings or because they undertake intensive farming. A saldar is available for the work for all the time and usually does all type of farming work. The contract with a saldar holds good for one year. He is offered a pair of dhoti, a shirt, a dupatta and a cap on the pola day. The payment is usually made in instalments. The payment to a saldar varies between Rs. 300 and Rs. 600 per annum depending upon the nature of the work on the farm, the type of farming followed by the cultivator and the skill and ability of the saldar himself. Young boys between 12 and 16 years of age are also employed as saldar and are paid at half the wages paid to the adults.

Balutedars.—Balutedars are village artisans who are connected with the various agricultural operation's. The main feature of this system is that they are given a fixed payment in kind for all the work they do during the year. The baluta system is gradually disappearing. Now this system prevails only on the farms of big-hereditary cultivators. Balutedars work only on the farms of big cultivators and do not enter into fresh baluta contracts with anyone else. As a result, the tendency to get the services of village artisans in exchange for cash payment is gaining ground. The important village artisans include a carpenter (sutar), a blacksmith (khati), a cobber (chambhar), and a barber (nhavi) The agricultural commodities given to the balutedar by way of wages generally include jowar, wheat, grain and pulses. Baluta (payment) in kind is paid at the time of harvest. The payment by the cultivator is linked to the pair or pairs of bullocks he owns. For instance, a carpenter repairing farm implements gets about 20 pailies or 36.288 kg. (82 lbs.) of jowar for every pair of bullocks owned by the cultivator.

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