AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

TENURES

The system of land tenures in the past permitted a person to own land so long as he paid the customary revenue charges. It, however, underwent changes with the course of political events during the different reigns.

Early History [The historical account is based on Chapter VIII of the Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Buldhana district, 1910.].—hand tenure and the position of revenue officials prior to 1853: The ordinary tenure from time immemorial had been that which permitted a man to keep possession of his fields so long as he paid to Government the customary rent. Some such general principle of reciprocal convenience must have always prevailed, so long as land was more plentiful than cultivators. Malik Ambar (1612 A.D.) is stated to have recognised the ryots private property in his land, but such rights, if ever they were conferred, cannot long have out-lasted the wear and tear of the disorders which followed his death. We may suppose that where the tenants managed to keep land for any long time in one family they acquired a sort of property adverse to all except the Government; that where the land changed often by the diverse accidents of an unsettled age, in such cases occupancy never hardened into proprietary light. Good land would have been carefully preserved, bad land would be often thrown up; failure of crops or the exactions of farmers would sever many holdings; and all rights ceased with continuity of possession. When mis-Government became chronic, and the country was incessantly exposed to be wasted by famine, war or fiscal extortion the tenant's hold on any one piece of land would be more precarious and ephemeral. But perhaps it may be said that in theory the general basis and limit of property in the land was cultivating occupancy undisturbed, except by violence or injustice, so long as the traditional standing rates of assessment were paid upon the fields taken up. It is easy to see that various rights and prescriptions might, under favouring circumstances, arise out of this sort of holding. Several terms as mirasi, mundkari, etc., were formerly known to distinguish the class of occupants in Berar whose possession of their land was long established and by descent, but their precise privileges were never closely defined. The essence of these holdings seems to have been the privilege of paying a fixed sum without regard to cultivated area, and the right to trees. The property was also admitted usually to be heritable and transferable. Then certain advantageous tenures were created by expedients used to revive cultivation in deserted tracts; long leases were given at a rent mounting upwards very gradually year by year, or a whole ruined village was made over by what is called palampat, which fixes the rental of the entire estate without taking account of the spread of cultivation. Whatever rights in the land may have grown up previously, they all disappeared under the Maratha's and Nizam's Government. Under this regime the mass of cultivators held their fields on a yearly lease which was made out for them by the Patel at the beginning of each season; the land was acknowledged to belong to the State, and as a general rule no absolute right to hold any particular field, except by yearly permission of the officials, was urged or allowed. A man could not always give up or transfer his holding without official authorization. Cultivators were ejected from their holdings and others put in their places, as it suited the caprice or interest of the farmer of the revenue. Under such a system all value was wrung out of property in land.

The Patels, Deshmukhs and Deshpandes who were employed to manage the collection of land revenue in villages and parganas never got beyond hereditary office nor transmuted themselves into proprietors of the land. The patel always remained the agent between the State and the village tenants for cultivation and collections. He was paid by rent-free land, money dues and dignities, the whole being grouped under the term watan. The Deshmukhs and Deshpandes had risen to great local importance under the Muhammadan dynasties. They held by virtue of office the right to take certain dues from the revenue collected in their sub-divisions, but some of the more powerful families received large grants of land in jagir and patents for the collection of additional subsidies, on condition of military or police service, and the maintenance of order. Towards the decline of the Mughal power in Berar they sometimes obtained their sub-divisions in farm, and some of them were probably fast developing into the status of talukdars and zamindars of upper India. But the Nizam and Marathas were too powerful to let any subjects stand between them and the full demand and in 1853 it was decided that though these officials had frequently, beside their money dues, large quantities of inam or revenue-free land, and they themselves advanced the most extravagant pretensions, their real position was that of hereditary officers and not that of landed proprietors.

Land tenure: The ordinary tenure is the ryotwari tenure, and all land paying revenue to Government under that system is known as khalsa land. The State is recognized as the superior landlord, and the settlement is made directly with the cultivator himself and not through middlemen. The assessment is on the land, not on the person. Subject to certain restrictions, the occupant, who is termed khatedar, is absolute proprietor of his holding, may sell, let or mortgage it or any part of it, cultivate it or leave it waste, so long as he pays the assessment, which may be revised on general principles at the end of the fixed term. Being in arrears with the assessment at once renders the right of occupancy liable to forfeiture. No occupant is bound to hold his land more than one year if he does not like it; as long as he gives notice according to law, he is free to relinquish his holding. The occupant is free to make any improvement he likes but he must not apply the land to any other purpose than agriculture without the permission of the Deputy Commissioner. Government retains a right to all minerals in the soil. Only one occupant is recorded as the khatedar, to whom the Government looks as responsible primarily for the revenue. Apart from this he is not necessarily a person with any rights in the soil whatever. Mutation of names is not compulsory, and hence it often happens that a khatedar from motives perhaps of sentiment, perhaps of sloth, prefers to keep his name on the Government registers long after he has parted with the land. This description requires to be qualified in the case of land given out for cultivation since 1st January 1905. From that date all unalienated assessed land is disposed of subject to the following additional condition, viz., " neither the occupant, his heirs, executors, administrators, and approved assignees shall at any time lease, mortgage, sell, or otherwise encumber the said occupancy or any portion thereof without the previous sanction in writing of the Deputy Commissioner. "

Ryotwari Tenure : " The ryotwari tenure already described is the most common in the district. Out of 1,400 villages 1,327 are settled on this tenure, and are known as khalsa villages. The area of these villages in 1906-07 was returned as 2,245,288 acres; of this 41,918 acres were occupied by village sites, tanks, rivers and the like, 229,833 acres by forests, 86,618 acres were set apart for village purposes and for free grazing, and the balance of 1,886,919 acres was available for cultivation. Of the latter area 1,882,114 acres were under cultivation. The balance is mostly in the Chikhli taluk, and is land of inferior quality, for which there is little demand. The land revenue demand of the khalsa villages amounted to Rs. 18,52,667 in 1905-06, and Rs. 18,67,433 in 1906-07, the increase being due to the introduction of revised rates in 89 villages of the Mehkar taluk. In both these years the demand was collected practically in full, and there were no remissions."

Jagir tenure: Jagir now means any rent-free holding consisting of an integral village or villages. The jagir of Berar seems to have been originally always, like the earliest feuds, a mere assignment of revenue for military service, and the maintenance of order by armed control of certain districts. In later times the grant was occasionally made to civil officers for the maintenance of due state and dignity. The interest of the stipendiary did not ordinarily extend beyond his own life, and the jagir even determined at the pleasure of the sovereign, or it was transferred, on failure of service, to another person who undertook the conditions. But some of these grants when given to powerful families acquired an hereditary character. It would seem, nevertheless that until recently these estates very seldom shook off the condition under which they were created. The assignments were withdrawn when the service ceased; and they were considered a far inferior kind of property to that of hereditary office. Probably the double Government of the Marathas and the Nizam kept this tenure weak and precarious. The Nizam would have insisted on service from his jagirdars during his incessant wars. The Marathas treated the Mughal jagirdars very roughly, taking from them sixty per cent of all the revenue assigned, wherever such demand could be enforced. To plunder an enemy's jagir was much the same as to sack his military chest it disordered the army estimates. When this province was made over in 1853 to the British, some villages were under assignment to jagirdars for the maintenance of troops, and these were given up by their holders. Up to that date, however, the system tankhwa jagir or assignment for army payments by which whole parganas in Berar had been formally held had barely survived. The irregularities of the old practice were notorious. A few followers to enable the jagirdars to collect the revenue were sometimes the only armed force really maintained: no musters were held, and when troops were seriously called out the jagirdar made hasty levies or occasionally absconded altogether. There are still several personal jagirs without condition in Berar which have been confirmed to the holders as a heritable possession. But none of these were made hereditary by original grant, save only the estates given to pious or venerable persons, to saiyids, fakirs, pirzadas, and the like and perhaps an estate which was first assigned as an appanage to members of the reigning family. Other jagirs have been obtained by court interest, acquired by local officers during their tenure of power, or allotted to them for maintenance of due state and dignity, and such holdings were often continued afterwards as a sort of pension which slided into inheritance. Almost every jagir title was by the Delhi Emperor or the Nizam, one or two by the Peshwa; but not one full grant derives from the Bhonsla dynasty, which never arrogated to itself that sovereign prerogative.

The number of villages held in jagir tenure in this district is 42. The following statement shows the persons holding more than one village on this tenure, with the area of the grant and its assessment: [The whole assessment is enjoyed by the jagirdars.]

Alienation of jagirs by sale, mortgages, or otherwise, is prohibited. Personal jagirs arc continued hereditarily subject to a legacy duty or succession-fee graduated on a scale according to the degree of relationship of the heir. Jagirs for religious or charitable object such as for the support of temples, mosques, colleges, or other public buildings or institutions, or for service therein, are continued, so long as the buildings or institutions are maintained in an efficient state, and the service continued to be performed according to the conditions of the grant.

Grants of the latter kind cover an area of 7,937 acres assessed at Rs. 5,542; the whole of which has been assigned to the grantee. The following statement shows the details of grants made for perpetuity or for one or more lives:—

The relation between the jagirdar and his tenants is governed by Chapter VII of the Berar Land Revenue Code. Tenants are divided into two classes, ante-jagir and post-jagir tenants. The former are those who have held their land from a period prior to the alienation, and they are entitled to continue in possession subject to the payment of the survey assessment. Post-jagir tenants pay rent according to agreement with the jagirdar. The revenue courts have no cognizance over disputes between jagirdars and their tenants, these being all referred to the civil courts. The rights of tenants in jagir villages have been amply protected. When the court is called upon to determine what shall be considered a reasonable rent, the enhanced value of the property due to improvements effected by the tenants is not taken into consideration. In cases of ejectment also the court can order compensation to be paid for the unexhausted improvements made by the tenant. A notice of six months is necessary before a landlord can enhance the rent of a tenant, and an annual tenancy cannot be terminated by either party without three months' notice.

All the jagir villages were sm-veyed and settled at the original settlement, but only three jagirdars were willing to pay the cost of the revision settlement; and this was carried out therefore in seven villages only. For the remaining villages only fresh rent-rolls were prepared and deposited with the Deputy Commissioner, to enable the latter to recover the road and education cesses, and the quit-rent, if any. In 1906-07 the total area of the jagir villages was 86,916 acres, and of this 25,283 acres were returned as un-culturable (parampok), 1,696 acres were included in village sites, grazing areas and the like, and 59,937 acres were available for cultivation. Of the latter 57,840 acres, assessed at Rs. 57,153 were under cultivation, and 2,097 acres, assessed at Rs. 562, remained unoccupied.

Existing tenures.—The ryotwari system is the most important system of tenure in the district. The other systems of tenure resembling the malguzari system have since been abolished by the progressive land legislation during recent years.

Under the ryotwari tenure the land revenue is fixed not upon an estate as a whole or on a village as a whole by an individual survey numbers or sub-divisions thereof. The rates of land revenue are fixed in accordance with the quality of the survey number, average rainfall, kind of crops grown, water resources and location.

Of the other tenures, such as, political inams, personal inams, service inams and jagirs, only the service inams remained in existence. These were mainly vestiges of the British regime. Being incompatible with the progressive land legislation they were abolished in the post-Independence period. Service inams are holdings of land granted to certain persons for performance of particular services to the Government or to the community. The holders of such inams are village servants useful to the community such as jagalyas, nhavis, sutars, kumbhars, mochist etc.

In the old Madhya Pradesh areas settlement was done on the basis of proprietary rights. The conferment of proprietary rights on Malguzars interposed between Government and the actual tillers of the soil, a body of persons whose interests often came in conflict with those of the latter. Hence the need to protect the tenant class soon became apparent. In 1920, a new consolidating and amending Act was enacted known as the Central Provinces Tenancy Act, 1920. Under this Act, three classes of tenants were recognised, viz., :—(1) Absolute occupancy tenants, (2) Occupancy tenants, and (3) sub-tenants. The first two classes of tenants enjoyed fixity of tenure as well as rent. They were entitled to become Malik-Makbuzas on payment of a certain premium. Their rights were also transferable and heritable. The sub-tenants were, however, not given any special protection or rights. Until 1950, the tenancy laws in force in the Vidarbha region were intended only for the protection of tenants holding lands on lease in alienated areas.

There was a radical change when the Madhya Pradesh Abolition of Proprietary Rights (Estates, Mahals, Alienated Lands) Act, 1950 came into force. Under this Act, the lands held by absolute occupancy tenants, occupancy tenants and anti-alienation tenants, etc., vested in Government and consequently these tenants became lessees of Government. The Act also conferred on them a right to become owners of land on payment of certain multiples of rent as premium. This provision was later on repealed by the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1954 wherein the absolute occupancy tenants and other categories of tenants referred to above were recognised as bhumiswamis or bhumidharis of the lands held by them.

After the coming into force of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1954 there were only two types of tenants in Buldhana district,—(a) occupancy tenants including lessees who before coming into force of this code were occupancy tenants or Malik-Makbuzas and who were declared as occupancy tenants under the provision of section 169 (2) of the code, and (b) ordinary tenants under section 166 of the code. Under chapter XIV of the Code, the occupancy tenants enjoyed special protection and rights including fixity of tenure and right to purchase the land. The ordinary tenants had, however, no fixity of tenure or protection against rack renting nor had they or the protected lessees any rights of purchase. Soon after the reorganisation of states it was felt necessary to have a comprehensive legislation for securing the rights of tenants. Therefore, an ordinance viz., the Bombay Vidarbha Region Agricultural Tenants (Protection from Eviction and Amendment of Tenancy Laws) Ordinance, 1957 was promulgated in order to safeguard the tenants from eviction by their landlords.

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