AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

HOLDINGS

Size and Number.

The following is the quinquennial statement of holdings in the Jalgaon district in 1952-53: —

TABLE No. 15.

QUINQUENNIAL STATEMENT OF HOLDINGS IN GOVERNMENT RAYATWARI AREA IN JALGAON DISTRICT, 1952-53.

TABLE No. 15—contd.

Class "A".—Those persons who cultivate land themselves with or without the help of hired labour.

Class "B".—Those persons who do not cultivate land themselves, but supervise and direct cultivation by labourers or farm servants.

Class "C".—Those who receive rent but do not take part in cultivation directly or indirectly.

In 1952-53, 1.929.840 acres of both khalsa and inam lands were held by 190,251 persons divided into three classes, viz., 155,763 cultivating holders who held 1,598,796 acres of land, 11,073 persons holding 195,917 acres of land cultivated under their guidance and supervision; and 23,415 persons holding 335,127 acres of land who rented out their land to tenants. The holders in the first two classes can be styled as 'agriculturists' while those in the third as 'non-agriculturists'. The persons in the first category constituted 81.9 per cent of the total number of persons holding land and held 72.5 per cent of the total area of holdings. Most of the holdings were below 15 acres. Nearly 48.4 per cent owned land up to five acres and held 13.4 per cent of the land. This class was followed by 67,378 persons, i.e., 35.3 per cent owning land between 5 and 15 acres and holding 32.1 per cent of the land, and the rest. viz., 16.3 per cent, owned lands with more than fifteen acres and accounted for 54.5 per cent of the land. The average size of holding for Jalgaon district in 1952-53 worked out at 10.1 acres.

The following table gives the quinquennial statement of holdings in various taluk as of the district (1952-53): —

TABLE No. 16.

QUINQUENNIAL STATEMENT OF HOLDINGS IN GOVERNMENT RAYATWARI AREA IN JALGAON DISTRICT (TALUKAWISE), 1952-53.

TABLE No. 16—contd.

TABLE No. 16—contd.

TABLE No. 16—contd.

TABLE No. 16—contd.

The size of holding varies from taluka to taluka according to the conditions of the monsoon, soil, crop pattern, pressure of population, financial condition of the rayats and the prevailing extent of ahsentee landlordism. In all talukas, greater portion of the land is generally held hy persons having holdings between one and fifteen acres. The size of holding is not an index to the average size of the unit of cultivation, because holdings in most of the talukas are small and further they are either divided among different members of the family or are composed of fragments scattered all over. A sample survey of holdings in the Deccan conducted by the Government in 1947 showed that the average size of a holding in the then East Khandesh district was 10.3 acres [Bulletin of the Bureau of Economics and Statistics, Government of Bombay Vol. I, No. IV (April, 1948), p. 4, Table II.]. The average number of fragments per holding was estimated at 2.1, the size of each fragment being 4.9 acres ["Holding" is the area of land (may be consisting of scattered fragments located in different areas) registered in the name of a "holder". "Fragment" is a single piece of land located in any place and forms a holding or part of a holding of a single holder.].

Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings.

In 1947, the Government of Bombay enacted a law called the Bombay Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Hold- ings Act (LXII), with a view to starting the process of consolidation of holdings. The first part of the law deals with prevention of further fragmentation of land. Government has been empowered to fix the "standard area" (i.e., the minimum area necessary for profitable cultivation as a separate plot) for any class of land in any local area. The "standard area" as contemplated by the Act is such as is expected to keep the cultivator fully employed on the field and whose yield is expected to be sufficient to cover the cost of cultivation and Government revenue assessment and provide for a reasonable profit. On account of differences in quality of soil, climate, standard of husbandry and other factors, the standard areas for different types of land vary from district to district.

The standard areas applicable to dry crop lands and garden lands in the district are as under:—

Dry Crop three acres; Garden Crop one acre. Under the law, the provisional figures of standard areas are published by the Collector for the general information of the public whose objections are called for. He then considers the objections, if any, and, in consultation with the District Advisory Committee set up for the purpose, finalises the figures of standard areas. All existing holdings which arc smaller than the standard area are declared as fragments and entered in the Record of Rights and the fact is notified to the fragment holders. The fragment holder and his heir can cultivate and inherit the fragment but, if at any time he wants to sell or lease the fragment, he can do so to a contiguous holder who can merge it with his field. In case the contiguous holder is unwilling to take it or purposely makes a low bid, Government purchases the fragment in question at the market value according to the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and leases it our to any one of the neighbouring holders. In this process, tenants of the fragments are protected inasmuch as they cannot he ejected. Creation of fragments in future either by transfer or by partition is prohibited. Transfer or partition contrary to the provisions of the Act is void and persons guilty of the breach of law are liable to pay a fine up to Rs. 250.

Side by side, the Act also provides for the consolidation of holdings into compact blocks. This involves valuation of all holdings in a village and their redistribution in such a manner as to secure to each cultivator the same return from land which he had got previous to the consolidation. Every effort is made to ensure that exchange is made of lands of equal fertility and outturn. Where such exchange is not possible, compensation is paid to the owner who is allotted a relatively less fertile holding and the amount of compensation is recovered from the owner who is allotted a more fertile holding. This amount of compensation is fixed according to the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act. After the process of consolidation is over, the tenure of the original holding is transferred to the new consolidated holding. Similarly, leases, debts and encumbrances, if any, are also transferred, adjusted and fixed up. The interests of tenants are safeguarded as far as possible and tenancies are usually transferred to the exchanged land. If there is any difference in value between the original holdings and the exchanged ones, adjustments in rents are made.

In Jalgaon district, Jalgaon and Bhusawal talukas have been selected for the implementation of the Act. On 31st August 1959, consolidation work was in progress in 90 and 100 villages of these talukas, respectively. The villages in which consolidation schemes were completed numbered 54 and 26, the area actually consolidated being 76,133 and 27,495 acres, respectively. The holdings numbered, before consolidation, 15,247 and 5,733 and, after consolidation, 12,186 and 4,125, respectively. The fragments numbered before consolidation 5,896 and 2,244 and, after consolidation, 4,636 and 886. respectively.

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