The Gazetteers Department

Prior to 1949. there existed in Jalgaon District, a congeries of inams, watans, and non-rayatwari tenures. Their creation was considered essential by all the previous rulers—the Hindu, the Muslim, the Maratha or the British—for political and administrative reasons, viz., to support the existing rule and to ensure stable revenue to the State. The then existing leading men were, therefore, selected and given inams in the form of entire villages, lands, revenues, etc. They later came to be known as paragana watandars, inamdars, jagirdars, etc. They were to remain loyal to the ruling power, maintain law and order, and lastly, to ensure punctual payment of Government dues after recovering the same in any manner they (the inamdars, etc.) liked. Thus was created a class of non-cultivating landlords who banked and lived upon the revenues realised from their inams or watans. Even the British retained these tenures and tenure holders to enlist their support for their rule, though they also knew that all was not well with this system. With the advent of Independence, the political necessity of continuing these intermediaries between the Government and the actual tillers of the soil did not exist. It was, on the other hand, realised that existence and functioning of such intermediaries was detrimental to agricultural production and provided little incentive to the peasantry. As a result, Government of India enunciated a policy for the abolition of all such intermediaries by enacting special legislation. In furtherance of this policy, the then Bombay State undertook special legislation for the abolition of these intermediaries. A brief account of legislative measures to abolish intermediaries is given in the paragraphs that follow.

The paragana watandars called deshpandes, deshmukhs and desais were the chief instruments in the collection of revenues of the State from the time of the Muslim rulers. This arrangement was continued by the Marathas and the British. The paragana and kulkarni watans were abolished in the district with effect from 1st May 1951 under the Bombay Paragana and Kulkarni Watans Abolition Act, 1950. The total acreage resumed under this Act was 21,755. Saranjams, Jagirs and other inams of political nature were resumed with effect from 1st November 1952 under the Bombay Saranjams. Jagirs and Other Inams of Political Nature Resumption Rules, 1952. There were only three Saranjams in the district, viz., Shendurni Saranjams, Mujumdar Saranjams, and Bhoite Saranjams. They hardly consisted of 25 villages in all. By the Bombay Personal Inams Abolition Act. 1952, all personal inams were abolished on 1st August 1953. There were two kinds of inams, viz., lands or villages exempted from payment of land revenue amounting to Rs. 5,000 and above, and those in whose case land revenue was less than Rs. 5,000. In 1953, the Government of Bombay passed the Bombay Village Service Inams (Useful to Community) Abolition Act. The Government resumed all such lands with effect from 1st April 1954. These inams (usually given in the form of scattered lands and cash allowances) had been granted in the past to village artisans (called bara balutedars) who were largely responsible for the continuity and stability of village service from generation to generation. In Jalgaon district. these grants consisted mainly of Kazi, Mulla, Gurao and Gaohal inarn lands. The total area resumed under this Act was 7,783 acres of which nearly 4,750 acres were under Gaohal inam lands which were grants for providing water-supply to village community and cattle. This system (hal system) was peculiar to the Jalgaon and Dhulia districts.

Existing Tenures.

The existing land tenures in Jalgaon district are: (1) the Survey (or Rayatwari) tenures; (2) Devasthan Inams, and (3) Service Inams useful to Government. The survey tenure is one which consists in the occupancy of ordinary (khalsa) Government land and is the most prevalent form of tenure in the district. It is of two types, viz., the old or unrestricted and the new or restricted tenure. The difference between them lies in the conditions upon which the land is held by a person. In the case of the old tenures, the right to alienate land by sale, mortgage or any other form of transfer is unrestricted. In the case of land held tinder new tenure, however, such right is restricted and alienation can be made only with the permission of the Collector. This restricted tenure was adopted in 1901 by the insertion of section 73-A in the Code in order to safeguard the tenants against themselves and their improvident readiness to alienate their lands to non-agriculturists.

Rayatwari.

Rayatwari tenure is the most prevalent form of tenure in the district and occupied an area of 18,69,709 acres in 1957-58. There were 65,740 acres under restricted tenure. In rayatwari tenure, the land revenue is fixed not upon an estate as a whole or on a village as a whole but on individual survey numbers or sub-divisions thereof. The land revenue assessment is fixed under the provisions of the Land Revenue Code as amended in 1939. Assessment is based not only on advantages arising from rainfall or the kind of crop sown. It also depends on advantages arising from soil, water resources and location. It is on account of this that agricultural lands are divided into three main classes—dry crop, rice and garden lands—and the classification value of soils of different grades of productivity is fixed in terms of annas. Land revenue settlements are ordinarily made every 30 years for a taluka. The lands used for agriculture are divided into groups on consideration of physical features and other factors mentioned in section 117-G of the Land Revenue Code. The assessment is fixed on survey numbers and sub-divisions thereof, on the basis of standard rates fixed for the group as a result of settlement or revision settlement made in accordance with the rules laid down in the Land Revenue Code. In the case of an original settlement, the standard rate fixed for a group should not exceed 35 per cent of the average of the rental values of all occupied lands in the group for a period of five years immediately preceding the year in which the settlement is directed. In the case of a revision settlement, the existing aggregate assessment should not be increased by more than 25 per cent in the case of taluka or a group or by more than 50 per cent in the case of a survey number or its subdivision. These limits can be relaxed in the case of highly irrigated area.

Government may declare, when a settlement is effected, that the assessment has been fixed with reference to specified prices of specified classes of agricultural produce. When such a declaration has been made, the State Government may reduce or enhance the assessment in the area concerned by granting a rebate or by placing a surcharge on the assessment: by reference to the alteration of prices of the classes of agricultural produce specified in the declaration.

The assessment fixed under the settlement is not collected in full in all years. In years of distress, suspension of half or full land revenue is given on the basis of the condition of crops. The annual land revenue demand is then fixed on the basis of the annewari, which means an estimate of the yield of crops in a particular year relative to the standard normal yield which is equated to sixteen annas. The land revenue thus suspended in one year becomes due for recovery in the next or subsequent years, if the crops are satisfactory. In case there is a succession of bad seasons, suspensions more than three years old are turned into remissions.

Inam tenure.

Devasthan Inams—These are lands granted to religious bodies for maintenance of temples and mosques or similar institutions. The grant is made in perpetuity and the fixed amount of land revenue is not liable to revision. Devasthan inams are ordinarily inalienable and also impartible. Succession to them is regulated by the terms of the grant and the customs and usages of the endowment. The holder for the time being manages the inam in the capacity of a trustee for the benefit of the endowment. There were 6,205 acres under this tenure in 1957-58.

Service Inams—These are holdings of lands or rights to receive cash payments or to levy customary fees or perquisites for the performance of certain services to Government or the community. The holders of such inams are divided into two classes; firstly, the district officers like the desais, deshmukhs or desh-pandes who were the chief instruments for the collection of revenue under the Peshwas; and secondly, the village officers useful to the Government like the patil or the kulkarni who were provided adequate remuneration in the shape of lands or cash and village servants useful to the community such as hajams, kumbhars, lohars, sutars, mochis and other village artisans. There were about 57.797 acres under this tenure in 1957-58.

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