GENERAL ECONOMIC SURVEY

CULTIVATED AREA

Of the total geographical area of nearly 29 lakhs of acres, the cultivated area forms 20 lakhs of acres or about 70 per cent and forests 4.1 lakhs or about 19 per cent. Of the remaining, cultivable waste land is 17,700 acres and permanent pastures and other grazing lands cover about 2,28,000 acres. They lie chiefly on the hills to the west and south-west. The average rainfall is about 30". The talukas of Yawal, Jalgaon and Pachora get the maximum rainfall, while in the eastern and western talukas of the central division it is moderate. Variability of monsoon determines the pattern of agricultural economy. In 1956-57 the gross cropped area was 20,96,318 acres including 1,10,215 acres cropped more than once. Jirayat land depending upon rain water formed about 95 per cent of the total cultivated area while bagayat land accounted for the remaining four per cent. The Jamda canals and Velhala and Hartala tanks serve as medium irrigation works in the district, commanding an area of about 55,000 acres of which 6,722 were actually irrigated in 1956-57.

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