The Gazetteers Department

TENURES: In Kolhapur district, the most prevalent form of land tenure is rayatwari tenure and the area occupied under it in 1952-53 was 16,46,149 acres as against an area of 85,358 acres (about five per cent. of occupied land) under non-rayatwari (inam) tenure. No land is exempt from paying land revenue except under tenures of contract or agreement or under the terms of any Act of the Legislature. In the Rayatwari tenure, land revenue is fixed not upon an estate as a whole or on a village as a whole, but on individual survey numbers or subdivisions of those numbers. Under inam tenure, the land is held on a. reduced assessment which is not liable to revision and in some cases it is even free from any assessment. The land revenue assessments are fixed under the provisions of the Land Revenue Code as amended from time to time. Assessment is based not only on advantages arising from rainfall or the kind of crop sown but also on advantages arising from soil, water resources and location. It is on account of this that agricultural lands are divided into three main classes, viz., dry crop, rice, and garden lands; and the classification value of soils of different grades of productivity are 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 considerations 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 of these numbers on the Basis of standard rates fixed for the group as the result of a 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 thirty-five per cent. of the average rental values of all occupied lands in the group for a period of five years preceding immediately 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 twenty per cent. in the case of a taluka or a group or by more than fifty per cent. in the case of survey number or a sub-division of it. These limits can be relaxed in special cases such as highly irrigated areas. 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 placing a surcharge on the assessment by reference to the alteration of the 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 the 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 annewari which means an estimate of 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.

The occupant holds his lands direct from the Government. He has a right to hold the land in perpetuity so long as he pays the land revenue to Government as fixed at the settlement. He has full powers to sell, mortgage, sub-let or otherwise dispose of the land.

Before 1st May 1949, the date on which the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 (No. LXVII of 1948) was made applicable to this district, the occupant of a land could lease a portion or whole of his holding on annual tenancy at a rent agreed upon with the tenant. But this right has been restricted by the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948, under which all tenancies were given a duration of a minimum of ten years. The maximum rent was also fixed. By the Amending Act of 1955, this right has been further restricted. No tenancy of any land is to be terminated merely on the ground that the period fixed by an agreement or Usage for its duration has expired. Moreover, the rates of rent payable by the tenant have also been fixed within the maximum and minimum limits on the basis of assessment ft land namely that the rent shall not exceed five times the assessment payable in respect of the land or Rs. 20 per acre, whichever is less and shall not be less than twice the assessment.

A modified form of the rayatwari tenure, known as "new tenure" was introduced in 1901. This form of tenure applies only to new occupancies granted. Under this tenure, lands are granted at concessional rates of occupancy price only to bona fide cultivators belonging to backward classes and that too on condition that the land shall not be transferred except with the permission of the Collector. Of course, the land is subject to the usual land revenue.

Inam Tenure.

There is then the Inam tenure. [With effect from 1st May 1951, all Kulkarni Watans along with the right of service were abolished by the Bombay Pargana and Kulkarni Watans Abolition Act (No. LX of 1950). By the Bombay Personal Inam Abolition Act (No. XLII of 1953), which came into effect on 28th June 1953, all personal Inams are extinguished in the case of personal inams consisting of exemptions from the payment of land revenue only either wholly or in part, if the amount of such exemption is or exceeds Rs. 5,000 with effect from 1st day of August 1953 and in all other cases with effect from first day of August 1955. By the Bombay Service Inams (Useful to Community) Abolition Act of 1953, the service inams following under this category have been abolished with effect from 1st August 1954. The Bombay Merged Territories and Areas (Jagirs Abolition) Act, 1953, (No. XXXIX of 1954) has come into force with effect from 1st August 1953 and 217 entirely alienated villages stood resumed to Government in this district. The Bombay Merged Territories Miscellaneous Alienations Act, 1955 (No. XXII of 1955 has been made applicable to this district with effect from 1st August 1955 and Patil, Gao-Sanadi and Devasthan Inam lands have been saved from the operation of this Act). The Bombay Saranjams, jahagire and other inams of political nature Resumption Rules, 1952 ace made applicable to this district with effect from 1st November 1952. The Saranjam grant at village Akiwat and Shedshal in Shirol Taluka has been decided as " grant of soil" and "grant of revenue" respectively. The Bombay Kauli and Katuban Tenure (Abolition) Act, 1953 (No. XLIV of 1953), is made applicable to three villages in Ajara Mahal of this district.] Land under the tenure is technically called "alienated land" which means " transferred in so far as the rights of Government to payment of the rent or land revenue, are concerned wholly or partially, to the ownership of any person ", as defined in the Land Revenue Code. The main feature of this tenure is that the land is held on a reduced assessment not liable to revision and in some cases held even free from assessment. The inam lands have now Been settled on their present holders under the Survey Settlement Act of 1863. These inam lands can be classified under four heads as follows:-

Personal Inams.

Personal or "jat" Inams. These are gifts conferred on individuals. Some of them are in the nature of compensations. These are heritable and transferable properties of the holders or their lawful successors subject to payment of fixed dues to the Government.

Political Inams.

Political inams, including saranjams and jahagirs, generally mean grants by the State for performance of civil or military duty or for the maintenance of the personal dignity of nobles and high officials. Some of them were guaranteed by a special treaty between the Moghals and the British Government while others were settled by the Inam Commission. In the former case, the tenure is hereditary and is to last in perpetuity, while in the latter case, it is to last for a short or long period of time as fixed by the cmmission. Ordinarily these inams are impartible and inalienable. There have been instances in which a jahagir has been held to be partible and alienable but generally devolution of such inams is by the rule of lineal primogeniture, younger members being entitled only to maintenance.

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 endowments. The holder for the time being manages the inam in the capacity of a trustee for the benefit of the endowment.

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 or watans are divided into two classes-firstly, district officers like desais, deshmukhs, or deshpandes who were the chief instruments for the collection of revenue under the Peshwas and secondly, 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 communities such as the hajams, kumbhars, lohars, sutars, mochis etc., and other village artisans.

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