The Gazetteers Department

Prior to 1949, there existed in Ratnagiri district a congeries of inams, watans, and non-rayatwari tenures, whose creation was considered essential by all the previous rulers-Hindu, Muslim, Maratha and British for political and administrative reasons, viz., as support to the existing rule and to ensure stable revenue for the State. Government, therefore, selected suitable persons and distributed inams among them in the form of entire villages, lands, annuities etc. They later came to be known as paragana watandars, inamdars, khots, jagirdars, etc. They were to remain loyal to the ruling power, maintain law and order and ensure timely payment of Government dues after recovering the same from the tillers. Thus was created a class of non-cultivating landlords who lived upon the revenues realized 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 ceased to exist. It was, on the other hand, realised that the existence and functioning of such intermediaries was detrimental to agricultural production and provided little incentive to the peasantry. As a result, Government of India laid down 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.

Khoti Tenure.

The khoti tenure was by far the most important non-rayatwari tenure prevalent in the district. Before 1949, there were 952 khoti villages. The peculiar configuration and the problems of agriculture and administration (e.g. rugged nature of the tract and the difficulty of collecting land revenue) have been largely responsible for the creation of this tenure. These factors demanded that there should be a powerful and influential middleman who could settle in the village, organise cultivation, command confidence of the rayats and be responsible to the Government for revenue.. This situation gave rise to the emergence of khots who were accorded sanads in respect of the villages given to them for revenue management and were treated as hereditary farmers of revenue. The khoti lands were heritable and transferable. The khoti tenure was governed by the Khoti Settlement Act, 1880, which was based on the recommendations of the Khoti Commission appointed in 1874. The evils of the system were felt long ago. In order to remove the intermediary khots from the village administration, the Bombay Khoti Abolition Act,. 1949, was enacted and enforced with effect from 15th May, 1950. The Act has abolished the khoti tenure.

Kauli and Katuban Tenures.

The Kauli and Katuban tenures were next in importance. These existed in 273 villages of the former State of Sawantwadi. They were, in essence, leases either permanent or hereditary for land reclamation and improvement of waste lands, uncultivated and uncultivable, which were allowed to be held free from payment of assessment for some years after which the assessment was levied on a graduated scale. The important fact about these tenures was that they covered only scattered land and in no case an entire village. During the continuance of these tenures for more than a hundred years, the lands under the Kauli and Katuban tenures were developed and the propriety of continuing the reduced assessment disappeared. As a result, these tenures were resumed under the Bombay Kauli and Katuban Tenures Abolition Act, 1953, with effect from 15th August 1953, subjecting them to payment of full assessment. All the Kauldars and permanent holders have been made occupants without charging any occupancy price.

The paragana watandars called deshpandes, deshmukhs and desais were the chief instruments in collection of revenues of the State from the time of Muslim rulers. This arrangement was continued by the Marathas and the British. The paragana and kulkarni watans with all their incidents were abolished in the district with effect from 1st May 1951, under the Bombay Paragana and Kulkarni Watans Abolition Act, 1950. Saranjams, Jagirs and other inams which were in the nature of grants for the support of troops or personal service, maintenance of official dignity or for other specific purposes, were resumed with effect from 1st August 1955, under the Bombay Saranjams, Jagirs and other Inams of Political nature, Resumption Rules, 1952. The holders of such grants had been empowered in the past to collect and appropriate the revenue and manage the villages and lands. The personal inams, on the other hand, were grants made or recognised by the British in appreciation of services rendered by persons to the Government and consisted of entire villages, lands, share from village revenue and cash allowances and the personal inams adjudicated by the Inam Commission as such. All personal inams were abolished on 1st August 1953, by the Bombay Personal Inams Abolition Act, 1952. An important feature of the Act is that the holders of inams have not only been subjected to payment of full amount but have also been made occupants of their lands. By the Bombay Merged Territories and Areas (Jagirs Abolition) Act, 1953, the Jagirs in Sawantwadi which were grants for maintenance, appreciation or remuneration for reasons of political expediency or exigencies of administration were abolished on 1st August 1954. In 1954, the then Government of Bombay framed the Bombay Service Inams (Useful to Community) (Gujarat and Konkan) Resumption Rules and resumed all such inams with effect from 1st December 1954 (except in Sangameshwar and Malvan talukas and Lanje mahal). 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. The village artisans began to show inclination for migrating to towns and with the increasing tempo of industrialisation the structure of village service useful to community came to be adversely affected. In spite of these abolition measures, several miscellaneous alienations consist ing of scattered lands and of cash allowances survived (mainly in merged territories). They were all abolished by the Bombay Miscel laneous Alienations Abolition Act, 1955, which came into force on 1st August 1955.

Existing Tenures (1958).

The existing land tenures in Ratnagiri district are: (1) the survey (or Rayatwari) tenure; (2) Devasthan Inams; and (3) Service inams useful to Government. The survey tenure is one which consists of 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 and the difference between them lies in the conditions upon which the land is held by a person. In the case of 'old tenure,', the right to alienate land by sale, mortgage or any other form of transfer is unrestricted. In the case of land held under ' new tenure' such right is restricted and alienation can be made only with the permission of the Collector. This restricted tenure came to be adopted in the year 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 land to non-agriculturists. Out of the total occupied area of 21,77,200 acres, 21,52,674 acres were under the 'old tenure' and 4,846 acres were under the ' new tenure' in 1958.

In the rayatwari, the land revenue is fixed not upon an estate or a village as a whole but on individual survey numbers or subdivisions of those numbers. The land revenue assessments are 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 but also on the basis of those arising from soil, water resources and location. It is on account of these factors that agricultural lands are divided into three main classes, namely, dry crop lands, rice lands and garden lands; and the classification value of soils of different grades of productivity is fixed in terms of annas. Land revenue settlements for a taluka are ordinarily made every 30 years. 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 of survey numbers, on the basis of standard rates fixed for the group as a 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 35 per cent of the average of the 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 25 per cent in the case of taluka or a group or by more than 50 per cent in the case of survey number or its sub-divisions. These limits can be relaxed in special cases, such as highly irrigated area. Govern-ment 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 is then determined on the basis of the annewari system, 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.

Devasthan lnams.

Devasthan lnams.-These are lands granted to religious bodies for maintenance of temples, 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. Rules of succession to them are governed 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. In 1958, 19,494 acres were under this tenure.

Service lnams.

Service lnams.- 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; district officers like the desais, deshmukhs or deshpandes who were instrumental 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 with adequate remuneration in the shape of land or cash, and village servants useful to the community such as the hajams, kumbhars, lohars, sutars, mochis and other village artisans. In Ratnagiri, such inams existed only in Sangameshwar and Malvan talukas and Lanje mahal. The acreage recorded under this tenure was 186.

The Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands (Amendment) Act, 1955.

Since 1949 many amendments were made to the Act. The most important of them, however, was the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands (Amendment) Act, 1955 passed with a view to (i) vesting occupancy rights in lands in the tiller of the soil, (ii) redistributing land by the imposition of ceilings on individual holdings and (iii) providing the facility to the small holders to acquire lands where possible upto the size of an economic holding.

The most important feature of this Act is that it deals with tenants' right to purchase the land they cultivate. It lays down that, on April 1, 1957, called the "Tillers' Day", all the tenants who cultivated personally and against whom the landlords had not initiated proceedings by December 31, 1956, to resume land for personal cultivation, would be deemed to have purchased the land cultivated by them from the landlords upto the ceiling area, at a price to be fixed by the Agricultural Lands Tribunal set up for the purpose. In computing the ceiling area, the land owned by the tenant is also to be taken into account. The purchase price would be fixed at six times the rent in the case of permanent tenants, and between twenty and two hundred times the assessment in respect of other tenants. In the case of tenants other than permanent tenants, the value of improvements effected by the landlord is to be added to the price of land. The price is to be ordinarily paid by the permanent tenant in lump sum within a year from the date of purchase, others may pay the purchase price either in lump sum or in annual installments not exceeding 12 which carry interest at the rate of four and a half per cent a year. In the case of a new tenancy created in future i.e., after the "Tillers Day", the tenant must purchase the land cultivated by him within a year from the commencement of the tenancy.

In case a tenant does not intend to purchase land or fails to exercise the right to purchase the land within the specified period, the Collector has been empowered to terminate the tenancy and to evict the tenant. Even though the land cultivated by the evicted tenant would revert to the landlord, he is entitled to retain only that portion of land as will be sufficient to raise the holding in his possession up to the ceiling. The land in excess of the ceiling area would be disposed of to other persons with due regard to the order of priority stipulated in the Act.

The rents are made payable in cash at a rate applicable to a village or a group of villages and fixed by the Mamlatdar, having regard to the maximum and minimum limits laid down under the Act. These maximum and minimum limits in the case of areas which are surveyed and settled or in which assessment has been fixed, are prescribed at five times the assessment or Rs. 20 per acre, whichever is less, and at twice the assessment, respectively. The liability of paying land revenue, local fund cess and irrigation cess in respect of the land is transferred to the tenant. But if in any year, the aggregate of rent, land revenue and local fund cess exceeds the cash value of 1/6th of the produce for that year, the tenant is entitled to deduct this excess from the rent payable for that year.

In Ratnagiri district on 15th March 1959, there were 1,58,734 protected tenants, 75,693 ordinary tenants and 1,91,843 owner cultivators. It may be noted, however, that as a result of the extension of the special rights conferred on protected tenants to all tenants in general, the distinction between the protected and the ordinary tenant has disappeared. A landlord who intends to assume land for personal cultivation can eject a protected or ordinary tenant subject to certain conditions, provided a notice was served on the tenant for resumption on or before December 31, 1956. In all cases of evictions, however, the tenant who is affected should be left with an area which is equal to or more than half the area leased to him previously.

The Act defines an economic holding as (i) 16 acres of jirayat land or (ii) eight acres of seasonally irrigated land or paddy land or rice land; or (iii) four acres of perennially irrigated land. The ceiling limit on individual holdings is stipulated at three times the economic holding. The ceiling area and the economic holding respectively are 84 acres and 28 acres of dry crop lands in Mandangad, Khed and Dapoli talukas and Lanje mahal which have been declared as backward areas. Restrictions have been laid down regarding the future transfers of agricultural land. Land purchased by tenants under the provisions of this Act can only be transferred with the permission of the Collector. Land cannot be transferred, sold or mortgaged to a person who is not an agriculturist. Further, when a landlord intends to sell any land he has to apply to the Agricultural Lands Tribunal for determination of reasonable price, after which the land has to be offered for sale according to the order of priority stipulated in the Act.

Co-operative societies have been exempted from some of the provisions regulating the relationship between landlord and tenant, as also from those relating to restrictions on transfer of land.

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