The Gazetteers Department

" A visible advance is perceptible in the style of living, principally in towns but also in the interior. The villages are no longer littered with filth and rubbish as described in former times but are neat and clean. The houses of the poorer cultivators and labourers are made of mud, but now have tiled roofs. They consist generally of not more than two small rooms and a small shed for plough-cattle and goats. Such a house would cost from Rs. 10 to Rs. 25. The houses of malguzars and substantial tenants are generally made of brick, and have separate rooms set apart for different purposes. A house of this nature might cost from Rs. 200 to Rs. 500. Thatched roofs and walls of bamboos are now found only near the forests. Houses in towns are built more expensively than before. The water-rate based on the letting value has substantially increased; while the payments of octroi on building materials have increased from Rs. 1,000 in 1891-92 to Rs. 2,000 in 1904-05. The well-to-do classes in towns use furniture after the English fashion, and have chairs, tables, lamps with glass chimneys, enamelled cups and plates, and a clock. The food of the agricultural classes has not materially changed, but the consumption of rice, which is a luxury in Wardha, has considerably increased. Sugar is now eaten instead of gur, and the imports of sugar and gur in 1904 were the largest ever recorded, being valued at Rs. 7¹/2 lakhs. The realisations of octroi on drugs and spices have increased from Rs. 4,000 in 1891-92 to Rs. 7,000 in 1904-05, and on articles of food and drink from Rs. 11,000 to Rs. 24,000. The food of a malguzar or substantial tenant will cost from Rs. 15 to Rs. 20 a month for a family of four (a married couple and two children). In respect of clothing a great advance is manifest. A very large proportion of the clothes worn in the District are of fine English cloth. The cost of clothing the above family might vary from Rs. 13 a year in the case of a small cultivator to Rs. 40 in that of a large tenant or malguzar. Children's clothes of course cost very little as they go half naked except in the cold weather. The wives of substantial tenants and Kunbi malguzars generally have silver ornaments, while the higher classes wear gold above the waist and silver below. Ornaments are usually given at the time of marriage and cost from Rs. 300 to Rs. 400 in a well-to-do family. The habit of hoarding surplus wealth is now declining in Wardha as the advantage of investing in land or factories and thus obtaining a return becomes apparent. Soda-water is now drunk and cigars and cigarettes are smoked. Those who can afford it have watches and bicycles. Men of the educated classes keep their own razors and shave themselves and let their hair grow like the English. Matches are largely used and kerosene oil universally."

Here an attempt is made to analyse the income and expenditure patterns of various representative families belonging to certain defined income groups. Though such an analysis may not reveal the change in the material prosperity of the people in the district over a period of time, it will positively indicate the trends in the pattern of the standard of living of different families. It will also provide a base for comparison between the standard enjoyed by various strata of the community. It may be pointed out in this connection that though the actual observations corroborate the correctness of the broad outlines of the standard of living of the people in the district in a particular year, no statistical accuracy is claimed. The standard of living is a result of various factors, the main among which are the total income of a family, the total expenditure liability of a family and the prevailing price level. For this purpose the family is to be taken as a unit.

Survey.

The description that follows regarding the patterns of income and expenditure in urban and rural areas of the district is based upon a small sample survey conducted in the district. The survey was conducted in 1967 at Wardha, Arvi, Deoli, Garpit, Hinganghat, Pulgaon, Sindi and Takarkheda in the district besides a few villages.

The following method was adopted for conducting the survey. After selecting the places mentioned above which were representative of rural and urban characteristics, the survey was conducted. A household was adopted as the unit of sampling for the purpose of investigation. Taking into consideration the average annual income of a family and giving due weightage to economic conditions prevailing in the district, the families were grouped as under:

Group I—Families with an annual income of Rs. 4,200 and above.

Group II—Families with an annual income ranging from Rs. 1,800 to Rs. 4,200.

Group III—Families with an annual income of Rs. 1,800 and less.

It may be mentioned here that in the analysis of family budgets two classes of families had been excluded. They were the extremely rich and the extremely poor. In the case of the former the reason for the exclusion was that their study would inflate the averages arrived at. In the case of the latter, it would deflate them. They, thus, formed an exception to the method adopted in this analysis and hence their exclusion.

The details such as number of members, number of earners, income, expenditure, family possessions, indebtedness, literacy conditions, etc., were noted in respect of each family. For the sake of computation an adult or two minors were treated as equal to one unit.

While evaluating the income side of the family budget, value and volume of debts, if any, were also considered besides the income realised from the property which was ascertained from the head of the family. Income from all sources was grouped together. Statistics regarding deductions from the provident fund, bank balance, postal savings, insurance, etc., comprising the savings of a family were also collected at the time of the survey.

Expenditure was divided into two categories viz., monthly and annual. Under the monthly expenditure was included the expenditure incurred by a family on items such as grocery, rent, lighting, domestic services, entertainment, education, etc., in case of which payment is generally made month by month. The other category included such items upon which expenditure was not incurred regularly but was incurred occasionally. Such items included clothing, ornaments, charity, medical relief, travelling, social obligations, etc.

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