CHAPTER XI
REVENUE ADMINISTRATION
| Fiscal History Precise details about the land system prevalent in ancient times are not available, making it somewhat difficult to ascertain the exact set-up of fiscal administration in the region covered by the present district of Etawah, before the Mauryan rule. On the basis of literary and epigraphical evidence, it may be said that free holdings created by. earlier rulers and respected bv subsequent governments had existed. Some proof of State ownership of land in the Vedic period does appear but it was a sort of gradation of ownership; the rights of the ruling authority were super imposed over those of the people without undue hindrance to their rights to till sow and reap, and to inherit or partition their land. This tract, forming a part of domains of the Panchalas, the Mauryas. the Guptas and Harshavardhan was. in all probability. subjected to the usual system of revenue administration prescribed by the Dharma Sutra viz: the duty of the peasant being to raise the crop and to pay a share of the produce directly to the State without the aid of any intermediate agency. Taxation was justified in return for the protection afforded by the ruler. According In the Smritis. the ruler's share varied from one third to one-sixth of the produce. However, the Arthashastra of Kautilya prescribed one-quarter or even one-third for fertile lands, in the proximity of towns. One-quarter was the share mostly levied in the reign of Ashoka. The payment was generally made in kind. It is difficult to ascertain at what time the Muslims firmly applied their system of revenue administration in this tract The Muslim rule at Delhi. dates from 12C6 A.D. when Qutb-ud-din Aibak styling himself as sultan, ascended the throne; but it is doubtful if he had any control over the present territory of Etawah. The fiscal administration operating during the Hindu period continued during the Muslim regime, only Arabic or Persian names were given to some institutions or posts. In Hindu period the village was the smallest unit of all life. The village headman was called aramini His office continued under the muslims under the name of Mukhiya A bigger unit called pargana which comprised a group of villages was, however, introduced with a chief called the chaudhri. The village accountant was known as Patwari. Later the village headman was re-named muqaddam or mukhiya in place of gramadhipati and the pargana accountant became qanungo. In the early phase of Muslim rule, very few references to this rict are to be found in contemporary annals Under Ala-ud-din Khilji this part was subjected to his measures of revenue collections. The revenue demand was fixed at one-half of the produce assessed by measurement and collected wholly or partly in the form of grain. The next mediaeval being who is definitely known to have reorga nised the revenue administration in this tract was Sher Shah. He imtroduced measurement of land by rope or chain. The normal yield of staple crops were calculated for three classes of land; good, middling and inferior, and one-third of this average yield was fixed as the revenue assesment. During Akbar's reign the area covered by the present district fell into four sirkars, those of Agra. Kannuj, Kalpi and Erachh The revenue demand of each pargana in Akbar's reign was as follows .
The statistics of the Ain-i-Akbari point towards a developed agrarian condition prevailing in this tract although no specific details are available regarding the fiscal history of the district during the reigns of either Akbar or his successors except that the land was measured and the revenue was fixed at one-third of the produce. During the anarchy which followed the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 the authority of the Agra governor was completely set at defiance The local chiefs again found themselves almost independent while witholding the tribute due to the imperial treasury they quarrelled among themselves. It was a favourable time for the Rohillas to rise rapidly to power, by taking, advantage of the general confusion and, the jealousies and dissensions of the local chiefs The rough Rohillas with a strong dash of the free booter in their characters were indeed hardly the men to scatter plenty over a smiling land. They adopted a system of direct management and of farming out of the revenue. However the unstable conditions prevailing in the region, obviously allowed little scope "for uniformity in the administration of revenue during these years. The ravages of the Rohillas. Bangash nawabs and Marathas rendered agriculture a very precanous means of subsistence. The area came eventually under the of Avadh towards the latter half of the 18th century.With all the horrors that overwhelmed the lower doab during this time, famine anarchy, the marching about of contending armies of Rohilla, Marathas, nawabs of Avadh and British, it was hardly necessary to attribute the depressed condition of the agriculturists to the bad system of the rohillas alone. In such chaotic conditions, the area covered by the present district of Etawah with some other districts was ceded by Saadat Ali Khan, the nawab of Avadh, to the East India Company (in 1801). Settlements The district of Etawah was formed at the cessation in 1801; but it also included large areas now in adjoining districts, and was administered from Mainpuri. Many changes took place, and in ion were formed. In 1840 the district took its subdivisions were formed, present shape. These changes have resulted in greatly confusing the details of fiscal history; and at the last settlement it was found impossible to verify the figures of revenue for the various tahsils owing to them. The first summary settlement of 1801-02 was based on the accounts of an officer of the Avadh government and it was followed by five triennial settlements, the first one beginning in 1803. The demand at each of those was based on the previous demand and on general considerations, such as the area under cultivation and the ease or difficulty with which collections were made. A large part of the district was held by the Talukdari tenures, but many of the talukdars gave much trouble to the administration The early settlements were oppressive and cultivation decreased .and tenants migrated Operations were commenced along more scientific lines under Regulation VII of 1822, but the progress was extremely slow The year 1825 was very bad and the district suffered from a severe drought. First Regular Settlement—The first regular settlement was made in 1839 under Regulation IX of 1833, The district was in a bad state when the settlement officer took up the work of assessment The operation was based on carefully compiled data, accompanied by a comprehensive record — of rights, perhaps the most important innovation being that the demand of each village was determined by classification and evaluation of soil and crops ana the fixation of revenue for a term of 30 years. The total revenue assessed amounted to Rs 12,48,078 and the assessment proved to be a fair one. Second Regular Settlement—Operation for the settlement of 1870 commenced with the demarcation of boundaries followed by an ordinary field to field planetable survey and continued owing to financial difficulties and other causes till 1872. This was carried out by selected amins, under the control of girdawars and munsa-rims who were supervised by the assistant settlement officers. Great attention was paid to the inspection of the land, more especially on the spot and every care was taken to have the boundaries of the villages accurately drawn. The land of each village was classified according to its soil, and suitable rent-rates for each class of soil were fixed The enhanced revenue was fixed at, Rs 13,27,651 representing an increase of about 11.44 per cent on the old revenue. However, the incidence of the new revenue in Etawah was not severe. Third Regular Settlement—The last settlement in the district commenced in 1911 preceded by a revision of records. The existing village maps were corrected and brought up-to-date. The forma Son of circles and the classification of soil, generally followed the lines laid down in the previous settlement. The revenue demand was fixed at Rs 15,98,264, representing an enhancement of 19.24 per cent The settlement was originally sanctioned for a period of 291 years in the Etawah, Bharthana and Bidhuna tahsils and for 284 years in Auraiya so as to expire on the 30th June, 1944, but it had to remain in force till 30th June, 1952 when the U. P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act came into force on 1st July, 1952. Relation between Landlords and Tenants The land system in ancient India was so simple and conducive to agricultural production that it could hardly pose any serious problem for good relations between the landlord and the tenant Territorial aggrandisement by Muslim adventurers, followed by their attempt to settle down and consolidate power, gave rise to a plethora of problems regarding landholding, assessment, settlements and rights of the cultivating communities. Rulers like Ala-ud-din Khilji, Sher Shah and Akbar, no doubt, adopted measures to lay down a sound policy of land management in the country but frequent spells of misrule, following their reigns brought more misery than relief to the peasantry. The zamindars under the Mughals were functionaries of the state administration in as much as they were agents to collect land revenue. Initially their office was neither proprietary nor hereditary, but after the fall of the Mughal empire and with the rise of the British power in India, they usurped both these rights. The East India Company on acquiring the territory of the present district, followed the then existing system. The Company always came to the rescue of the zamindars where ever they were in trouble for the security of its income, not by reducing the revenue but by strengthening their powers to effect recovery. No definite principles of tenants rights' or tenancy laws existed till much after the national upsurge of 1857. The Land Improvement Act of 1883 and the Agricultural Loans, Act of 1884 provided further relief to indigent cultivators who had fallen prey to the avarice of the money-lenders. Then came the Agra Tenancy Act of 1926 which further ameliorated the miserable condition of the farmers. The U. P. Tenancy Act, 1939 was more fevourable to the tenants, the law in respect of devolution being made elaborate and restrictions being imposed on ejectments. Tenants of sir had been given a certain tenure for five years during which they could not be ejected exrept for non-payment of rent, some other tenants were given the right to make improvements on their land for which consent, of the landlord was not necessary. They could also erect buildings on their land for themselves and their cattle. The tenants rights also became heritable and all tenants, except tenants of sir and sub-tenants, became hereditary tenants with rights of succession from father to son. The fear of enhancement, except at the time of the settlement and up to the fair standard rates fixed by the settlement officers, was completely done away with. However, this Act was a half-way measure because the tenancies were not transferable. The tenants were not benefited materially till the whole structure of the tenure system was changed and the body of persons interposed between the State and the cultivators was eliminated a measure that came into being with the passing, of the U. P. Agricultural Tenants (Acquisition of Privileges) Act 1949 followed by the U. P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 (U. P. Act No. 1 of 1951). LAND REFORMS Abolition of Zamindari The U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 which was enforced in the district on July 1, 1952 brought about an end of the intermediaries and once again established direct relationship between the cultivators and the State. The rights of zamindars in abadi land (inhabited sites), parti (fallow land), banier (barren land) etc. were abolished and rights of the actual tiller enhanced The Act reduced multiplicity of tenures and secured the cultivators ownership of the land providing incentive for improvement Compensation was to be paid to the zamindars. Sub-letting except in cases of disability as defined under the Act was prohibited. There are three types of cultivators now, bhumidhars, sirdars and asamis. Bhumidhars have full proprietary rights. A sirdar can also acquire bhumidhari rights in his holdings by paying to the government a sum equal to twenty times his annual rent. Public land is now vested in the Gaon Samaj and is managed by a committee known as the Bhumi Prabandhak Samiti, i.e., the land management committee. It lets out land on temporary leases for agriculture or horticulture or for other purposes. The tenants are known as asamis of the Gaon Samaj. The Act guaranteed compensation to all ex-zamindars and a rehabilitation grant to those whose land revenue did not exceed Rs 10,000. The total amount of compensation payable to the zamindars of district Etawah been paid in cash and bonds by March 1975 and a sum of Rs 3,87,020 amounted to Rs 1,16,54,088 out of which a sum of Rs 1,16,52,301 had been paid in cash and bonds by March 1975 and a sum of Rs. 3,87,020 had been assessed and paid in cash and bonds by way of rehabilitat-ion grant. In 1973-74 the holdings under different tenures in the district were as follows :
This shows that average holding of almost all classes was about 3 hectares which is good enough as compared to the State average of a little more than one hectare. Collection of Land Revenue—After zamindari abolition the system of direct collection by government was introduced through the agency of the collection amins whose work is supervised by naib-tahsildars, tahsildars and subdivisional officers. The ultimate responsibility for the collection of dues is that of the collector of the district. Commencing from 1952, for brief period the government also appointed a district collection officer for doing this work exclusively but later on he was withdrawn in 1958. On the eve of the abolition of zamindari in 1951-52 the district demand of land revenue was rupees 13,30,534. The district demand of main dues in 1975 recovered as arrears of land revenue was as follows :
Bhoodan—The Bhoodan movement of Acharya Vinoba Bhave was initiated in Uttar Pradesh in 1951 with the object of obtaining land for the landless- By March, 1975, an area of 76 hectares wa received as gift for the landless. But the movement had little effect. The only achievement that can be ascribed to it is bringing about a psychological change in the land-owing class. Consolidation of Holdings The U. P. Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1953, came into force in 1955 to prevent fragmentation of holdings and consequent loss to agricultural production. The main object was to consolidate holdings and to replan the village. Suitable places were reserved for works of public utility; and chak roads were laid out to provide approaches to the holdings in the villages. The tahsil-wise area of holdings consolidated up to 1960, when the operations were closed, was as under :
The scheme was re-started in tahsils Bidhuna and Auraiya on May, 1972 in 25 villages and 49 villages, respectively. Urban Land Reforms—Abolition of zamindari in respect of agricultural lands in urban areas of the district was done after the enactment of the U. P. Urban Areas Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1956 (U. P. Act IX of 1957). Up to March 31, 1975, a sum of Rs 44,832 was assessed as compensation of which Rs 44,760 has been paid. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings To bring about a more even distribution of land, the U. P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960 (Act 1 of 1961), was enforced in the district on January 3, 1961. By a later amendment brought into force on June 8, 1973, the maximum size of holding of a tenant was fixed at 7.30 hectares of irrigated land and 10.95 hectares of unirrigated land. All the land declared surplus would be vested in the State government. Compensation would be paid to the landholder concerned. The Act has affected 400 landholders and an area of 1.402 hectares of land has been declared surplus. An amount of Rs 49,603 was assessed as compensation of which Rs 35,870 has been paid up to March 31, 1975. The result of all these reforms has been extinction of absolute landlords, eradication of unweildy holdings and security of possession of tenure holding. This has provided an incentive to effect improvements and the erection of a large number of small private tube-wells, with lights visible in the dark nights in the district, is a good proof of it. ADMINISTRATION OF TAXES OTHER THAN LAND REVENUE In the district, as elsewhere in the State, sources of revenue include several Central and State taxes. The important ones are central excise and income-tax. Central Excise—A superintendent of the central excise with headquarters at Etawah, exercises jurisdiction over the district. The excise revenue collected in the district from 1970-71 to 1974-75 was as under :
The revenue realised from principal commodities during last 3 years ending 1973-74 is given below :
Income Tax—For income-tax collection, the district is placed under the charge of an income tax officer with his headquarters at Etawah. He also deals with wealth tax and gift fax. The following amounts were collected in the district during the last three years:
Excise—Excise has been one of the most important sources of State revenue in the district since the beginning of the British rule. It is chiefly realised from the sale of liquor. Administration of excise duty is the charge of the collector and district magistrate assisted by the district excise officer. The district is divided into two excise circles each in the charge of an excise inspector. Liquor—The number of liquor retail shops in the district in 1975 was 21- There are 2 licenced dealers for indian-made foreign liquor. The consumption of country liquor in the last five years was :
The total excise revenue during the last two years ending 1973-74 was as follows :
Hemp Drugs—The hemp drugs viz; ganja and bhang constituted important Items of excise revenue in the past. The use of charas is abandoned now and licences for retail sale of bhang are granted through annual auction. The consumption of bhang and ganja in last five years was as follows :
Sales Tax—Sales tax is levied under the U. P. Sales Tax Act, 1948 and the Central Sales Tax Act, 1957. For the purposes of assessment and collection of this tax, the district is put under the charge of a sales tax officer. The amount realised in respect of some important commodities like cloth, kirana, bricks, food-grains, kerosene oil, oil seeds, timber, etc., during five years ending 1974-75 was as follows :
Stamps and Registration—Stamp duty was originally introduced by the British, to discourage large number of law-suits in the courts and for earning revenue from civil litigants, affixation of stamps being required in legal proceedings and in courts of law only. Later on, use of stamps was made obligatory for business transactions, such as receipts, hand-notes, bills of exchange, bonds, etc., Similarly legal documents and sale deeds for the transfer of property also had to be written on stamp paper. Under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, stamps are classified as judicial and non-judicial, the former are used to pay court fees and the latter have to be affixed on bills of exchange in token of defraying duty on documents and receipts, etc. The income from stamps include fines and penalties imposed under the Indian Stamp Act (Act 11 of 1899). The receipts during the five years ending 1973-74 were as follows:
Registration—The district judge, Etawah, is the district registrar. There are 4 sub-registrars in the district, one at each tahsil. The following was the income from registration between 1970-71 and 1974-75 :
Taxes on Motor Vehicle—All motor vehicles are liable to taxation under the U. P. Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1935, and the Indian Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. The regional transport officer, Kanpur is in charge of the district. The collection under passenger taxi goods tax and road tax in the region for the years from 1970-7l to 1974-75 are given below :
Entertainment and Betting Tax—This tax is imposed on all paid public entertainments and betting, cinema houses are the biggest source of this tax. The following statement shows the amount collected between 1969-70 and 1973-74 :
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