Deputy Commissioner:- The general administration of the district is vested in the Deputy Commissioner. For administrative purposes, he is under the control of the commissioner, Jullandur Division, Jullandur.
The Deputy Commissioner has a triple role to play which, as such, is unique in chracter:
(i) As Deputy Commissioner, he is the executive head of the district in the sphere of civil administration, development, panchayats, urban local bodies, co-ordination of all governmental activities,etc.
(ii) As collector, he is the highest officer of the revenue administration in the district. He is responsible for the collection of land revenue, other kinds of government taxes, and fees, and all dues recoverable as arrears of land revenue appeals. He is the appointing authority for the most of the important subordinate revenue staff in the district and supervises and controls the work of all of them. He is responsible for the management of large Government estate. He is the court of Wards for the management of private estate which are held trust by the State for minors and other disqualified persons. He is responsible for the grant and eventual recovery of certain types of loans for agricultural improvement.
(iii) As district Magistrate, he enjoys first- class magisterial powers, though he actually tries a few cases. He supervises all executive magistrates in the district, controls the police and supervises their work. He is concerned to some extent with the administration of jails and sub-jails. He is responsible for the issuing permits and licenses for fire-arms explosive, petroleum and cinemas. He is also responsible for issuing passport, extending visas and controlling the foreigners. Above all, he responsible for the maintenance of law and order, the prevention and suppression of the crime and the preservation of peace and tranquility in the district.
The District Officer is the chief instrument of Government in the district. He has many executive duties and responsibilities, the details of which vary from district to district and from season to season. By and large, he is responsible for the implementation of beneficent schemes, which are initiated by the Revenue Department or by any Government department having field officers working in the district. Accordingly, he is the chief co-ordinating authority on behalf of the State Government at the district level. He is expected to keep watch over the activities of all local authorities in the district and is generally responsible for their supervision and control. He pays particular attention to the implementation of various schemes under the Five Year Plans and Community Development Programme. He keeps the State Government informed of the condition of the district in general in respect of all notable occurrences ranging from the meetings of political parties to village fairs. He is responsible for the compilation of returns of price, crop forecasts, weather reports, etc. he is responsible for the proper conduct of national, State and local elections. He maintains general control over the supply and distribution of controlled articles. He is also concerned with the rehabilitation of displaced persons and famine and flood relief, if and when necessary.
In addition to all his specific duties and responsibilities, the Deputy Commissioner holds residual powers as the State Government’s representative in the district.
Sub-divisional Officers (Civil):- The Sub-divisional Officers(civil) exercise direct control over the Tahsildars and their staff in their respective sub-division. All correspondence between the Deputy Commissioner and the Tahsildars is routed through the respective Sub-divisional officers.
The Sub-divisional Officers have been given the powers of a Deputy Commissioner in regard to the co-ordination work in their respective sub-division without affecting the Deputy Commissioner’s position, authority and effectiveness as the executive head of the district. This decentralization of powers has been effected in accordance with the policy of the government to execute the work speedily and to afford substantial relief to the Deputy Commissioner in order to enable him to concentrate on other important items of work in the district. The Sub-divisional Officer is a miniature District Magistrate in the sub-division. He performs the same kind of work as the District Magistrate. He is the co-ordinating authority among departmental officers posted in the sub-division for the smooth running of the administration and for the successful implemetation of the developmental schemes. He can even correspond direct with the Government on routine matters. He is to perform executive duties in the sub-division in respect of developmental schemes. He is to bodies, market committees, motor taxation, passport, renewal of arms licences, revenue duties, executive and judicial (original and appellate) duties, and to maitain law and order.
Tahsildars and their staff :- Tahsildars and Naib-Tahsildars exercise the
powers of Assistant Collector 2nd Grade. In partition cases,
however, the Tahsildars exercise the powers of Assistant Collector Ist Grade.
Being primarily entrusted with the work of revenue collection, Tahsildars and Naib-Tahsildars have to undertake intensive touring in their areas. They play an important role in the execution of development plans, construction of roads, drains and embankments and in soil conservation and reclamation, in paving the streets, filling of depressions and in attending to sundry matters connected with rural re-construction. They are called upon to enlist active public co-operation for the development work and, as such, render substantial help and co-operation to the Block Development and Panchayat Officers.
Tahsildars and Naib-Tahsildars are assisted by a Sadr Kanungo and a Naib-Sadr Kanungo, in charge of the recordss, at the district headquarters. The Tahsildar, Amritsar, is assisted by 5 Naib-Tahsildars, 1 Office Kanungo, 6 Kanungos, 114 Patwaris and 2 Naib-Patwaris. The Tahsildar, Ajnala, is assisted by 2 Naib-Tahsildars, 1 Office Kanungo, 5 Kanungoos, 95 Patwaris and 5 Naaib-Patwaris. The Tahsildar, ?Tarn Taran, is assisted by 5 Naib-Tahsildars, 1 Office Kanungo, 5 Kanungos, 107 Patwaris and 7 Naib-Patwaris. The Tahsildar, Patti, is assisted by 2 Naib-Tahsildars, 1 Office Kanungo, 3 Kanungos, 49 Patwaris and 4 Naib-Patwaris.
The Patwaris prepare and maintain village revenue and revenue statistical records. The district is divided into 364 Patwar Circles.
The zaildari system was abolished in 1948. Before that, the villages were grouped to form a zail, each of which was placed under a Zaildar. In the field of general administration also, he assisted the Government.
A Lambardar is an important functionary in the village administration. Besides land revenue collection, he is required to keep watch over law and order position in his area and report any breach thereof to the nearest police-station. He is assisted in his work by the village chowkidar. A Lambardar is paid chotra, i.e. 5 per cent of the land revenue collection, which is, in fact, an extra charge on land revenue.
The district is divided into 15 Development Blocks, viz. Jandiala Guru, Majitha, Rayya, Tarasikka, Verka (Tahsil Amritsar), Ajnala, Chogawan (Tahsil Ajnala), Bhikhiwinnd, Patti, Valtoha (Tahsil Patti), Chohla, Gandiwind, Khadur Sahib, Nausherhra Pannuan and Tarn Taran( Tahsil Tarn Taran). The minimum number of villages in a Block is about 60. The Block Development and Panchayat Officer is in charge of a block.
The Block Development and Panchayat Officer is under the administrative control of the chairman of the respective Block Samiti, Sub-divisional Officer (Civil) of the respective sub-division, and the District Development and Panchayat Officer at the district level, besides being under the oveall control of the Deputy Commisioner.
The Block Development and Panchayat Officer is primarily responsible for the successful implementation of the Community Development Programme. He is assisted by a Social Education and Panchayat Officer, a Lady Social Education Organizer, an Overseer (popularly known as Extension Officer), 10 Gram Sevaks and 2 Gram Sevikas, besides ministerial Class III and miscellaneous Class IV staff. The other Extension Officers, belonging to the Departments of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Co-operation and Industries, assisting the Block Development and Panchayat Officer and posted in the Block are the employees of their respective departments. They have been, however, put under the administrative control of the Block Development and Panchayat Officer for running the work smoothly. This arrangement was made after the introduction of the Panchayati Raj in the State for effecting the co-ordination of the activities of the various departments.
The Panchayati Raj is a system of decentralization and delegation of authority to local agents of the State Government and to set up such democratic institutions for the welfare of the people as may be chosen by them and would be answerable to them. It is a three-tier system which consists of panchayats at the village level, panchayat samitis at the block level and zila parishad at the district level.
Panchayats :- The setting up of Panchayats is a bold step forward in the process of democratic decentralization. A Panchayat is the basic unit of the Panchayati Raj, and the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952 (as amended up to August 1961), provides for the establishment of a panchayat in every village with a population of not less than 500 persons, and a joint panchayat for a village with a smaller population by grouping it with some contiguous village or villages, so that the population of the villages, so grouped, is not less than 500. As many as 1011 panchayats were formed, covering the rural area of the district – Verka Block (67), Majitha Block (79), Rayya Block (68), Tarsikka Block (72), Jandiala Guru Block (64), Tarn Taran Block (70), Khadur Sahib Block (62), Naushehra Pannuan Block (56), Chohla Block (45), Gandiwind Block (66), Ajnala Block (119), Chogawan Block (89), Patti Block (54), Bhikhiwind Block (55) and Valtoha Block (45).
Though the panchayats have administrative and executive, criminal judicial, and civil revenue judicial functions, yet the role assigned to them under the Panchayati Raj is one of all-round development, with particular emphasis on increased agricultural production.
The Panchayati Raj is, thus, a pyramidal structure with the panchayat at the base level, the panchayat samiti at the intermediate level and the zila parishad at the apex of the structure. Virtually, all programmes of economic development are to be channelled through this organization.
Panchayat Samitis :-There are 15 panchayat samitis in the district, i.e. one in each block. Each panchayat samiti consists of 16 members elected by panches and sarpanches of gram panchayats in the block from among themselves; two members, representing the co-operative societies within the jurisdiction of the panchayat samiti, elected from amongst the members of these societies; associated members, and the co-opted members, comprising two women and four persons belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, besides the Block Development and Panchayat Officer and the respective Sub-divisional Officer as ex-officio members. The associated members and ex-officio members are not entitled to vote in the meeting. The term of a member was, in the first instance, fixed for three years, but was subsequently raised to five years. A panchayat samiti has its own Chairman and Vice-Chairman, besides the respective Block Development and Panchayat Officer as its Executive Officer. A meeting of the samiti is held at least once in three months.
A panchayat samiti is expected to make arrangements for the integrated development of the area within its jurisdiction in respect of agriculture, public-health and rural sanitation, animal husbandary, fishries, communications, social education, co-operation, and miscellaneous items, such as organization and management of panchayat samiti fairs, establishment and management of cattle pounds, and the management of public ferries.
A panchayat samiti has three standing committees, meeting of which are held every month.
Zila Parishad :- Under the Punjab Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishads Act, 1961, the District Board, Amritsar, was replaced by the Zila Parishad, Amritsar, in 1962. Besides its Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Secretary, the membership of the Zila Parishad comprises two members out ot the primary members of each Panchayat Samiti to be elected by the Panchayat Samiti, Chairman of each Panchayat Samiti, Deputy Commissioner, members of the Lok Sabha, the Vidhan Sabha and the Vidhan Parishad, representing districts or any part thereof, and co-opted members including two women and five other persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The term of the members was in the first instance, fixed for three years, but was subsequently raised to five years. The meeting of the Zila Parishad is held once in three months.
The Zila Parishad has three standing committees, meetings of which are held every month.
(e) General Arrangement for the Disposal of Business :- In addition to the Sub divisional Officer (Civil), Tahsildars, and Block Development and Panchayat Officers, the Deputy commissioner is assisted by 2 General Assistants, 1 Public Grievances Officer, 1 District Development and Panchayat Officer, 1 Civil Defence Officer, 4 Executive Magistrates, and 2 Assistant Commissioner (under training). Out of these, the Assistant Commissioners are from the Indian Administrative Service and the rest are from the Provincial Civil Service.
General Assistants :- They are the Deputy Commissioner’s personal executive officers and assist him in his executive and administrative functions. They are in charge of the office work. All the branches of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, except the Low-Income-Group Housing, the Minimum Income-Group-Housing, Civil Defence, district Revenue Accounts and Sadr Kanungo Branches, are entrusted to them. They also attend to the court work concerning security cases. The General Assistant II also attends to the registration work in respect of the Amritsar city.
Public Grievances Officer :- He is meant for removing the grievances of the public and expediting action on the complaints received in his office from the public relating to all the departments. He also acts as a co-ordinating officer in the disposal of the complaints of the public.
District Development and Panchayat Officer :- He is in-charge of the work relating to the development, panchayats, Community Development Programme, Five-Year Plans, local development, etc. He controls the Block Development and Panchayat Officers in the district in respect of the implementation of the Community Development Programme.
Civil Defence Controller :- The Deputy Commissioner is the ex-officio Civil Defence Controller of the district. He is responsible for civil defence. He has multifarious duties to perform at the time of aggression, conflict or war. In addition to the other duties, his main functions pertain to the maintenance of the fore-fighting equipment, proper functioning of sirens, digging of trenches, alternative arrangements for electricity, control over vehicles, first-aid, extension of hospital facility by arranging additional beds, replacement of police by home-guards, etc.
In the performance of these duties, the Deputy Commissioner is assisted by a Civil Defence Officer, who has no district duties attached to his office.
Executive Magistrates :- There are four Executive Magistrates in the district. They attend to the court work relating to the security/revenue case.
The criminaal executive work relating to the police-stations in the district is attended to by the Executivee Magistrates, District Development and Panchayat Officer/ General Assistant/ Civil defence Officer/ sub-divisional Officers (Civil), etc.
Assistant Commissioners :- There are two Assistant Commissioners (under training) in the district. The number of trainees varies from time to time. They also help to run the administration and attend to the court work regarding security cases.
Registration :- The Deputy Commissioner is the Register and, in that capacity, is responsible for the registration work in the district. Contrary to the old practice, he does not hold his post in an ex-officio capacity. The registration work in the Amritsar Tahsil is done by the Tahsildar and a Naib-Tahsildar assisted by 3 Clerks. However, the work in respect of the Amritsar city is entrusted to the General Assistant II. In the Tarn Taran Tahsil, registration work is performed by the Tahsildar and a Naib-Tahsildar, assisted by 2 Clerks. In the Patti Tahsil, registration is done by Tahsildar and Naib-Tahsildar, assisted by 1 Clerk, and, in Ajnala Tahsil, this work is done by the Tahsildar and a Naib-Tahsildar, assisted by 1 Clerk.
At the district headquarters, there is 1 Head Registration Clerk and an Assistant Superintending Revenue and Records who compile the information for the entire district.
Official Receiver :- There is one Official Receiver at Amritsar appointed by the Government on the recommendations of the district and Session judge. He is in charge of the insolvency estates, on the receipt of the application by any erson for solvency, his property is put under his charge and he disposes it of according to the orders of the insolvency Court. He keeps 7 ½ percent of the proceeds as his remuneration. He also acts as the Court Auctioner and gets 4 per cent commission on the auction proceeds.
Oath Commissioner :- There are 27 Oath Commissioner in the district: 21 at Amritsar, 3 at Tarn Taran, 1 at Ajnala and 2 at Patti. They charge one rupee as attestation fee for an affidavit attested by them.
Notary Publics :- There are two Notary Publics in the district: one appointed by the Central Government, and the other by the State Government on the recommendations of the Legal Remembrancer. The one appointed by the State Government is authorized to attest all documents, wills, special power of attorney and copies of all documents on receiving charges approved by the Government. He is also authorized to translate documents on payment. His tenure of office is three years, and it may be extended for another term.
District Attorney :- Formerly designated as Public Prosecutor or Government Pleader, the District Attorney is appointed by the Home Secretary to Government, Punjab. He is assisted by 5 Assistant District Attorneys, besides ministerial and allied Class IV staff.
The District Attorney and the Assistant District Attorneys are not allowed to engage in private practice.
The following District Committees, which meet at the district headquarters, have been constituted to accelerate the disposal of business :
|
Sr. No. |
Committee |
Chairman |
Secretary |
|
Monthly Meetings |
|||
|
1. |
District Vigilance Committee |
|
|
|
|
(i) Officers |
Deputy Commissioner |
Public Grievances Officer |
|
|
(ii) Public |
|
|
|
2. |
Agricultural Committee |
Ditto |
District Development and Panchayat Officer |
|
3. |
Revenue Officers |
Ditto |
Officer in Charge Revenue |
|
4. |
House Allotment Committee |
Ditto |
General Assistant II |
|
Quarterly Meetings |
|||
|
1. |
District Magistrate, Superintendent of Police, District Attorney |
Ditto |
General Assistant I |
|
2. |
District Magistrate, District and sessions Judge, Senior Superintendent of Police and Chief Judicial Magistrate |
District and sessions Judge |
General Assistant I |
Police :- The Senior Superintendent of Police is the head of the police organization in the district and ranks only next to the Deputy Commissioner for the maintenance of law and order. This item has been discussed in detail in Chapter XII, ‘Law and Order and Justice.’
Judiciary :- The separation of the judiciary from the executive was effected from October 2, 1964. This item is dealt with in detail in Chapter XII, ‘Law and Order and Justice.’
(h) Other State and
Central Government Officers
State Government Officers
1. Director, Land Reclamation, Irrigation and Power Research Institute, Punjab, Amritsar
1.
Superintending Engineer, PWD (B&R), Amritsar
2.
Superintending Engineer, Upper Baru Doab Canal, Amritsar
3. Superintending
Engineer, Amritsar Drainage Circle, Amritsar
4. Superintending
Engineer, Punjab State Electricity Board, Amritsar
5. Principal, Medical College, Amritsar
6. Principal, Punjab Government Dental
College and Hospital, Amritsar
7. Medical Superintendent, Punjab V.J.
Hospital, Amritsar
8. Principal, Government College for
Women, Amritsar
9. Medical Superintendent, Punjab
Mental Hospital, Amritsar
10. Principal, I.T.C. Dayanand
Polytechnic Institute, Amritsar
11. Principal, Punjab Institute of
Texile Technology, Amritsar
12. Dean of Hygiene and Vaccine
Institute, Punjab, Amritsar
13. Executive Engineer, Amritsar
Provincial Division, PWD, Amritsar
14. Executive Engineer, Jandiala
Division, Upper Bari Doab Canal, Amritsar
15. Executive Engineer, Majitha
Division, Upper Bari Doab Canal, Amritsar
16. Executive Engineer, Satluj
Canalization Circle, Amritsar
17. Executive Engineer, Drainage
Investigation Division, Amritsar
18. Executive Engineer, Bridges,
Amritsar Drainage Division, Amritsar
19. Executive Engineer, Amritsar
Public-Health Division, Amritsar
20. Executive Engineer, PWD (B&R),
Amritsar
21. Executive Engineer, Amritsar
Division, Punjab State Electricity Board, Amritsar
22. Executive Engineer, Maintenance and
Test Division, Punjab State Electricity Board, Amritsar
23. Executive Engineer, PWD (B&R),
Construction Division, Amritsar
24. Executive Engineer, Construction
Division No. 2, Amritsar
25. Divisional Town Planner, Amritsar
Division, Amritsar
26. Divisional Forest Officer, Amritsar
Forest Division, Amritsar
27. General Manager, Punjab Roadways,
Amritsar
28. Senior Superintendent of Police,
Amritsar
29. District and Sessions Judge,
Amritsar
30. Chief Medical Officer, Amritsar
31. General Manager, Milk Plant, Verka
32. District Exercise and Taxation
Officer, Amritsar
33. Assistant Registrar, Co-operative
Societies, Amritsar
34. District Food and Supplies
Controller, Amritsar
35. District Food and Supplies Officer,
Amritsar
36. District Agricultural Officer,
Amritsar
37. District Animal Husbandry Officer,
Amritsar
38. Conciliation Officer, Ist Circle,
Amritsar
39. Conciliation Officer, 2nd Circle,
Amritsar
40. Senior Technical Officer, Quality
Marking Centre, Amritsar
41. Senior District Industries Officer,
Amritsar
42. Secretary, Zila Parishad, Amritsar
43. Commandant, 33rd BN,
Punjab Armed Police, Amritsar
44. District Commandar, Punjab Home
Guards, Amritsar
45. Station Battalion Commandar, Punjab
Home Guards 131/CN, Amritsar
46. Land Acquisition Collector, Amritsar
Improvement ?Trust, Amritsar
47. Cantonment Executive Officer,
Cantonment Board, Amritsar
48. General Manager, Amritsar Central
Co-operative Consumers’ Store, Amritsar
49. Treasury Officer, Amritsar
50. District Public Relations Officer,
Amritsar
51. Superintendent, District Jail,
Amritsar
52. District Education Officer, Amritsar
53. Sub-Regional Employment Officer,
Employment Exchange, Amritsar
54. District Attorney, Grade I, Amritsar
55. District Statistical Officer,
Amritsar
56. Textile Officer (Marketing), Punjab,
Amritsar
57. Additional Superintendent of Police,
Amritsar
Central Government Officer (excluding Military Officers)
1. Textile Commissioner, Amritsar
2. Senior Superintendent of
Post-Offices, Amritsar
3. General Manager, Locomotive
Workshops, Amritsar
4. Divisional Engineer, Telephones,
Amritsar
5. Assitant Director, Intelligence
Bureau, Amritsar
6. Inspecting Assistant
Commissioner, Income-Tax, Amritsar
7. Appellate Assistant Commissioner,
Income-Tax, Amritsar
8. Deputy Collector of Land Customs,
Amritsar
9. Assistant Collector, Land
Customs, Amritsar
10. Controller of Imports and
Exports, Amritsar
11. Assistant Collector, Central
Excise, Amritsar
CHAPTER
XI
REVENUE ADMINISTRATION
|
|
|
|
(a) |
|
|
(b) |
|
|
(c) |
(a) Land Revenue Administration
(i) History of Land Revenue Assessment and Management
Early History of the District :- During the medieval period, the Amritsar District
was attached to the Province of Lahore and was ruled by the Mughal Governor
whose headquarters were at Lahore. Guru Nanak Dev, the founder kof the Sikh
faith, was born in 1469, but it was a century later that Amritsar was
established as the seat of the Sikhs and they began to add secular interests to
spiritual occupations. On the decline of the Mughal Empire, the tract now
included in the Amritsar District was gradually taken possession of by the more
powerful of the Sikh chiefs and confederacies. But it was not until the
beginning kof the nineteenth century that the Sikhs, under Maharaja Ranjit
Singh, established themselves as a political force. Amritsar was divided into
the Maharaja’s Treasury at Lahore and took from the people as much as he safely
could. After the two Anglo-Sikh Wars, the Punjab was annexed by the British in
1849.
Amritsar was constituted as a British district in 1849, with
four tahsils or parganas, viz. Tarn
Taran, Amritsar, Saurian (now Ajnala) and Talwandi (later Rayya and now the
Narowal Tahsil of the Saikot District of Pakistan). The Talwandi pargana was withdrawn in 1869 and only
three tahsils were left in the district, viz. Tarn Taran, Amritsar and the
present Ajnala. During the first regular settlement of 1852-54, substantial
changes were made in the boundaries of these tahsils by the redistribution of
estates among them and the accession of estates from the Lahore and Gurdaspur
districts.
With the partition of the country in 1947, 186 revenue estates of
the Kasur Tahsil of the Lahore District (Pakistan) were transferred to India
and included in the Amritsar District. These estates, with headquartes at
Patti, were declared a separate sub-tahsil of the Tarn Taran Tahsil in this
district. Later on, 67 more estates from the Tarn Taran Tahsil were transferred
to the Patti Sub-Tahsil and it was notified as a separate full-fledged tahsil vide Punjab Government Notification No.
3899-R/51/4041, dated the 14th August, 1952. Out of these, 52
villages were returned to the Tarn Taran Tahsil from the Patti Tahsil vide Punjab Government Notification No.
101-SM-56/3177, dated the 25th June, 1956. One more village was
excluded from the Patti Tahsil and included in the Tarn Taran Tahsil vide Punjab Government Notification No.
2551-R-IV-62/3463, dated the 26th June, 1962. Since 1854, the
Amritsar Tahsil has remained unchanged, except that two villages were
transferred to it from the Tarn Taran Tahsil in 1958-59. Some minor changes
were also effected in the Ajnala Tahsil- five estates gained and the whole of
one and part of another lost in the fourth regular settlement of 1910-14, and
one gained during the settlement of 1936-40. All these transfers took place
among the riverine estates.
Summary Settlement of 1849-50 :- The summary
settlement was carried out by Major Lake in 1849-50. Confused statistics and
subsequent schanges in the boundaries left no clear record of the assessment.
But this at least can be said that it was based on he records of the collection
made by the Sikhs under their system of appraisement of produce and that it was
on the whole unsatisfactory. In the Tarn Taran Tahsil, the demand was lenient,
but unevenly distributed. In the Amritsar Tahsil, it was noot only unequal but,
in many cases, oppressively heavy. In the Ajnala Tahsil, the burden was juast
as heavy, but more equitably distributed. Similar was the case of the Patti
Tahsil, though its settlement was made along with that okf the Lahore District.
Information about the amount of the demand was incomplete, but its incidence on
the cultivated area is known to have been one rupee in Tarn Taran, Rs. 2/1/3 in
Amritsar, Rs. 2/9/9 in Ajnala, and Rs. 1/14/8 over the whole district.
Information in respect of the Patti Tahsil was not available, as it was not in
existence at the time. However, it was fkortunate that the first regular
settlement came quickly to the relief of the landowners.
First Regular Settlement, 1852-54 :-
This was done by R.H. Davies between
1852 and 1854. He was apprently instructed to impose a demand equal to
one-fourth of the value of the gross produce. This settlement showed the
beginning of a modern approach to the problems of assessment- arrangement of
estates in assessment circles, classification of estates according to their
fertility, and dry and wet rates of assessment. So far as can be gathered from
the incomplete data available at this distant date, the new assessment were a
reduction of 11 percent in Amritsar Tahsil and an increase of 7 percent in the
Tarn Taran Tahsil. The actual demands were as under2 :
|
Tahsil |
Demand in rupees |
Cultivated per cultivated acre |
|
|
Rs. |
Rs. As Ps |
|
Tarn Taran |
275687 |
1 - 0 - 9 |
|
Amritsar |
432446 |
1 - 15 - 11 |
|
Ajnala |
274260 |
2 - 3 - 5 |
|
Total District |
982393 |
1
- 10 -
1 |
1. Two new sub-tahsils, viz. Khem Karan and Baba Bakala, were created in Amritsar District with effect from april 1, 1970.
2. The amount is given according to the old coinage system of rupees
(Rs), annas (As) and pies (Ps), prevalent before the introduction of decimal
coinage in 1957. A rupee consisted of 16 annas or 64 paise or 192 pies, an anna
consisted of 4 paise or 12 pies, and a paise consisted of 3 pies.
In terms of the new decimal coins, a rupee is equal to 100 paise, an
anna equal to 6 paise, four annas equal to 25 paise and eight annas equal to 50
paise.
Prices,
which had been falling while the settlement was in progres, continued their
downward trend and it soon became apparent that the new demand in Ajnala Tahsil
was too severe. Cultivators began to abandon their holdings and the balances
accumulated. In 1859, a revision of the assessment was undertaken and that gave
relief to 128 villages and, with the reduction sanctioned by the Chief
Commissioner in 1858, permanently reduced the demand by some thirty ix thousand
rupees in that Tahsil.
Second Regular Settlement 1862-65 :-
the term of Davies’ settlement was ten years and its revision was undertaken in
1862 by E.A. Prinsep, Settlement Commissioner, whose assessment was imposed
from kharif 1865. New records and
maps were made for each estate, assessment circles were recast and rates framed
for each. But Prinsep wrote no assessment or final reports on his operations
and his inspection notes were generally based on statistical information and
rarely on a personal visit to the estate concerned. He undertook his task with
impresion that the expiring settlement had worked very fairly but that its
distribution was faulty owing to the mechanical treatment of villages which had
been produced by excessively minute classification, and its irrigated villages
were too highly assessed owing to undue optimism about the capacity of ells.
His broad classification of estates was based on his regarding them as fully or
fairly cultivated or backward, and lenient treatment of wells was a feature of
the setlement. The assessment was imposed in the form of a soil rate on land in
unirrigated aspect plus a lump sum per well. In addition, a water-advantage
rate was imposed on the land irrigated from the Upper Bari Doab Canal (which
had been opened in 1860) at the rate of one rupee an acre for irrigation in one
harvest of the year with eight annas (fifty paise) more for land irrigated in
the second harvest. The principle followed in assessing was that Government was
entitled to a share equivalent to one-half of the landlord’s net assets, which
were supposed to be 50 per cent of the gross produce. The reassessment resulted
n an immediated reduction o the demand and even when the deferred assessments
amounting to 33821 came into effect ten to twenty years later, the ultimate
demand was very little more than the revised demand of the first regular
settlement. The actual figures, exclusive of water-advantage rate, were :
|
Tahsil |
Demand in rupees |
Cultivated per cultivated acre |
|
|
Rs. |
Rs. As Ps |
|
Tarn Taran |
292323 |
0 - 15 - 8 |
|
Amritsar |
415315 |
1 - 10 - 8 |
|
Ajnala |
242624 |
1 - 10 - 11 |
|
Total District |
950262 |
1
- 5 -
11 |
Deferred assessments were imposed on
estates classified as not fully cultivated and backward i.e. those in which
there was a large area of waste which Prinsep anticipated would come under the
plough. In may cases, this anticipation did not prove correct. Land watered by
the canal was assessed in its un-irrigated aspect, but a fluctuating owner’s
rate or water-advantage rate of one rupee per acre was imposed on all fields
receiving canal water for the kharif
harvest. If the same field received canal water again for the rabi harvest, it paid a further rate of
eight annas (50 paise) per acre. The settlement was ultimately sanctioned for a
term of 20 years, dating from the kharif of 1865, but was actually in force for as
long as 27 ½ years in the Ajnala Tahsil.
This
settlement aroused considerable controversy and, though it worked well on the
whole, had to be revised in thirty-nine estates in the Sailab and Hithar
circles of Ajnala where a permanent reduction of Rs. 5338 was sanctioned in
1880. The inelasticity of the water-advantage rate and insufficient
differentiation from circle rates in the assessment of wells were flaws in the
settlement, but the major difficulty was the progressive enhancements which
were in many cases utterly misconceived. Optimism about the potential expansion
generated by statistics was falsified by infertile soil which was not worth the
trouble of cultivation.