Tahsil		Revenue (in rupees)							Remarks
		Previous year’s demand	New demand	Increase per cent	Rate of incidence (per acre)
					Cultivated		Cropped
					Old coinage	Decimal coinage	Old coinage	Decimal coinage
		Rs	Rs		Rs. A.P	Rs. P.	Rs. A.P	Rs. P.
Batala	..	4,77,612	6,13,785	29	2-8-9	2.55	2-5-8	2.35	*The Dhaia Bet Beas Circle of this 37 villages under fluctuating assessment. The average demand, Rs 6,591, has been entered and taken into account in working out the incidence.
Gurdaspur*	..	5,46,414	5,56,138	23	2-6-0	2.37	2-2-10	2.18
Shakargarh (transferred to Pakistan in 1947)	..	3,66,352	4,28,432	17	1-14-10	1.93	1-15-7	1.98
Pathankot	..	**2,36,568	**2,55,778	8	2-0-3	2.02	1-12-8	1.79	**Excludes Rs 1,184, old demand and Rs, 1213, new demand, Dalhousie (Himachal Pradesh)
Total of the District	..	**15,26,946	**18,54,133	21	2-4-0	2.25	2-1-10	2.11

The settlement was sanctioned for a period of 30 years with effect from kharif, 1910, in Gurdaspur and Batala, kharif, 1911, in Shakargarh (transferred to Pakistan in 1947) and kharif, 1912, in Pathankot. The assessment was liberally linient. Under the British, Jats were recuited tahsilas and Rajputs to a less extent from Shakargarh Tahsil ; political condiserations were always to carry weight in the district, and in a tract of small holdings it was impossible to take a full half net asets from the revenue-payers. The average acreage per share was 8 in Pathankot, 7 in Gurdaspur and 6 each in Batala and Shakargarh. The rates per acre imposed on different classes of soil varied from a maximum of Rs 5 per acre on chahi in the Bet Ravi Circle of Gurdaspur and the Bet Ravi and Paintala circles of Shakargarh to 8 annas (50paise) per acre on the lowest class of barani in the hill circle. The average incidence per acre cultivated varied form Rs 2-14-8 (Rs 2.92) in the Western Nahri Circle of Batala to Re 1-3-7 (Re 1.22) in the Pahari Circle of Pathankot, and per acre cropped form Rs 2-9-3 (Rs 2.58) in the Maira Kiran and Bet Ravi circles of Batala to Re 1-6-4 (Re 1.40) in the Hill Circle of Pathankot. Details will be found in paragraphs 44-47 of the Settlement Report of the Gurdaspur District, 1912, and in the Assessment Report for each tahsil.⁵

Working of the Settlement of 1907-12. – The settlement was sanctioned for a period of 30 years. It seems to have worked well during the normal years while, in the years of flood and other natural calamities, a number of remissions and suspensions were made.

The assessment made in the settlement operations in the district, during 1907-12, was due for re-assessment after a period of 30 years. But, it could not be undertaken on account of the World War II (1939-45) followed by the partition of the country and its independence in 1947. The land revenue, therefore, continued to be the same as was fixed in the last settlement.

The charges of land revenue, fixed early in the second decade of the present century, had lost their contact with the income arising out of land. With the expansion of Government establishment and introduction of various development plans, the Government expenditure had also vastly increased, particularly since the independence. The State Government, therefore, trapped different sources of revenue to meet this ever-growing demand. As regards land revenue, in addition to the demand assessed during the settlement operations of 1907-12, Surcharge, Special Assessment, Special Charge and Additional Charge are being levied in accordance with the Punjab Land Revenue (Surcharge) Act, 1954, the Punjab Land Revenue (Special Assessment) Act, 1956, the Punjab Land Revenue (Special Charges) Act, 1958, and the Punjab Land Revenue (Additional Charges) Act, 1960.

_______________________________________________________________

5. H.D. Craik, Assessment Report of the Batala Tahsil of the Gurdaspur District (Lahore, 1909)

F.W. Kennaway, Assessment Report of the Gurdaspur Tahsil of the Gurdaspur District (Lahore, 1910)

F.W. Kennaway, Assessment Report of the Pathankot Tahsil of the Gurdaspur District (Lahore, 1911)

F.W. Kennaway, Assessment Report of the Shakargarh Tahsil of the Gurdaspur District (Lahore, 1911)

(ii) Collection of Land Revenue

The collection of land revenue is the responsibility of the Lambardar (village headman) for which he is paid pachotra, a cess charged at the rate of 5 per cent of the land revenue. Under the First Regular Settlement, 1852, village Lambardars were required to collect the land revenue from the concerned communities of landowners.

Besides land revenue, the Lambardars also collect abiana and water advantage rate, for which they are paid 3 per cent and 5 per cent, repectively, as collection charges.

(iii) Income from Land Revenue and Special Cesses

Land Revenue. – The land revenue fixed, as in the last settlement of 1911-12, is realised to this day as there has been no revised settlement thereafter.

In the year 1961, the Punjab Land Revenue (Thur, Sem, Chos and Sand) Remission and Supervision Rules, 1961, were enforced under which land revenue of all lands, rendered unculturable on account of thur and sem, is remitted.

Land revenue is realised in two instalments, i.e. for kharif crops by the 15^th December and for rabi crops by the 15^th June. The following statement gives the details of income from land revenue and remission in the district, during 1967-68 to 1971-72 :-

Special Cesses.- Besides the land revenue, the following cesses are levied on the landowners: -

Village Officers’ Cess

Formerly the village officer’s cess used to include patwar cess also. In the earlier period of statements, a normal rate for the patwar cess was considered to be 6 pies (3 paise) per rupee of the land revenue which is equivalent to a surcharge of 3 1/8 per cent, an additional quarter or half per cent being taken on account of Patwari’s stationary. But, later on, the cess was found to be too light to meet the expenditure which new standards of revenue work demanded and the rate was increased to about 6 ¼ per cent. The patwar cess was entirely remitted in 1906 when the State took over charge of Patwaris and only a pachotra, was charged as the name implies, amounting to 5 per cent of land revenue, was charged as the commission for the Lambardar whereas the cost of the zaildari and sufedposhi agencies was met by setting aside 1 per cent of the land revenue.

With the abolition of zaildari and sufedposhi agencies in 1948, only pachotra at the rate of 5 per cent of land revenue is being charged as the village officer’s cess.

Local Rate

It has grown from small beginnings. It was usual in early settlements to levy road cess at 1 per cent of land revenue. Subsequently, education and postal cesses, amounting to 1 per cent and ½ per cent, respectively, were added. But, under the Punjab Local Rates Act, 1871, a k\local rate amounting to 6 ¼ per cent of land revenue was imposed. The local rate was raised by the Punjab Local Rates Act, 1878, from 6 ¼ per cent to 8 1/3 per cent for providing relief to the famine stricken people.

With the passing of the Punjab District Boards Act, 1883, the road, education and postal cesses were merged in the local rate, and the legal limit of the rate was raised to 12 ½ per cent of the land revenue and owners rate, and under this Act, the whole of the local rate was credited to the District Board.

Later on, the local rate was reduced to 6 ¼ per cent. It was raised to 9 3/8 per cent. Vide Punjab Government Notification No. 1393-L6-45/9263, dated May 29, 1945, enforced from April 1, 1945. But, before the recovery could be effected, it was further raised to 12 ½ per cent vide Punjab Government Notification No. 3497-L6-45/26559, dated October 5, 1945, enforced restrospectively from April 1, 1945.

The local rate was further increased to 25 per cent of the land revenue vide Punjab Government Notification No 4393-B&C-48/22423,dated April-26, 1948 to be enforced from kharif 1947. It was still raised from kharif 1948 to 50 per cent of the land revenue, which continues to be forced.

The table below shows the amount of local rate collections in the Gurdaspur District, during the period 1967-68 to 1971-72.

Year ending Rabi		Local Rate collections (Rs)
1967-68	..	8,22,707
1968-69	..	8,33,429
1969-70	..	8,33,281
1970-71	..	8,42,253
1971-72	..	7,23,025

(Source : Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur)

Surcharge on Land Revenue

The assessment of land revenue during the last settlement of 1911-12 was made chiefly on the basis of the then prevailing prices of the produce. The term of the settlement has long since expired. In course of time, the prices of various crops have increased to a very great extent. On the basis of the increase in prices, there would be a corresponding increase in the net assets of a circle which would, in the ordinary course, have meant an increase in the assessment of land revenue if regular settlements were undertaken by Government. As it was not possible to conduct regular settlements from time to time owing to administrative difficulties and Government needed more revenue immediately to meet the ever increasing expenditure on the development, a surcharge was imposed on the existing land revenue.

Accordingly, the Punjab Land Revenue (Surcharge) Act, 1954, was enacted for the levy of surcharge with effect from rabi harvest of the agricultural year 1953-54. Under the Act, every landowner, who pays land revenue in the State of Punjab in excess of ten rupees, is liable to pay a surcharge thereon to the extent of one quarter of land revenues, if the amount payable by him as land revenue does not exceed thirty rupees, and two-fifths of the land revenue, where the amount payable by him exceeds thirty rupees. It was also provided in the Act that this shall continue to be charged and levied so long as the assessment of land revenue prevailing at the commencement of this Act continues to be in force.

The income from the surcharge in the Gurdaspur District, during 1967-68 to 1971-72 is shown below :

Year ending Rabi		Income from Surcharge (Rs)
1967-68	..	2,28,871
1968-69	..	1,51,743
1969-70	..	1,43,028
1970-71	..	1,45,126
1971-72	..	1,08,955

(Source : Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur)

Special Assessment on Land put to Non-agricultural Use

Special assessment on land put to non-agricultural use was levied under the Punjab Land Revenue (Special Assessment) Act, 1956. It was, however, stopped from kharif 1964.

Special Charge on Land Revenue

Agricultural income tax, as such, has not been levied in the Punjab. In lieu thereof, however, a Special Charge, under the Punjab Land Revenue (Special Charges) Act, 1958, was imposed with effect from rabi 1958. The rate of Special Charge is based on income tax pattern with different slabs for different categories of landowners. The slab rates are such that the incidence of special charge falls on those who can afford to pay it. While the landholders paying land revenue up to Rs 50 have been exempted from the provisions of the Act, those paying more than Rs 1,000 have been subjected to 300 per cent increase in the land revenue.

The following table shows the income from the special charge on land revenue, in the Gurdaspur District, during the period from 1967-68 to 1971-72 :-

Year ending Rabi		Income from Special Charge (Rs)
1967-68	..	1,46,976
1968-69	..	1,45,244
1969-70	..	1,12,986
1970-71	..	1,13,953
1971-72	..	99,184

(Source : Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur)

Abiana

Abiana is charged on the area irrigated by canals. The income from abiana in the Gurdaspur district, during 1967-68 to 1971-72, is given below :

Year		Collections from Abiana (Rs)
1967-68	..	16,62,201
1968-69	..	20,32,160
1969-70	..	19,35,102
1970-71	..	17,53,611
1971-72	..	14,54,170

(Source : Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur)

(b) Land Reforms

A sound policy of land reforms is one of the important components of the strategy of Green Revolution. It has two aims : increase of agricultural production and social justice. It has been seen that the best production is obtained in farms which are cultivated by the proprietors themselves and the most inefficient farms are those which are cultivated by tenants. This is mainly due to the fact that tenants have no incentive for land improvement and for the use of chemical fertilizers.

Land is an indispensable input in the agricultural production process. Factor-employment, level and distribution of income and State policy interact within the rest of the agricultural environment through influencing the structure of land holdings. The agricultural production process depends on the system of rights and obligations of the holders of land to its use and there is a close relationship between the land system and the efficiency in agricultural production.

Often the land ownership and use systems lag behind the socio-economic and political objectives of welfare State, especially when a society changes from a colonial rule to a sovereign and democratic state. This is what happened in India after the independence in 1947. Under such a change land reforms normally involve re-arrangement of ownership and operational rights and set of land reforms should aim at removing impediments in agricultural production, as they arise from the character of the agrarian structure and, secondly, create conditions for evolving an agrarian economy with high levels of efficiency and productivity6. ‘Land to the tiller’ has been adopted as the main concept in the scheme of land reforms which contemplate that owner-cultivation should be established on the widest possible scale and all cultivators should go into direct relation with the State.

In pursuance of the agrarian reforms, the State Government have made the following enactments :-

1. The East Punjab Utilization of Lands Act, 1949 (East Punjab Act XXXVIII of 1949)

2. The Punjab Occupancy Tenants (Vesting of Proprietary Rights) Act, 1952 (Punjab Act VIII of 1953)

1. The Punjab Abolition of Ala Malikiyat and Talukdari Rights Act, 1952 (Punjab Act IX of 1953)

2. The Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (Punjab Act X of 1953)

3. The Punjab Bhoodan Yagna Act, 1955 (Punjab Act 45 of 1956)

4. The Punjab Resumption of Jagirs Act, 1957 (Punjab Act 39 of 1957)

5. The Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 (Punjab Act 18 of 1961)

_______________________________________________________________

6. Randhawa, M.S., Green Revolution, (Delhi, 1947), pp. 45-46

The Punjab Abolition of Ala Malikiyat and Talukdari Rights Act, 1952, extinguished all rights, title land interest of an ala malik in the land held under him by an adna malik and required the latter to pay compensation to the former. The Punjab Occupancy Tenants (Vesting of Proprietary Rights) Act, 1952, declared all the occupancy tenants as owners of the land.

The distribution of land among various classes of cultivators/land-holders in the Gurdaspur District, during 1971-72, is given below :

Class of Cultivators/Land-holders		Area (Hectares)
Total Cultivated Area	..	2,57,901
Tenants-at-will	..	59,620
Owners	..	1,9,8281
Tenants with Rights of Occupancy	..	..

(Source : Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur)

Security of Land Tenures. – The Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953, provides for the security of land tenure and other incidental matters. It seeks to consolidate and amend the law relating to land tenures in the Punjab. It is a consolidating measure replacing the Punjab Tenants (Security of Tenure) Act, 1950, and the President’s Act V of 1951, in the light of administrative difficulties and experience gained as a result of the working of the two Acts. Such of the provisions as were considered inexpedient have been removed and others for which provision was considered necessary included. This measure applies also to the land allotted under the Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950.

By March 31, 1972, 736 cases of surplus area were decided and 14,196 standard acres of land were declared surplus in the Gurdaspur District. By the same date, 5,659 eligible tenants were settled on 11,528 standard acres of surplus area.

Utilization of Lands. - The East Punjab Utilization of Lands Act, 1949, was passed to provide against any fertile land remaining uncultivated due to the negligence or absence of landlords. It aims at full utilization of lands in the State by bringing all available lands under fodder and foodgrains crops in order to attain self-sufficiency in the matter of food.

In pursuance of Government policy to utilize every inch of available culturable land for growing more food and other essential crops, the Government enforced the East Punjab Utilization of Lands Act, 1949. Under this Act, a notice is served on every landowner who allows his land to remain uncultivated for six or more consecutive harvests and the land, thus taken over, is leased out to others for a term ranging from 7 to 20 years, priority being given to Harijans.

Consolidation of Holdings. – The work of consolidation of holdings in the Punjab was started during the British period in 1920 through co-operative consolidation societies. Since the consolidation was voluntary, the progress of the work was very slow. Soon after the independence (1947), the necessity of consolidation of holdings was realized and the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act was passed in 1948. An element of compulsion was introduced and hence the progress was rapid.

According to this Act, village advisory committees were formed to advise the staff on all matters concerning consolidation of land and in particular in the classification and valuation of fields, and preparation of village consolidation schemes. The preliminary work of the staff was the correction and bringing up-to-date of records of rights and the preparation of preliminary statements. The plots of land were then evaluated, keeping in view the quality of the soil, the source of irrigation, the productivity of land and the distance from the village abadi, etc. The irregular fields were consolidated into rectangular blocks of an acre size.

The work of consolidation of holdings in the Gurdaspur District, started in 1950, has since been almost completed.

Apart from consolidating the holdings of the farmers, the scheme provided a unique opportunity for replanning the countryside, which included planning the location of schools, hospitals and roads. Land was also reserved for community buildings, such as community centres, places of worship, and playgrounds. Above all, t\straight roads were provided to the village abadi as well as to the entire cultivated area. Circular roads around the villages and roads linking one village with another and with main roads were also demarcated.

The most beneficial effect of the scheme of consolidation was that the farmers were enabled to sink tube-wells on their holdings. There was also a considerable reduction in land leased out, which indicates that the owner-cultivators started cultivating their land themselves owing to reducing in the number of fragments. There was also an increase in the cultivated area which was previously lost in embankments. The consolidated plots of land could also enjoy the benefits of canal irrigation. Besides, there was considerable increase in agricultural production due to consolidation alone without change in techniques⁷.

_______________________________________________________________

7. Randhawa, M.S., Green Revolution, (Delhi, 1974), pp. 40-43

* Daily Wages Paid for Agricultural and Skilled Labourers (Men) in a Selected Village, Narot Mehra, District Gurdaspur, 1961-1972

Year		Agricultural Labour						Skilled Labour
		For Ploughing	For sowing	For Weeding	For harvesting	For picking of cotton	For other agricultural operations	Blacksmith	Carpenter
		(Rs)	(Rs)	(Rs)	(Rs)	(Rs)	(Rs)	(Rs)	(Rs)
1961	..	1.88	-	-	2.78	-	-	2.67	2.67
1962	..	2.16	2.37	-	-	-	1.50	3.29	3.29
1936	..	2.40	-	-	-	-	-	3.00	3.00
1964	..	3.25	2.50	-	-	-	-	3.00	3.00
1965	..	2.35	2.06	2.62	-	-	1.65	3.00	3.00
1966	..	4.00	2.99	-	4.00	-	-	3.75	3.75
1967	..	3.80	3.10	2.96	3.12	-	2.91	6.00	6.00
1968	..	3.27	2.60	2.68	2.99	-	2.71	6.82	6.82
1969	..	5.75	5.42	5.11	4.84	2.50	4.72	7.58	7.58
1970	..	5.50	5.50	5.50	5.61	-	5.50	9.94	9.94
1971	..	5.50	5.50	5.50	5.86	5.50	5.50	10.00	10.00
1972	..	5.50	5.36	5.31	6.08	-	5.38	10.00	10.00

* For a normal working day of eight hours (Statistical Abstracts of Punjab, 1961 to 1972)

Contents Next

Year ending Rabi		Previous year’s balance	Demand	Total amount for recovery	Actual recovery	Remission	Balance
		(Rs)	(Rs)	(Rs)	(Rs)	(Rs)	(Rs)
1967-68	..	6,65,513	15,93,378	22,58,891	10,08,463	84,679	1,16,5749
1968-69	..	11,65,749	15,94,004	27,59,753	10,52,457	3,721	1,70,3575
1969-70	..	17,03,575	15,59,4004	32,97,579	10,52,941	98,213	2,14,6425
1970-71	..	21,46,425	15,99,767	32,46,192	9,05,065	397	2,84,0730
1971-72	..	28,40,730	15,99,125	44,39,855	7,10,604	34,27,312	3,01,939