LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION
1. Introduction:
1.1 The Revenue Department is the oldest arm of the Governments existing from times immemorial in the Country. The history of mankind is intimately associated with land relationship.
1.2 From times immemorial, the Land Administration / Revenue Administration centered around collection of taxes/land revenue, which was the main source of revenue to Rulers. The village was the basic unit of administration and has remained so through out the centuries. Land and its people define basic frame work of any civilization. The resources, their ownership and accessibility of land are some of the fundamental constituents of any system which is considered an essential aspect of human societies over the centuries.
2. Evolution of Revenue Administration in the Country:
2.1 A historical analysis of ancient Indian Policy suggests that tax on land played a pivotal part in the evolution and maintenance of the systems of governance. The history of Land Administration dates back to the olden days of kings and kingdoms. From times immemorial, land administration is considered as prime domain of the State. According to classical 3 doctrine, all lands belong to the King / State which can alienate some of it for cultivation and other purposes to individuals.
2.2 Right from the time of Manu, the Land Revenue has been a major source of income of the sovereign. During the Mauryan and Gupta periods, the revenue was collected by the paid officials, which resembles the present day Revenue Administration system. During the Post Mauryan and Gupta periods, the State revenue was collected by donees of Brahmadeya, Devadana, and Agrahara Lands. The donees were feudal intermediaries who passed on a part of the revenue they collected to the King. Later, in place of the above Revenue Collectors, the Jagirdars, Subedars and Inamdars who were intermediaries passed on the revenue to the kings during the rule of Sultanates which extended for more than 300 years. During their rule the source of Revenue was two fold, religious and secular. The former called Zaker was due from the Muslims and Jigya which the non-Muslims had to pay.
2.3 The process of Revenue Administration was started by Sher Shah Suri (1540-45). It was continued and improved upon under the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akber (1556-1605). Todar Mal - greatest revenue expert who started his career under Sher Shah Suri joined in the service of Akbar, is remembered even to this day for evolving a system of revenue assessment and survey, a system which drew a balance between the demands of the State and needs of the subjects. The Revenue Administration during the regime of Mughals consisted of a heterogeneous class of persons, which included direct officials of the imperial administration, like the provincial governors, amils, or the qanungos, jagirdars (revenue -assignees) and their officials and agents, and representatives of the peasants like the village headmen (muqaddams) and the chaudhris.
2.4 With the advent of the British in India, the political and economic 4 scenario underwent far reaching changes. The Revenue Administration was systematized scientifically during British rule by introducing “permanent settlement” (by Corn Wallis - 1793) and Ryotwari system by Sir Thomas Munro - 1802). The colonial Government out of its interest to administer the country effectively, did not make any substantial changes in the land - revenue systems but promoted the class of non-cultivating intermediaries. The British inherited the institutional form of agrarian system from the Mughals. The British superimposed a system over the existing pattern in tune with British customs and laws relating to land. During the British times the Revenue Department was the pivot of Administration. The Collector was the virtual monarch at the district, around whom the entire administration revolved.
2.5 After Independence, by and large, the same institutional structure has been adopted with a few changes for better delivery of services. One of the many areas concentrated upon by the successive Indian Governments has been the “land reforms” and “agrarian reforms”. In that direction the land policy in India has undergone broadly four phases that included viz.,
1. Abolition of intermediaries
2. Tenancy reforms
3. Fixing ceiling on land holdings
4. Assignment of Government lands and Ceiling Surplus lands
The Laws imposing ceiling on Agricultural Holdings have been enacted in all the States. According to available reports, over 54 million acres of Ceiling Surplus land was distributed to 57 Million beneficiaries. ((Source Government of India, Ministry of Rural Development). The protection of tenants and regulation of rent is the first step in the tenancy reforms. As a result of tenancy legislations in 5 India 12 million tenants or share croppers were conferred occupancy rights (Source: Government of India, Ministry of Rural Development Report 2002-03). In more recent decades, focus has been less on Land Reforms and more on Land Development and Administration such as Drought – Prone Area Programme, Desert Development Programme and Watershed Development Programme.
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http://tsipard.gov.in/land_revenue_administration-a_historicaloutlookfinal.pdf
