For a litigation – free
permanent solution of land
issues
Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao
The Hans India (05-09-2017)
Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao
as a prerequisite to comprehensive land survey in the state, has decided to go
for rectification, cleansing and updating of the land records in toto in the
State so that the land related issues find a litigation free permanent solution.
Towards this to begin with Farmers’ Associations’ Coordination Committees
(FACC) are being set up. State Government issued guidelines for nomination of
FACC members. Later from September 15 to December end, Comprehensive
rectification, cleansing and updating of land records with Revenue village as
Unit will be conducted. For this purpose, each revenue village will be treated
as a Unit. 11, 000 such units are finalized all over the State and 1193 teams
would be identified to head these units.
Against his backdrop, it may be of
interest to know and understand what kind of rural administration was in vogue
in Telangana and how it can be bettered in future. “Gramayanam” an unpublished handbook
written by 83-year-old Professor Maramraj Satyanarayana Rao has brought to
light several interesting realities on the matter.
Villages are integral part of our
country’s history. Every village was a Republic. Britishers had their eyes only on taxes to be
collected from the villages but never interfered in the age-old traditions or
customs. There are no boundaries for the agriculture lands till the 19 th
century. Moghul Emperors Akbar and Sher Shah Suri undertook land measurements
but not stabilised them.
Till mid-19th century
there was no proper administrative set up in Telangana. Villages used to follow
the age-old traditions with Karanam in-charge of Land records while the
Munasab, the Law and Order. It was a privilege to be addressed as Patel and
Dora in general and to the tax collecting agents on behalf of the government. These Doras shifted their residences to Hyderabad
to be in proximity to the powers that be and their agents in the villages used to
collect the taxes.
Till the Kakatiyas rule, Jains
used to collect taxes and maintain land records and affairs of the villages. Since
the Jain Karanam created some hitches for Ganapati Deva Raju, he had specially
trained 6,000 Brahmins and made them the village Karanams. Descendants from
this sect are even today called as Aruvela Niyogulu (6,000 Niyogi Brahmins). Persons
from the dominating upper castes are used to be appointed as Munasabus.
In 1853, the then Nizam has
appointed Salarjung I as the Prime Minister. He worked as the Prime Minister
for 30 years under three Nizams. The administrative reforms that he had
introduced had lead the Hyderabad State on to development path. The Zilla
Bandhi policy that he had introduced is almost continuing till date in one form
or the other. Through this, Salarjung I had regularized the governing system of
Jaghirdars, makthedars and Payagas. He had deputed two senior revenue officials
to Bombay and based on their study, for the first time the government had
undertaken survey of the lands and prepared the records. These records were in
vogue till the Salarjung III in 1936 undertook yet another survey.
Such a survey was not done
earlier. Except the village officer no one knew how much land was available and
under whose control it was. There were no proper records of the land nor its
boundaries. The term Pattaadar lands came into vogue for the first time after
Salarjung’s survey.
As part of the Salarjang administrative
reforms the Nizam government had appointed an officer called Girdavar for the
villages. Since the ancient times, there used to be three officers in the
villages, Patwari, Maali Patel and Police Patel. One Shekh Sindhi used to
assist them. One Neeradi used to be there to regulate water from the tanks.
None of these people have any salary from the government. Based on their
skills, a percentage of Land Cess used to be given to them. This administrative
set up continued till 1956 when the Hyderabad state merged with Andhra state.
After the Salarjung survey based
on the soil strength of the land, Anavari register was maintained based on the
Anna system. These registers were also called Setwari. For the farmers land
there used to be a map called Naksha. These maps are drawn with black ink on a
silk cloth. These are still available now. The land estimates were done based
on these Nakshas. Some land was earmarked in every village as part of the Gram
kantam. For animal fodder one fourth of the land earmarked as Bancharayi. Lands,
which were not fit for cultivation, were called Poramboku. In the farmers land,
rocks, uncultivable piece was called Phoot Kharab and tax was not levied for
that portion. There were records for the lands owned by farmers but not for any
government land. The Nizam had allocated lands in the periphery of Hyderabad on
his name and they were called Sarf-e-Kas. This was recorded as Zilla ataraf
balda.
After the survey and settlement,
the responsibility of maintaining records was given to the Patwari. Maali Patel
used to collect the land Cess while Police Patel used to maintain the law and
order. Police Patel used to submit Rojunancha in the nearest police station
every week. He used to prepare records of deaths and births and issue waybills.
Patwari used to prepare the tax collection list of names and handed over the
same to Maali Patel. Shekh Sindi and Neeradi who were assisting the officers
used to have Inam lands which were exempted from the Land Cess. Villages’
officers were called watandars and they used to act as liaison mediators between
the government and the people.
Patel and Patwari ruled the roost
till the Panchayat Raj system came into existence. Sheikh Sindi used to carry a
long shaft with an Iron spear to exhibit his authority. Neeradi used to help the Patwari to find out
the water levels. Patwari in his barish takhta used to compile information
about availability of water, floods and famine. Based on the Patwari report,
during the Zamabandi Cess used to be waived for the land if there was famine or
floods. Whether to supply water for the second crop or not was to be decided at
Taha Bandi. Crops dependent on rains used to be called Abee, Tabee while the
wet crops were referred to as Khariff and Rabi.
Lands in the villages were called
Tari and Khushki. At the advent of
cultivation, the Patwari used to survey the lands, whether seeds are sown in
Tari-khushkhi lands and record the same. Checking of lands used to be called
Charu Mahi and Hasth Mahi. The inquiry and check conducted by the Patwari every
four months was called Charu Mahi. The
checks done later were called Hasth Mahi.
Girdavar used to be head of the checks. It was the responsibility of the
Patwari to maintain records of the details of landowners, extent of land and the
Cess collected. The records prepared by Patwari were key records for the
government. In a way, it can be said that as part of Salarjang reforms, land was
surveyed and recorded in such way that it could be computerized today. However,
due to various reasons, a need has arisen now for a fresh survey and settlement
of lands and rectification of land records. The Survey Numbers given in those
days have become irrelevant now.
After the survey then, the details
of land cultivated by each farmer was maintained in a permanent record called
Setwari. Every land holding was given a
number which even today is referred as the Survey Number. Based on this, each year the Patwari used to
prepare two records, Pahani and Choufasla. Pahani was a kind of primary right
document and it was the base record for collecting the Cess. After updating the
records, on each page end, the Patwari used affix the tehsil seal. In each
Pahani page only details of only 10 Survey Numbers should be recorded. It will
have details like extent of the land, owner of the land, category of the land
and what crop was cultivated etc. The inspection details of the crops both by Girdavar
and Patwari used were entered in the Pahani. The Land Cess used to be decided based on
these records at the Zamabandi.
Land Cess used to be collected based
on the Zamabandi resolution from the month of December. If the Pattaadar was
dead and transfer of his land his legal heir was done during the Zamabandi.
Based on Zamabandi Paisal Patti used to be prepared as a receipt of tax payment,
the information used to be recorded in a book known as Pavuthi Bahi. Farmers used
to keep this receipt safely. For the preparation and updating of the village
records, instead of beginning from the English New Year or Telugu New Year
Ugadi, the Persian New Year Fasli was planned. Even today the receipts are in
Fasli year. On every Dussehra day, the Patwari used to perform Pooja for
starting the revenue records. The records
were bundled in a handloom cloth.
Eventually, the Watandari system
was abolished. A new administrative set up took over. There were several
lacunae that were creeped in the records. A wide gulf between the officers and
farmers in the villages surfaced. Nobody could say how much land was available
and who owns what land? In view of the rectification and updating of records it
is now envisaged by the government to introduce lesser number of records in a
village in place of the present nine.
Against this backdrop, the land reforms in the form of comprehensive land
survey as well as rectification, cleansing and updating of the land records should
be better than the reforms introduced by the Salar Jung. Later let the land be
recorded based on farmers and the proposed reforms should eradicate the
litigation and other related issues once and for all. The rural administration,
which was destroyed after the abolition of Watandari system, should now be
strengthened. The survey and settlement programme planned by KCR should herald
a new beginning in inclusive land reforms. END
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