Administrative System of the Marathas c18.s16: 1. Land Revenue
Administrative System of the Marathas c18.s16
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1. Land Revenue
c18.s16.1
We shall discuss the land revenue first, as the most important of these items. The Demesne lands were divided into *sheri* (cultivated fields), *kurans* (grass lands), *bag* (garden), and *ambarai* (orchards). These were, as we have already seen, under the direct management of the district officer, Mamlatdar or the Kamavisdar as the case might be, and were often sublet to Upri tenants or leaseholders.
c18.s16.2
The Patil, as we know, was responsible for revenue collection. When the time for collection came, the Mahar called the rent-payers to the village *Chawdi* where the Patil held his office. The Kulkarni or the village account-keeper was present there with his records to assist the Patil in his work and so were the Potdars. The latter assayed and stamped the money when paid, for which the rent-payer got a receipt from the Kulkarni. When the collection was over, the money was sent to the Kamavisdar with a letter under the charge of the Chaugula, and a similar letter, often a duplicate copy, was sent to the Deshmukh under the charge of the Mahar. The Chaugula got a receipt from the Mamlatdar for the sum paid, which was carefully preserved in the Kulkarni's bundle of village accounts. Sometimes a Shibandi was sent by the officer in charge of the district or Tarf to help the Patil in his work of collection. The revenue was generally paid in four instalments and sometimes in three.
c18.s16.3
¹⁶ Capt. West, A Memoir of the States of the Southern Maratha Country, p 37. And Gleig, The Life of Major General Sir Thomas Munro, Vol. II, p. 276.