Administrative System of the Marathas c27.s4.6

c27.s4.6

But Akbar permitted special rates for some special crops as Abul Fazl informs us; "The revenue from indigo, poppy, pan, turmeric, pignut (*Trapa biopinosa*), hemp, kachalu (*Arum colocasia*), pumpkin, pinna (*Lawsonia mermis*), cucumbers, badrang (a species of cucumber), the egg plant (*Solanum melongena*), radishes, carrots, karela (*Momordica charantia*), kakura, tendas and muskmelons, not counted as produce, was ordered to be paid in ready money at the rates hereafter mentioned."³ Murshid Quli Khan, during his Dewanship of the Deccan, not only "distinguished arable land from rocky soils and water-courses," but also recognised "the method of irrigation as a determining factor in assessment." "Where the crop depended on rainfall, the State took one half of it. Where agriculture depended on well irrigation the share of the State was one-third in the case of grain, and from ¼ to ⅛ in the case of grape, sugar-cane, anise, plantain, pea-wort, and other special and high priced crops requiring laborious watering and length of culture. Where the field was irrigated from canals (pat) the proportion of the revenue to the crop varied, being sometimes higher and sometimes lower than in lands irrigated from wells."⁴