A History of Agriculture in India v2.c74.s1.16

v2.c74.s1.16

The assessment was not so simple as the measurement. The land was divided into three classes, according to its fertility; the amount of each sort of produce that a *bigha* of each class would yield was ascertained; the average of the three was assumed as the produce of a *bigha*, and one-third of that produce formed the government demand. This assessment was designed to fix a maximum; for every cultivator who thought that the amount claimed was too high, he could insist on an actual measurement and division of the crop. Land which never required a fallow paid the full demand every harvest, called *polaj*. It was the best land which was cultivated every year. Land which required fallows only paid when under cultivation. It was called *parathi*. Land which had suffered from inundation, etc., or which had been three years out of cultivation, and required some expense to reclaim it, was called *chhakkar*. It paid only two-fifths for the first year, but went on increasing till the fifth year, when it paid the full demand. Land which had been for more than five years out of cultivation was called *banjar*. It enjoyed still more favourable terms for the first four years. The first two classes—*polaj* and *parathi*—were further classified into three categories—good, middling and bad. Then the law of averages was applied and the annual average for each category of land was worked out. This average was then standardized by taking the average for a period of ten years. One-third of the annual average, thus standardized, was fixed as the State demand for revenue.