Land Revenue System | Zamindari, Ryotwari & Mahalwari Settlement - NCERT Notes

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Tax from the land was the major source of revenue for the British in India. Three major systems of land revenue collection existed in India. They were – Zamindari, Ryotwari and Mahalwari.

PERMANENT SETTLEMENT

1. Permanent Settlement is also known as Zamindari System.

2. Introduced by Lord Cornwallis ( 1786 - 1793 ) in the provinces of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Varanasi in 1793 - Roughly 19% of British India.

3. Zamindari type of settlement was planned by Sir John Shore ( 1793 - 1798 ).

4. Declared zamindars as owner of the lands - And were given rights to fix the rate and to collect the rent from the peasants.

5. The agreement was for ten years - The agreement was subjected to renewal after ten years.

6. The Zamindars collected the rent of land through different intermediate collectors.

7. The collected revenue was divided into 11 parts - 1/11 of the total collection belonged to the Zamindars and 10/11 of the share belonged to the East India Company.

RYOTWARI SETTLEMENT

1. Ryotwari System was introduced by Thomas Munro and Charles Reed during the Governor-Generalship of Lord Hastings ( 1813 - 1823 ) in 1820.

2. Introduced in Madras, Bombay, parts of Assam and Coorgh provinces of British India.

3. In Ryotwari System the ownership rights were handed over to the peasants.

4. The revenue was collected on the basis of the quality of soil and the nature of the crop - 50% where the lands were dry and 60% in irrigated land.

5. In the Ryotwari settlement, the position of the peasants or the cultivators became more secure.

MAHALWARI SETTLEMENT

1. Mahalwari settlement was introduced in the Central Province, North-West Frontier, Agra, Punjab, Gangetic Valley.

2. Introduced in 1833 during the period of Lord William Bentinck ( 1828 - 1835 ).

3. In this system, the land was divided into estates - The estates were called as Mahal - Each Mahal comprises a village.

4. The villages committee was held responsible for collection of the taxes.

5. Ownership rights were vested with the peasants.