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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 9, p. 258.

G'Ā CI-I~llu fifteen years. The method of classification adopted is more discrilni- nating than that employed on previous occasions, and distinctions are drawn between good and bad land in the same village. The rates on cultivation vary from Rs. 2-7 to 12 armas per acre. Waste land is assessed at from 6 to 3 annas and tea at a uniform rate of RS. 2-1 per acre. It was believed on general grounds that the land could pay double the previous rates of revenue without difficulty, but it was deter- mined to limit the enhancement to 5o per cent., and the actual enhance- ment amounted to only 47 per cent. above the previous revenue demand. The fields were divided into different classes and the revenue adjusted in proportion to their value. In all villages in which the total increase amounted to 33 per cent. or upwards, it will be reached by progressive instalments spread over from twelve to eight years. The initial revenue was Rs. 4,0i,ooo. The system of joint leases, which was well suited to the time when the greater part of the District was covered with jungle, was found to be only a source of inconvenience when the land was cleared and cultivated. At the last settlement these joint estates were broken up, and separate leases issued to each individual for the land to which he was entitled. The average assessment per acre of homestead or garden land is Rs. 2-1, of rice land Rs. i-i r, and of I dry-crop' land Rs. 1-3. The total revenue and land revenue of the District, in thou- sands of rupees, is shown in the table below:-- ,880-1 1890-1. 1900-1. 1903-4..11 Land revenue 1,99 3:36 4,00 4,79 Total revenue . 5,02* 7,84 70,67 11,72 * Exclusive of forest receipts. A special feature of the Cāchār revenue administration has been the grant of land on favourable terms, not only for the growth of tea, but also for the cultivation of the ordinary staples of the Province. Under the former rules leases were issued for twenty to thirty years, with a revenue-free period and low but progressive rates of revenue, which did not, as a rule, exceed 12 annas per acre. The existing rules, which are modelled on those in force in other parts of Assam, do not offer any concessions to the villager who wishes to bring waste land under ordinary cultivation, but a revenue-free period and low rates have been allowed to settlers in the areas disforested in the south of the District. The local affairs of the Silchar and Hailākāndi subdivisions are managed by boards, who exercise the functions usually assigned to them in AssAM. The presence of a strong European element on the boards adds much to their efficiency, and the Deputy-Commissioner or the Subdivisional Officer acts as chairman and executive agent. The total expenditure in 1903-4 was about Rs. 1, 17,000, the greater part of which