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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 19, p. 274.

274 OSMJNJBAD DISTRICT Talukdar having a general supervision over the work of all his sub- ordinates. Each tdluk is under a tahsildar. The District civil court is presided over by a judge styled the Ndzim-i-Diwdni. The subordinate civil courts are those of the tahsildars of Osmanabad, Tuljapur, and Parenda, and of a Munsif for the tdluks of Owsa and Kalam. The First Talukdar is the chief magistrate, and the District Civil judge is also a joint-magistrate, who exercises powers as such in the absence of the First Talukdar from head-quarters. The Second and Third Talukdars-and the tahsilddrs exercise magisterial powers of the second and third class. Serious crime is not heavy in ordinary years, but in times of scarcity dacoities and cattle-thefts increase in proportion to the severity of the season. Nothing is known of the revenue history of the District, beyond the fact that Malik Ambar's revenue system was in force from the beginning of the seventeenth century. His settlement was based upon an actual survey of the lands, and upon the productiveness of the soil. Villages were formerly leased by the State to revenue farmers, who received i z annas per rupee for collection. So far as is known, the revenue has always been collected in money and never in kind. In 1866 the subdivisions of the District were formed, though they have been much altered since by frequent transfers. In 1883 a revenue survey was completed, and an assessment fixed for thirty years. The rates fixed approximated to those in the adjoining Bombay Districts of Ahmadnagar and Sholapur. The enhancement of revenue which resulted from the survey was 1•2 lakhs, or over 11 per cent., the revenue having risen from 10•22 to 11-4lakhs. The average assessment on `dry' land is R. 1-o (maximum Rs. 2-o, minimum R. o--1), and on ` wet' land Rs. 3-0 (maximum Rs. 5-o, minimum R. 1-o). The land revenue and total revenue of the District for a series of years are given below, in thousands of rupees:- 1881. 1891. 1901. 1903. Land revenue. 10,21 11,67 11,80 11,77 Total revenue. 10,91 12,79 22,19 12,71 Since 1888 a local cess of one anna in the rupee has been levied on land revenue for local purposes. Boards have been formed in every tdluk, except Osmanabad, consisting of official and non-official members, with the tahsilddrs as chairmen. A District board with the First Talukdar as president supervises the working of the tdluk boards, as well as the Osmanabad municipality. A small conservancy establishment is maintained at all the tdluk head-quarters. The local cess in 1go1 yielded Rs. 87,500, one-fourth of which was set apart for local works and the municipal establishments.