District organization.

198. The Deputy Commissioner, who is also District Magistrate, is at the head of the District. Ordinarily he is assisted by two Assistant Commissioners and two Extra-Assistant Commissioners, of whom one is Treasury Officer and one District Registrar. Occasionally an Assistant Commissioner in training is attached to the District. The District is divided into three Subdivisions in charge of Assistants who are termed Subdivisional Officers, and these are subdivided into six taluks under Tahsildars assisted by Naib Tahsildars. The Akola Subdivision consists of the Akola and Murtizapur taluks; the Akot Subdivision of the Akot and Balapur taluks; and the Basim Subdivision of the Basim and Mangrul taluks. Each taluk contains from 200 to 360 villages, about one-seventh of which are uninhabited. An Extra-Assistant Commissioner is in charge of excise work as District Excise Officer. The District forms a division for forest purposes, and is at present worked by an officer of the Provincial Service.

Akola is the headquarters of the Sessions Judge of the West Berar Division, whose staff consists of an Additional District and Sessions Judge, two Subordinate Judges, and three Munsiffs, of whom one Subordinate Judge and one Munsiff sit at Basim. A District Superintendent of Police is stationed at Akola and is ordinarily assisted by an Assistant Superintendent of Police and a, Deputy Superintendent. Education is supervised under the direct control of the Deputy Commissioner by a Deputy Inspector with two Joint Sub-Deputy Inspectors. The Civil Surgeon, who is also the Superintendent of the Jail, is assisted by two Assistant Surgeons, of whom one is at Basim and one at Akola. The Public Works Department is represented by an Executive Engineer with two Subdivisional Officers stationed at Akola and Basim respectively. The Land Record Staff consists of a Superintendent of Land Records, an Assistant Superintendent, and 22 Revenue Inspectors. Each of the latter has on an average 80 villages and 30 patwaris in his circle.

Village organization.

199. All the land within certain boundaries belongs to and forms a particular village. The average population of a village, including places which have each a population of over 5000 people, is 425, and the average area is 678 acres. The village officers and servants from the administrative point of view are firstly, patels and patwaris; secondly, jaglias or chaukidars; and thirdly, kamdar Mahars. The patel and patwari are the headman and accountant of the village, respectively. Every village has a resident patel, and sometimes the duties of the office are divided, the revenue or mulki patel performing some and the police patel being responsible for the rest. Sometimes also there is rotation, one man officiating for ten years, then the other succeeding him. The office of patel is hereditary, provided that the heir reaches a prescribed standard of moral, mental, and physical eligibility. The patel has a long list of duties to perform. He collects land revenue and pays it in at the taluk headquarters; inspects crops and boundary marks; reports the commission of offences and encroachments on public lands; controls the other village officers and servants; supervises the sanitation of the village; assists in the service of summonses, collects vital statistics, and is responsible for many other important functions. Patels are paid by receiving a certain percentage on the land revenue of their villages, and in some instances the remuneration is very small. The village cattle pound is often in charge of a patel, and he receives an allowance on account of it. The position of patel is universally recognised as the most honourable one in the village, and it usually carries a right of precedence, manpan, at festivals and ceremonies. Patels are on the whole an excellent body of men. A patwari may have only one or several villages in his circle. The office is hereditary, but an educational standard higher than that required from patels is now insisted on. In a large number of villages the duties of patwaris are performed by substitutes. These duties are largely summed up in co-operation with the patel and carrying on all the writing work connected with the village. This involves the keeping of accounts connected with land revenue collection on every field, and the writing of registers and reports on a great variety of matters concerning Government rights and the health, protection and prosperity of the village. The patwari receives a slightly larger percentage on each village than the patel, because of his special expenses for writing, and as he generally holds three or more villages and the patel only one his total remuneration is considerably bigger. In this District it amounts on an average to Rs. 216 a year, while the patel's average is only Rs. 63.

Jaglias.

200. The jaglia or chaukidar works under the patel and patwari in the performance of their duties. He is also employed as a village watchman, and is frequently used to carry reports to the tahsils and police stations. No hereditary right and no caste restriction is attached to the office, but usually men of the very lowest castes are not appointed. Most villages have at least one jaglia, whose pay varies according to the size of the village and the amount of land revenue. The pay is usually Rs. 4 or Rs. 5 a month. The jaglia receives a coat and a turban every year; and has a belt and badge. The pay is so small that considerable difficulty is often experienced in obtaining suitable men for the post. In villages held under special tenures the holders are permitted to make their own arrangements, provided these are found to be satisfactory.

Mahars.

201. Kamdar Mahars are under the control of patels, and, as with jaglias, their principal duties consist of patrolling the village at night and carrying reports. They are also responsible for the conservancy and sanitation of the village. The right to act as kamdar Mahar runs in rotation among the watandar families and is strictly hereditary, though it may be forfeited by conviction in a Criminal Court. Remuneration is received in the form of dues, haks, in grain, which are fixed by custom but may now be modified by Subdivisional Officers. The rates in fact differ from village to village, for in some places they are calculated on all cultivated land, and in some on edible crops only; in addition to these dues the kamdar Mahar receives the skins of the dead animals he removes. This claim cannot be enforced by the Revenue Courts and has been disregarded in the Civil Courts. In addition to the above small presents are also made at the time of festivals and ceremonies.

Crime.

202. Criminal justice in the District is largely in the hands of the Subdivisional Officers, sitting as Subdivisional Magistrates, the six Tahsildars, sitting as Magistrates of the second and third class, and a certain number of Naib tahsildars who are invested with third class magisterial powers. The Extra-Assistant Commissioners who do not hold charge of Subdivisions also dispose of a certain amount of criminal work, and there are four Benches of Honorary Magistrates, at Risod, Telhara, Akot, and Karanja. The District Magistrate supervises the whole and at times takes original cases himself. The total number of criminal cases disposed of in the District during the year 1908 was 2801, of which 637 were cognizable. During the five years ending 1908 the average number of persons convicted of offences affecting human life was 15, of robbery and dacoity 10, of grievous hurt 7, of house-breaking 52, and of theft 105. Crime is usually most common in the neighbourhood of the railway line, and criminals from other Provinces are fond of exploiting the District.

Civil justice.

203. Suits in which the property involved is of a less value than Rs. 500 are decided by Munsiffs. The institutions in 1908 in the courts of the Sub-Judges, who decide suits from Rs. 501 to Rs. 5000, were 798. The chief classes of suits in the lowest courts are for money. The payment of loans is generally to be made in the cotton season, i.e., from November to February. Mortgages by conditional sales are common, and suits to enforce a right of pre-emption possessed under the Berar Land Revenue Code by a co-sharer in a field are also to be met with. The rule of damdupat is recognised and followed by the courts. Defendants always allege repayments without written receipts but can seldom prove their case. Suits for foreclosure of mortgage, sale of immovable property, and redemption, are numerous.

Registration.

204. The office of District Registrar is held by an Extra-Assistant Commissioner. The District contains 16 sub-registrars' offices, of which six are held by rural registrars, who are paid on commission, and ten by salaried sub-registrars. The working of the department during the last three years is given below:-

Statistics of revenue.

205. The receipts under the chief heads of revenue are given firstly for the different periods prior to the reduction in the number of Berar Districts which took place in September 1905, in order to illustrate general development; and secondly for the District as it is now constituted so as to show present conditions. The figures for the three years 1880-81, 1890-91 and 1900-01 were:-

The revenue year of 1900-01 was affected by the famine which ended in that year. The receipts for 1907-08 were:-

Income tax has been levied since 1904. Some similar tax called ' pandhri' appears to have been previously levied, and from 1862 to 1904 the town fund tax was collected.

Excise.

206. Excise revenue is derived from European liquor, country spirits (daru), opium, ganja, and tadi. Country spirits of 25 under proof and 60 under proof are made from the mahua flower and sold under the contract-distillery or Madras system. Revenue is derived from a duty on the spirit and from the sale of the right of private vend. The Local Administration has the option of applying in the District different rates of duty; the present rates are Rs. 3-2 per proof gallon for the Akola, Akot, Murtizapur, and Balapur taluks, and R. 1-14 for the Basim and Mangrul taluks. The liquor is manufactured at the Government Distillery at Akola by Messrs. Umrigar and Co. of Bombay. A warehouse has been built, or is under construction, at each taluk headquarters, except in the case of Basim, where the old tahsil building is being adapted for the purpose. At each warehouse a Government Sub-Inspector and an Agent of the firm are stationed, who watch and record every stage in the preparation of the liquor. In the warehouse the liquor is diluted by water and brought to a strength at which issue is sanctioned; that is, it must be either 25 under proof (rashi) or 60 under proof (bewada). Retail vendors purchase on a pass from the sub-treasury, where the wholesale price together with the duty is paid. The right of retail vend is auctioned annually. Usually this right is sold separately for each village containing a shop and payment is made by monthly instalments. Occasionally owing to the proximity of two or more shops a group composed of these shops is auctioned. The District in 1907-08 contained 193 shops, or one to every 21 square miles. The average value of a shop in the same financial year was Rs. 1400. Since May 1908 the consumption of liquor has fallen very considerably owing to indifferent crops and a temperance agitation connected with politics. Toddy, tadi, is procured from the sindi tree, which is scarce; and the revenue from the liquor is consequently small. Opium is imported by Government from the Ghazipur Factory and is issued to retail vendors at Rs. 23-8 a seer. The privilege of retail vend is sold by auction; and the proceeds for 1907-08 were Rs. 61,047. Opium is smoked and given to infants, invalids, and old people of all castes. The manufacture of ganja in the District is prohibited. It is imported from the Government store house at Khandwa in packages of one seer, and a duty of Rs. 5 per seer is paid by the wholesale vendors. The District contains seven licensees,. to whom licenses are issued free. As in the case of country liquor and opium the right of retail vend is put to auction. In 1907-08 the sale proceeds amounted to Rs. 13,355. Owing to the comparatively low price of the drug in His Highness the Nizam's Dominions considerable quantities of ganja are smuggled over the border into the District, and the revenue therefore is small. Some five or six licenses for the sale of European liquors are issued. A demand exists among certain castes for cheap and inferior European spirit, but it is not the policy of Government to facilitate drinking in opposition to caste rules.

District and Taluk Boards.

207. The District Board came into existence in 1889. It consists of 44 members, of whom 36 are chosen by a process of double election and the others nominated. The primary electors are cultivators who pay not less than Rs. 100 land revenue, all male adults who formerly paid a certain amount of town-fund assessment, and all patels and patwaris. They elect twelve representatives who form, together with six nominated members, Taluk Boards, and these bodies each elect six of their number to sit on the District Board. The total income of the District Board as estimated in the budget for 1906-1907 was Rs. 2,58,730, and that for 1907-08 was Rs. 2,72,716. It is almost entirely drawn from cesses levied along with land revenue, cattle pound receipts, weekly market receipts," and contributions from Provincial revenues. Until recently fees for education were also received by the Board, but these are now taken by the school committees. In 1907-08 the estimated amounts from each of the above sources were:-

Of the last item Rs. 25,600 were given for education, Rs. 16,800 for civil works, and Rs. 11,400 for general purposes. On the 1st of April 1909 the District Board had a balance in hand of Rs. 3,64,854. In 1907-08 the following amounts were provided for the various main objects:-

The District Board and Taluk Boards are responsible for the upkeep of roads not maintained by the Public Works Department, primary schools, public wells and tanks, cattle pounds, and local works or measures likely to promote the health, comfort, or convenience of the public, besides being partially responsible for relief works in times of famine or scarcity. In the important towns and villages which have no Municipal Committees conservancy establishments are maintained out of the Board's funds, and a scheme of arboricultural operations to be carried out by the Board is also now in force. This scheme provides for the planting and maintenance of avenues along the main roads not belonging to the Public Works Department.

Municipalities.

208. The four municipal towns in the District are Akola, Basim, Akot, and Karanja. The Akola Municipality was first constituted in 1868, and the number of members on the Committee is 24, of whom six are nominated and 18 are elected; the Deputy Commissioner-has always been the Chairman. The income in 1907-08 was Rs. 60,180 and the expenditure was Rs. 71,110. The town requires extending, and a proper system of drainage and an improved water-supply are the most urgent wants. The Basim Municipality started life in 1869 and has three nominated members and nine elected members on the Committee; the town has fallen in importance since the abolition of the Basim District. In 1907-08 the municipal income was Rs. 22,677 and the expenditure Rs. 22,028. Akot became a municipal area in 1884. Of the members of the Committee three are nominated and nine elected. In 1907-08 the income and expenditure were Rs. 16,062 and Rs. 19,533 respectively. Like Akot, Karanja is a small municipal town, and the benefits of the municipal rule were extended to it in 1895. The number of the members of the Committee is twelve, and the electoral system will be brought into force in April 1909. All the Municipalities depend for their income on taxes imposed on houses and lands, trades and professions, animals and vehicles, bales of cotton ginned and pressed, scavenging tax, pound receipts, surplus cotton market receipts, and slaughter-house fees. No octroi is in force, but the Akola Municipal Committee have recently imposed a toll tax on vehicles and animals coming into municipal limits. The main heads of expenditure are: establishments, lighting, water-supply, drainage, conservancy, education, and medical.

Village sanitation.

209. No Village Sanitation Act is in force, but in a few of the larger villages sanitary Committees supervise the conservancy with pecuniary assistance from the District Board. Villages are as a rule dirty and insanitary, and considerable difficulty is experienced in persuading the people to adopt cleanly habits.

Public Works.

210. For purposes of the Public Works Department Murtizapur taluk is in the East Berar Division and the remaining five taluks are in the West Berar Division. Executive Engineers are stationed at Amraoti and Akola, and Sub-divisional Officers at Akola and Basim. The District contains 156 miles of metalled road. Among the principal buildings are the district courts and offices and the jail, at Akola. Other buildings include the tahslls, hospitals and dispensaries, inspection bungalows, and police stations.

Police.

211. The sanctioned strength of the police force is 704 officers and men. These comprise one District Superintendent of Police, one Assistant Superintendent of Police, one Deputy Superintendent of Police, one Reserve Inspector, one Prosecuting Inspector, one City Inspector, five Circle Inspectors, one Sergeant, 25 Sub-Inspectors, 106 head constables, 560 constables, and three camel sowars. The Muhammadan members of the force number about 200, and a large number of men, known as Pardeshis, from Upper India are enlisted. The District contained 28 station-houses, five outposts, and four road-posts in the year 1908. The station circles are now being rearranged, and the five outposts will be replaced by stations.

Jail.

212. The District jail was formerly one of the two central jails of Berar, and has ac-commodation for 465 convicts and 30 undertrial prisoners. The average daily number of prisoners in the last three years has been 163, and that of undertrial prisoners 23. The convicts are chiefly employed on stone-breaking, corn-grinding, and labour in the large garden attached to the jail.

Education.

213. A Government high school and a training school and Anglo-vernacular school are maintained at Akola together with 5 municipal schools. Anglo-vernacular schools are to be found at all tahsil headquarters. The District Board is responsible for primary schools in non-municipal towns and villages. Girls' schools were formerly maintained by the local bodies but they have now been taken over by Government. Low caste boys pay no fees. A technical school was opened a few years ago at Basim, out its progress has not been entirely satisfactory. The American Alliance Mission maintains a small industrial school at Akola where carpentry and kindred trades are taught. A scheme to develop and enlarge this school is now under consideration. The total number of schools in the District is at present 240. Education is popular and most schools lack sufficient accommodation. Vernacular weekly papers number four, all published in Akola town; one sometimes contains English articles.

Medical relief.

214. The District contains 12 hospitals and dispensaries with a certain amount of accommodation for indoor patients. The daily average of indoor patients during the last three years has been 23 and that of outdoor patients 559; while the annual number of operations was 2419. The salaries of the staff are paid by Government, and the local bodies give fixed annual contributions towards the upkeep of the dispensaries. Private subscriptions are also collected and the fee system is in force. No leper or lunatic asylum is maintained in the District. Vaccination is compulsory only in municipal towns, but it is carried on throughout the District. The special vaccination staff consists of one Superintendent, one Assistant, and eleven vaccinators. The annual cost of carrying on vaccination is Rs. 32,501, and the annual proportion of successful operations for the last three years has been 35 per mille of the population. During epidemics of plague inoculation has been resorted to, and the people are becoming less opposed to this form of prevention.