Previous Year Question
With reference to Ryotwari Settlement, consider the following statements :
The rent was paid directly by the peasants to the Government.
The Government gave Pattas to the Ryots.
The lands were surveyed and assessed before being taxed.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is correct. The defining feature of the Ryotwari Settlement was that revenue settlement was made directly between the Government and the individual cultivator or ryot, rather than through a permanent intermediary such as a zamindar. NCERT explicitly states that Alexander Read and Thomas Munro argued for direct settlement with the cultivators who actually tilled the land.
Statement 2 is correct. The Government issued pattas to the ryots. The patta was a settlement document identifying the holding and the revenue obligation associated with it. Historical research on Ryotwari records that after survey and agreement with the peasant, a patta was issued to the ryot.
However, a patta should not automatically be equated with unconditional modern freehold ownership. Ryotwari rights were tied to the revenue relationship with the colonial State, and the Government retained its claim to assessment.
Statement 3 is correct. Survey and assessment of individual holdings were central features of the system. NCERT states that the cultivators' fields were to be carefully and separately surveyed before the revenue assessment was made. LBSNAA's historical account similarly describes Alexander Read's Ryotwari arrangement as involving a detailed survey of individual fields before assessment.