merit and demerit of roytwari settlement
Answers
The Ryotwari system was one of the main systems of collecting revenue during the British rule in India. It was introduced in 1820 by Sir Thomas Munro and Captain Alexander Read.
Advantages
1. There were no middlemen. The tax was collected directly from the ryots or cultivators.
2. The ryot was the owner of the land he cultivated.
3. He could transfer, sell or mortgage his property.
4. He could not be ejected from his land as long as he paid the revenue.
5. Remissions of assessment were granted during unfavourable seasons.
6. The assessment was fixed in money and it did not change every year.
Disadvantages
1. The rate of taxation was quite high.
2. The tax was not based on the actual revenues from the produce of the land. It was based on an estimate of the potential of the soil.
3. In some cases the tax was more than 50% of the gross revenue.
4. The tax had to be paid in cash this exposed the cultivators to the demands of the moneylenders when crops failed.