OCCUPANCY RIGHTS r,7 



of tenant rights ; and that it would be in the interest of the 

 country so to do. At the present time, however, this is 

 obviously impossible. It would be immediately practicable, 

 however, to introduce the yearly tenancy system such as 1 

 have described for small holdings not falling within the 

 reserved area, and for large holdings exceeding a limit fixed 

 at between 50 and 100 acres. This would mean that in an 

 amending act it would be provided that occupancy rights 

 could not in future be acquired in those scattered small 

 holdings or in new large holdings above that limit. 



I think, however, that it is desirable to go further than 

 this at an early date in the direction of giving landlords 

 bigger freedom for the development of their estates. For 

 this reason I would make it lawful for a zemindar to buy out 

 the occupancy rights of any of his tenants or to force them 

 to accept other land in exchange, with suitable compensation 

 if necessary, for any reason consistent with good estate 

 management. Thus, if a zemindar proposes to make a pukka 

 well, and proposes to charge extra rent at the rate of 8 per 

 cent per annum on the cost of all lands lying within the area 

 which it can water, he should not be prevented by the refusal 

 of an occupancy tenant to pay this additional rental. The 

 mere fact that such a tenant could be bought out or shifted 

 to other land, would be a means of ensuring a reasonable 

 attitude on the part of occupancy tenants to proposed 

 improvements, which will really work even more in their 

 own interest than in that of the landlord. Furthermore, it 

 is very important that no zemindar who wishes to undertake 

 his own cultivation according to improved methods should 

 be prevented from resuming possession of his own land by 

 the existence of scattered fields rented to occupancy tenants. 

 In such cases occupancy tenants do sometimes agree volun- 

 tarily to accept other fields in exchange when convinced that 

 they will not be losers thereby ; but I feel sure it will 



