334 



MANUAL OF THE NILAGIRI DISTRICT. 



CHAP. XIII, 

 PART I. 



Revenue 

 History. 



— endorsed 

 by Govern- 

 ment. 



— approved 

 by Court of 

 Directors. 



Difficulties in 

 carrying 

 policy into 

 effect. 



Mr. Sullivan's views were in the main approved by the Govern- 

 mentj of which he had become a member, in October 1835. It 

 was ordered that their rights should be " respected," and that 

 they should not " on any account be disturbed in the possession 

 of the lands heretofore held by them, which they may desire to 

 retain for pasturage, so long as they pay the taxes at present 

 payable ^ by them ; that private persons shall not be permitted 

 to appropriate any of those lands without the consent of the 

 Todawars interested in them at terms mutually agreed upon, 

 and no part of those lands shall be taken for public purposes 

 without compensation to the Todawars who have previously 

 occupied them." Subsequently the Board of Revenue recom- 

 mended that " cattle belonging to persons holding lands for 

 building and other purposes should not be allowed to graze 

 indiscriminately on uncultivated lands within their mands or 

 villages without the consent of the proprietors." 



The determination of Government was fully endorsed by the 

 Court of Directors in a despatch dated the 19th April 1837, the 

 Court being anxious " to reconcile the interest of both parties." 

 But prior to the receipt of this despatch orders had been issued to 

 the Collector of Malabar to arrange with the Todas for the settle- 

 ment of compensation for lands occupied by Europeans at the rate 

 before mentioned, and it was further directed that agreements 

 should be entered into with the T6das for the purchase of their 

 common right and interest in their lands within or without the 

 cantonment, and that the lands they desired to retain should be 

 defined. Allowance was to be made in favour of Government for 

 sums already paid by private individuals. 



Difficulties however arose in carrying out this order. In 

 the first place it could not be ascertained what had been paid 

 to Todas, and in the second place lands were frequently taken up 

 and cultivated for a time and then abandoned. In regard to the 

 latter point it was decided that it would be sufficient to make an 

 allowance to the Todas out of the assessment payable to Govern- 

 ment, the amount so deducted to be specified in the jamma- 

 bandi chittas and puttas ; the former was ignored. In February 

 1847 the Board of Revenue reported that the area in theOotaca- 

 mand settlement to be reserved to the Todas was under 100 cawnies 

 or 133 acres, for which extent the Board stated at the rate 

 sanctioned the compensation would be Rupees 162-10-1, but 

 recommended that they should have compensation for the entire 

 cantonment area, including the spots the Todas desired to reserve. 

 This proposal the Government sanctioned, and their order was 



' About a fourth of the assessment receivable if the laud were cultivated. 



