MISCELLANEOUS IRRIGATION WORKS 165 



lectively the small canals yield a net revenue of over 

 1 1 lakhs, or 5 J per cent., on a capital outlay of 27 lakhs 

 (;£ 180,000). On an average they irrigate 140,000 

 acres annually. In the drought of 1896-97 by 

 their aid the crops on 163,000 acres were brought 

 to maturity, against 64,000 in the famine of 1877-78. 

 This large increase is to be attributed chiefly to liberal 

 expenditure on improvements during the past twenty 

 years. To close the review of irrigation works con- 

 structed by the State, it is necessary to refer only to 

 the lakes in the Bundelkhand districts. The twelve 

 reservoirs in the Jhansi and Hamirpur districts are 

 the only works in the provinces under the charge of 

 the Public Works Department which are entirely 

 dependent upon storage. They are all old works 

 which were in existence before the districts came 

 under the British Government. About Rs. 80,000 has 

 been spent on improvements which have about doubled 

 the irrigated area, but even now they only irrigate 

 about 3,000 to 5,000 acres annually. The revenue in 

 the shape of water-rate and enhanced land revenue 

 barely suffices to cover the annual working expenses. 

 Such are the works of irrigation constructed by the 

 State in these provinces ; large as has been the capital 

 expenditure already incurred, the Irrigation Commis- 

 sioners, from whose report I have extracted most of 

 the facts and figures relating to irrigation, were of 

 opinion that there was still considerable scope for the 

 extension of State irrigation works ; and they made 

 certain definite proposals, and suggested others for 

 consideration, which need not be discussed here. It 

 is probable that no further investments of Government 

 capital will yield the same large returns as have been 

 realized upon the earlier undertakings, but that will 

 probably not be thought an insuperable objection to 

 undertaking them. The present tendency of economic 

 thought among Government servants is to give a wide 

 interpretation to the functions of the State ; most of 



