Raipur District, 1908

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This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Raipur District

District in the Chhattisgarh Division of the 1 In 1906 the constitution of Raipur District was entirely altered by the formation of the new Drug District, in which the western portion of Raipur, with an area of 3 ,444 square miles and a population of 545,235 persons, was included This aiea comprised the whole of the Drug tdhsil and portions of the Simga and Dhamtari tdfisih At the same time an area of 706 square miles, with a population of 99,402 persons, was transferred to Raipur from Bilaspur, the line of the Seonath and Maha- nadi rivers becoming the boundary of the new District. The new Raipur District was divided into the four taksils of RAIPUR, DHAMTARI, MAHASAMUND, and BALODA BAZAR, the old Simga tahsil being abolished, while Drug was included in the new District of that name On the transfer of Sambalpur District to Bengal, the Phuljhar zammddri, with an area of 842 square miles and a population of 102,135 persons, was added to the Mahasamund tahsTL The area of the reconstituted Raipur District is 9,831 square miles, and the population of that area in 1901 was 1,096,858 persons, compared with 1,125,019 in 1891. The decrease in population during the decade was 2 1 per cent.

The density is 112 persons per square mile. The District contains Central Provinces, lying between 19 50' and 21 53' N. and 81 25' and 83 38 / E., with an area of 11,724 square miles. The District occupies the southern portion of the Chhattisgarh plain, or upper basin of the Mahanadi, and includes also tracts of the hilly country surround- ing it on all sides except the north. It was the largest District in the Province up to 1906, but since its reconstitution it has a smaller area than Chanda.

Physical aspects

On the north-western border a narrow strip of the Satpura range enters the District, and after a break of open country comprised in the Nandgaon and Khairagarh States the hills again appear on the south-west. On the south and west they occupy a much larger area, stretch- ing almost up to the Mahanadi and extending over 5,000 square miles of more or less broken country. The greater part of the hilly tract is included in the three groups of estates known as the north-western, south-western, and south-eastern zamindaris^ the third being much the largest and most important The plain country, covering an area roughly of 5,000 square miles, lies principally to the north-west of the MahanadI, with a few isolated tracts to the south. The Government forests consist practically of two large blocks in the south and east of the District, but extensive areas in the zamtnddris are also covered with jungle. The hills are generally of only moderate elevation, most of the peaks having an altitude of a little over 2,000 feet, while only a few rise above 2,500, and one peak between Bindra-Nawagarh and Khariar reaches 3,235 feet. The general slope of the plain is to the north-east, Nandgaon, just beyond the western border, having an elevation of 1,011 feet, and Bhatapara, beyond the eastern boundary in Bilaspur, of 888. The two main rivers are the Mahanadi and the Seonath. The Mahanadi flows in a north-easterly direction for about 125 miles in the District, its principal tributary being the Pain, which joins it at Rajim. The Sondhal, which borders the Bindra-Nawagarh zamlndari and flows into the Pain, is also a stream of some importance.

The Seonath enters the District on the south-west, and flows north and east in a very tortuous course for about 125 miles, until after a short bend into Bilaspur it joins the Mahanadi on the border of the two Districts. The Kharun river, which flows by Raipur town, is a tributary of the Seonath. The general character of the Mahanadi and the rivers in the east of the District is very different from that three towns RAIPUR, DHAMTARI, and ARANG and 4,051 inhabited villages. It includes n zamind&ri estates with a total area of 4,899 square miles, of which 2,382 are forest. Outside the zammdarts. Government forest covers 1,337 square miles. The approximate land revenue demand in 1902-3 on the area now constituting the District was 6-80 lakhs. The article refers almost throughout to Raipur District before its reconstitntion, material not being available for the treatment of the new area. of the Seonath and its tributaries. The latter generally flow over a rocky or gravelly bottom, and consequently letam watei for the whole or the greater part of the year ; while the beds of the former are wide wastes of sand, almost dry for more than half the year, and at no time, except during high flood, containing much water. The open country is an undulating plain, poorly wooded, especially in the black-soil tracts, but thickly peopled and closely cultivated.

The plains are occupied by Lower Vindhyan rocks, consisting of shales and limestones with subordinate sandstones, resting upon thick, often quartzitic, sandstones, which form low hillocks fringing them on all sides except the north Beyond these, the bordering hills are com- posed of gneiss and quartzite, and of sandstone rocks intersected with trap dikes. The blue limestone crops out in numerous places on the surface, and is invariably found in the beds of the livers. The stratum below the subsoil is a soft sandstone shale, covered generally by a layer of laterite gravel \ and in many places the shale has been converted into a hard, vitrified sandstone, forming an excellent building material.

Teak occurs in the western forests of the District, but is never abundant. In the east and south the forest consists of sal (Shorea robu$ta\ but it is often of a scrubby character. With the sal are associated the usual species of Woodfordia^ Indigofera, Casearia^ PhyUanthuS) BauUnia, Grewia, Zizyfkits, Flueggea, and other shrubs and small trees. The remaining forests are of the usual Central Provinces type, teak being associated with saj (Terminalia tomentosa), Undid (Lagerstroemia parviflora}> karrd (Cleistanthus coUinus)^ and bijdsdl (Pterocarpus Marsupium) Babul (Acacia arabicct) is very common m the open country. Mahua (Bassia latifolid) and mango are plentiful m the south of the District, but not so common in the west and north, where in places the country is markedly bare of trees. The heavy climbers include Butea superba, Spatholobus Roxburghii, and Milkttia auriculata. The herbaceous vegetation, consisting of grasses and of species of Compositae, Leguminosae, Acanthaceae, and other orders, though conspicuous during the rainy season, withers away in the hot weather.

In proportion to their extent the forests are now only sparsely inhabited by game. Buffalo and bison are found in small numbers in the east and south-east. Tigers and leopards are fairly common, but deer of all kinds are rare, and good heads are seldom obtained. Wild dogs are numerous and are very injurious to the game.

The heat is especially great in the summer months, on account of the red gravel soil and the closeness of rock to the surface Fever is very prevalent in the autumn, and epidemics of cholera have been frequent. This may be attributed to the universal preference of tank to well water for drinking purposes. Y 51 The annual rainfall averages 55 inches. The supply is fairly regular, but its distribution is capricious. It is noticeable that certain tracts of the Simga tahsil^ which have been entirely denuded of forest, appear to be especially liable to a deficient rainfall.

History

Chhattisgarh seems to have been inhabited in the earliest times by Bhuiyas and other Munda races ; if so, they were conquered and driven to the hills by the Gonds, by whom the first regular system of government was founded. Traditions 1 ory *

describe the Gond conquest of Bindra-Nawagarh, and the victories of their heroes over the barbarian giants. It is impossible to say when Raipur became pait of the dominions of the ancient Haihaivansi dynasty; but it appears to have been cut off from the Ratanpur kingdom, and separately governed by a younger branch of the reigning family, about the eleventh century. Raipur probably continued from this period to be administered as a separate principality, in subordina- tion to the Ratanpur kingdom, by a younger branch of the Haihaivansi family; but nothing is known of the separate fortunes of the Raipur house until shortly before the invasion of the Marathas in the eighteenth century. In 1741 the Maratha general, Bhaskar Pant, while on his way to attack Bengal, took Ratanpur and annexed the kingdom ; and in 1750 Amar Singh, the representative of the younger branch ruling in Raipur, was quietly ousted. Between 1750 and 1818 the country was governed by the Marathas, whose administration was of the most oppressive kind, having the sole end of extracting the largest possible amount of revenue from the people. Insurrections were frequent, and the eastern tracts of Raipur were laid waste by the incursions of Binjhals from the neighbouring hills of Sonakhan. Between 1818 and 1830 the Nagpur territories were administered by the British Resident. From 1830 to 1853 the District was again administered by Maratha Subahs on the system organized by the British officers, and on the whole successfully. In 1853 Chhattisgarh became British territory by lapse, and Bilaspur was separated from Raipur and made a separate District in 1861. During the Mutiny Chhattisgarh was almost undis- turbed. The commencement of disaffection on the part of the native regiment stationed at Raipur was promptly quelled by the three Euro- pean officers, who hanged the ringleaders on parade with their own hands.

Archaeological remains are numerous, showing that the early Hindu civilization must have extended over most of the District. Those of ARANG, RAJIM, and Sirpur are the most important. There are also interesting temples at Sihawa, Chipti, Deokut, and Balod in the Dhamtan tahsil> at Khalari and Narayanpur in the north-east of the District, and at Deo Baloda and Kunwara near Raipur town. Some Buddhist remains have been discovered at Drug, Rajim, Sirpur, and Turturia. The line of one of the most important roads of ancient times may be traced through this part of the country, leading from near Bhandak, formerly a large city, towards Ganjam and Cuttack.

Population

The population of the District at the last three enumerations was as follows : (1881) 1,405,171 ; (1891) 1,584,427 , and (1901) 1,440,556. Between 1881 and 1891 the increase was TO per cent. Population. ^ the m aig UZ ari area, the decade being generally prosperous, and 24 per cent, in the zarnindaris^ but the latter figure must be attributed partly to greater accuracy of enumeration* In the last decade the loss of population was 9 per cent., the District having been severely affected in both famines. The District contains three towns RAIPUR, DHAMTARI, and ARANG and 4,051 inhabited villages. Statistics of population of the reconstituted District, based on the Census of 1901, are shown below:

Tahsil	Area India square miles	Numbers Towns,	Villages	Population	Population Per separe mile
Chaman Pishin	2,236 2717	1 1 1	4 271 47 7	16,437 31,753 1,062	13 19 83 2
Quetta Shorarud	340 634	3	329	114,087	22

 

Nearly 88 per cent, of the population speak the Chhattisgarh i dialect of Eastern Hindi, 6 per cent. Oriya, 4 per cent. Hindi, and rather less than 6 per cent. Marathl. Only about 8,000 Gonds are returned as speaking their own language. The Oriya speakers live principally in the Khariar zamlndari adjoining Sambalpur. In 1901, 90 per cent, of the people were Hindus and 8 per cent. Animists. There were rather less than 18,000 Muhammadans, of whom 6,000 lived in towns. Members of the KabTrpanthi sect of Hindus numbered 162,175, and the Satnamis 224,779 persons. The Kabirpanthis are mainly Pankas or Gandas who have adopted the tenets of the sect, but several other castes also belong to it. The main distinction of a Kabirpanthi in Chhattisgarh is that he abstains from meat and liquor. The Satnamis are practically all Chamars.

The most important castes numerically are Chamars (245,000), form- ing 1 7 per cent, of the population ; Gonds (216,000), 15 per cent.; and Ahirs or Rawats (145,000), 10 per cent. The principal landholding castes are Brahmans (26,000), Kurmis (66,000), Banias (5,000), Telis (232,000), and Marathas (3,000). The Brahmans are both Maratha and Chhattisgarhl. The former are said to have settled in Raipur after the return of ChimnajT Bhonsla's expedition to Cuttack, when they obtained grants of land for their maintenance.

Christians number 3,499, including 3,294 natives, of whom the large majority belong to the Lutheran Church. There are stations of the German Evangelical Church at Raipur and Bisrampur, of the American Mennonite Mission at Dhamtan, and of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Raipur. A large number of Chamars have been converted by the Bisrampur mission.

Agriculture

In the north-west of the malguzari area, and round Dhamda and Deorbija, lies a rich black-soil tract, which is well adapted to the growth of wheat and other spring crops, but owing . to its undulating surface does not lend itself readily *"* "^ to embankment, and is in consequence relatively unsuitable for rice. In the Dhamtan, Balod, and Rajim farganas the soil is likewise black, but here the country is quite flat, and is therefore all embanked. Rice is the chief crop, and most of the land is double cropped. To the east of the Mahanadi black soil is almost unknown, and yellow and red soils prevail ; the surface is fairly even. Ordinarily the amount of land left fallow is very small, consisting of the pooiest soil, for which periodi- cal resting fallows are required. Old fallow land was almost unknown at the last regular settlement, though it has increased in recent years. Rice is manured to as large a degree as the cultivator can afford, but rarely any other crop. The silt from the beds of tanks is frequently dug up and placed on the fields, and is of considerable advantage.

Of the total area of the District, 50 per cent, is included in the zaminddri estates, 20 square miles have been allotted on the ryotwari system, 106 square miles are held wholly or partially free of revenue, and 4,340 acres have been sold outright under the Waste Land Rules. The remainder is held on the ordinary malguzdri tenure. In 1963-4 the classification showed 1,366 square miles of Government forest, 549 square miles not available for cultivation, and 2,440 square miles of cultivable waste other than fallow \ The remaining area, amounting to 5,002 square miles or 62 per cent of the total (excluding Government forest), was occupied for cultivation. Except in the zaminddri estates, the area of forest land available for cultivation is small. The total cropped area was 4,759 square miles, of which 713 square miles were double cropped. Rice is the staple crop of the District, being grown on 2,022 square miles. Its cultivation is conducted almost wholly on the bidsi system : that is, of ploughing up the young plants when they are a few inches high. Kodon occupies 985 square miles, wheat 264, the pulses urad, mung, and moth 531, gram 97, linseed 237, and til 157 square miles. Wheat is usually sown in unembanked black-soil

1 From these statistics 2,366 square miles of waste land in the zammddris, which have not been cadastrally surveyed, are excluded. fields, and if the winter rams fail is frequently damaged by white ants. Though the area under linseed is small in comparison with the total, Raipur is one of the most important Districts in the Province for this crop.

The practice of raising second crops in rice-fields has sprung up within the last forty years, double crops being grown on as much as 940 square miles when the autumn rains are favourable, The methods of cultivation have hitherto been very slovenly and backward ; but with the rise in the prices of agricultural produce, an improvement is being manifested, and the advantages of manure and irrigation have begun to be appreciated. An experimental farm has been instituted at Raipur by the Agricultural department. During the decade ending 1904 Rs. 47,000 was advanced under the Land Improvement Loans Act and 19 lakhs under the Agriculturists' Loans Act. A consideiable proportion of this latter sum, however, consisted of grants and loans to mdlguzars on special terms for the construction or improvement of tanks in the famine of 1900 and the scarcity of 1903.

The cattle of the District are small and underfed, and no care is exercised in breeding. Animals imported from Nagpur or Bastar are, as far as possible, used for spnng-crop cultivation. Buffaloes are kept only by the malguzars and better-class tenants. They are especially useful for ploughing the rice-fields when flooded, carting grain, and drawing timber from the forests. They are principally imported from the northern Districts by the caste of Basdewas. Very few ponies are kept, and they are scarcely bred at all. Landowners and tenants who have carts for agriculture use them if they have to make a journey, and others go on foot. Light carts with trotting bullocks from Nagpur have been introduced into the Dhamtarl tahsil^ but are not much used as yet. The number of goats and sheep is not large in proportion to the size of the District. The former are kept for food, the latter for their wool used m the manufacture of country blankets. Members of the professional shepherd caste are not numerous.

Irrigation is not at present a feature in the agriculture of the District. In a normal year, until recently, only a little more than 30 square miles received this aid. The statistics for 1903-4 show nearly 15 square miles as irrigated, of which 3 were supplied from tanks and 7 from wells. But in a favourable season 50 square miles can now be irrigated. It is estimated that the tanks constructed during the famine of 1900 afforded protection to an additional area of about 36 square miles. There are now 3,200 tanks in the District, or less than one to each village on an average. The distribution, however, vanes greatly, the number rising to four and five per village in certain tracts. Until recently tanks have generally been constructed primarily to afford a water-supply to the villagers, and have only been used for irrigation when it was essential to save the crops from complete failure. Schemes have been prepared by the Irrigation department for canals in the tracts between the Mahanadi and Kharun, and the Kharun and Seonath, which promise to yield substantial results. There are about 11,000 irrigation wells in the District, most of them temporary, supplying on an average about an acre each. Well-irrigation is practically confined to garden crops and sugar-cane.

Forests &c

The Government forests cover 1,366 square miles, or 20 per cent, of the District area, excluding the zamlndans. Two main types may be distinguished, one consisting of sal (Shorea robusta), and the other of mixed forest. The sal forests con- res s ' stitute about a quarter of the total, being situated m the east and south. There is at present little demand for produce from them, owing to the difficulties of transport. Bamboos are found mainly in the sal forests ; they are cut in the Sihawa range and floated down the Mahanadi to Dhamtari Only a few small patches of teak forest exist. The mixed forest consists of the usual species, saj (Terminaha tomentosd) and bljasal (Pterocarfus Mars upturn) being the principal timber trees. Dhdman (Grewia vestitd) is found in the sal forests, and is used by the Gonds for the manufacture of bows and spear handles. In 1903-4 the forest revenue amounted to Rs. 48,000.

No mines are worked at present. Iron ores are found in abundance in the western and southern parts of the District, and some of these are very rich A sample from Dhalh in the Dondi-Lohara zamtnddn yielded on assay nearly 73 per cent, of metallic iron. Copper and lead ores have been found at Chicholl. Lithographic stones of a serviceable kind have been obtained from the Lower Vindhyan rocks. Red ochre is found m the Gandai zamtndari, and chalk in one or two villages near Dhamda.

Trade and Communication

There are no important industries. Tasar silk is woven, but to a very much smaller extent than in Bilaspur or Sambalpur. Most of the larger villages contain a number of cotton- weavers belonging to the Panka, Mehra, and Koshta Trade and castes, who produce coarse cloth. Mill-spun thread has entirely supplanted the home-spun article , and cloth woven in Indian mills is rapidly gaining in popularity at the expense of that woven locally, the former being produced in the same patterns as the latter and being cheaper. Ornaments and vessels of bell-metal are made at Diug, Dhamda, Nawapara, and Raipur, and glass bangles at Simga, Neora, and Kurra. A little iron is smelted by native methods m the Deorl and Dondi-Lohara zamlndaris, but it cannot compete with English iron. Raipur has one factory owned by a Cutchi Muham- madan, which contains four cotton-gins and a mill for pressing linseed and castor oil.

The most important export is rice, which goes to the northern Dis- tricts of the Central Provinces, to Berar, Hyderabad, and Bombay. Wheat, til, and linseed are also exported. Til oilcake is sent to Berar from the factory at Raipur town. Of forest products, teak, sal, and btjasdl timber are exported in considerable quantities from the zamln- daris. Lac is sent to Mirzapur, and mahua flowers occasionally to Nagpur and Kamptee for the manufacture of liquor. Myrabolams are exported to Bombay. As in other Districts in the Central Provinces, a considerable trade has recently sprung up in the export of dried meat Sea-salt from Bombay is generally used, though small quantities are also brought from Ganjam. Sugar comes principally from the Mau- ritius, that from Mirzapur being slightly more expensive. Gur or unre- fined sugar is chiefly imported from Bengal and Bombay, and a small amount is obtained from Bastar. Cotton thread is received principally from the Hmganghat, Pulgaon, and Badnera mills, and cotton cloth from Cawnpore, Nagpur, and Nandgaon English cloth and metals, such a.* iron, brass, and copper, aie also imported. Brass vessels come from Mirzapur and Cuttack, and leathern shoes from Cawnpore, Ex- cluding a European firm which has an agency at Raipur town, the gram trade is in the hands of CutchI Muhammadans. Hardware and stationery are imported and retailed by Bhatias, while Marwari Banias trade in cloth and thread, and carry on business in money-lending and exchange. Baloda Bazar near Simga has a large weekly cattle market. The other leading bazars are at Baronda and Barekel in the Raipur tahsil) Utai, Ranitarai, Arjundah, and Gandai in Drug, Kurud in Dhamtari, and Neora in Simga.

The direct line of the Bengal-Nagpur Railway passes through the District, with a length of 60 miles and 8 stations within its limits. From Raipur town a branch narrow-gauge line leads to Dhamtari, distant 46 miles, and from Abhanpur, a station on this line, there is also a branch of i o-| miles to Rajim. The chief routes for cart traffic are the Lawan- Bhatapara, Raipur-Khariar, Tilda-Bemetara, and Dhamtarl roads. The total length of metalled roads in the District is 69 miles, and of un- metalled roads 665 miles ; the annual cost of maintenance is Rs. 88,400, practically all the roads being m charge of the Public Works depart- ment. There are avenues of trees on 185 miles. The zammddri estates also contain 109 miles of roads constructed from their private funds.

Famine

Raipur District has suffered from failures of crops on many occa- sions. Information about any except the recent famines is of the Famine scantiest, but distress is recorded as having occurred in the years 1828-9, 1834-5, and 1845-6. In 1868-9 the rains failed almost as completely as in 1899-1900. There was severe distress, accompanied by migration and desertion of villages.

The famine of 1868-9 was followed by a period of twenty-five years of prosperity, broken only by a partial failure of the rice crop in 1886. In 1895 the monsoon failed prematurely, and there were no cold- season rains, with the result that both the autumn and spring crops were poor. This was followed in 1896 by a complete cessation of the rains at the end of August, and a total failure of the rice crop, only slightly relieved by a moderate spring harvest on a reduced area, Relief operations extended throughout the year 1897, the numbers rising to over 100,000 persons, or nearly 7 per cent, of the population, at the end of April; and the total expenditure was 18-5 lakhs. The year 1897 was succeeded by two moderate harvests; and in 1899 the mon- soon again completely failed, the total out-turn being only one-sixth of the normal. More than 700,000 persons, or 44-^ per cent, of the population, were in receipt of some form of assistance in August, 1900, and the total expenditure was 126-5 lakhs. In 1902-3 the rice crop again failed partially, and distress occurred in certain areas of the District. The numbers on relief rose to 60,000 in April, 1903, and the total expenditure was about 5 lakhs.

Administration

The Deputy-Commissioner is aided by four Assistant and Extra- Assistant Commissioners. For administrative purposes the District is divided into four tahsils, each of which has a tahsil- .... dar and a naib-tahsilddr, while additional tahsilddrs have been posted to Raipur and Mahasamund. The forests are in charge of an officer of the Forest seivice.

The civil judicial staff consists of a District and two Subordinate Judges, and a Munsif for each of the Raipur, Baloda Bazar, and Dham- tari tahsils. The Divisional and Sessions Judge of the Chhattibgarh Division has jurisdiction in the District, and the zamlndars of Khariar and Fingeshwar are entrusted with civil powers. Of important civil litigation, suits on mortgage-deeds with condition of foreclosure are noticeably frequent. The commonest forms of serious crime are cattle- theft and cattle-poisoning by arsenic.

When the country first came temporarily under British administra- tion in 1818, the whole revenue of Chhattisgarh amounted to Rs. 2,90,000. Under the beneficent rule of the Superintendent, Colonel Agnew, the prosperity of the country rapidly increased, and the revenue, which was then settled annually, rose by 21 per cent in eight years. On the termination of this period, British officials were replaced by Maratha Subahs ; but the methods laid down by Colonel Agnew were on the whole adhered to, and prosperity continued. In 1868 the revenue of the District had increased to 3-18 lakhs. The first long-term settlement was made in 1868 for a period of twenty years, and under it the revenue was raised to 5-52 lakhs, still, however, giving an incidence per cultivated acre of only 5 annas 2 pies foj the area held in ordinary proprietary right. The extreme lowness of the assessments in Chhattisgarh may be attributed to the patriarchal system of the Haihaivansi kings, the absence of any outside demand for produce, and the payment of rents in kind, the rents themselves being entirely free from any economic influences, and being regarded as contributions for the support of the central administration. The settlement of 1868 was the first in which the assessment was based on a regular survey, and at this time also proprietary rights were conferred. During its currency a great transformation took place in the conditions of agriculture. The District was brought within reach of the railway, exports of gram rose with a bound, the value of land rapidly increased, and prices doubled. About two-fifths of the mdlguzart area, consisting of the Drug tahsil, with parts of the others, was summarily lesettled in the years 1884-7 ; and a regular settlement of the rest of the mdlguzart area, with a revision of revenue in the zamlndaris^ was effected between 1885 and 1889. The term of settlement was fixed at nine or ten years in the summarily settled and at twelve yeais in the regularly settled tracts, the revenue being raised to 8-61 lakhs, or by 56 per cent. The average rental incidence per acre was R. 0-10-3 (maximum R. 0-14-5, minimum R. 0-3-11) and the corresponding revenue incidence was R. 0-5-8 (maximum R. 0-8-4, minimum R 0-2-6). Preparations for a fresh regular settlement began in 1896; but owing to famine and serious agricultural deterioration, only the Drug tahsil was resettled for eight years, while summary abatements were proposed in some of the worst affected tracts. A fresh settlement was commenced in 1904.

The collections of land and total revenue in recent years are shown below, in thousands of rupees :

	1880-1	1800-1	1900-1	19903-4
Land revenue Total revenue	648 1034	862 1518	768 1276	905 14,98

 

Local affairs outside municipal areas are managed by a District council and six local boards, having jurisdiction over the four iahsils and the eastern and western zamtnddri estates respectively. The income of the District council in 1903-4 was Rs. 97,000, while the expenditure on education was Rs 48,000, on public works Rs. 26,000, and on medical relief Rs. 13,000. RAIPUR and DHAMTARI are municipal towns.

The force under the District Superintendent of police consists of 737 officers and men, including a special reserve of 25, and 8 mounted constables, besides 4,340 watchmen for 4,051 inhabited towns and villages. The District possesses a second-class Central jail, with accommodation for 911 prisoners, including 41 female prisoners.

The daily average numbei of prisoners in 1904 was 591. The in- dustries carried on in the jail comprise cloth-weaving and the manu- facture of mats from aloe fibre.

In respect of education Raipur stands last but two among the Dis- tricts of the Province. In 1901 only 3-7 per cent, of the male population could read and write, and only 929 females were returned as literate. The percentage of chilaren under instiuction to those of school-going age is 9. Statistics of the number of pupils under instruction are as follows- (1880-1) 14,054; (1890-1) 14,364; (1900-1) 18,766; and (1903-4) 18,644, including 2,612 girls. The educational institutions comprise a high school at Raipur town, a Rajkumai College for the sons of Feudatory chiefs and zamlndars^ three English middle schools, four vernacular middle schools, and 215 primary schools. The ex- penditure on education in 1903-4 was Rs. 1,06,000, of which Rs, 80,000 was derived from Provincial and Local funds, and Rs. 16,000 from fees.

The District has 12 dispensaries, with accommodation for 125 in- patients. In 1904 the number of cases treated was 162,653, of whom 1,340 were in-patients, and 2,134 operations were performed. The total expenditure was Rs. 22,000, chiefly met from Provincial and Local funds. Two leper asylums, at Raipur town and Dhamtari, are supported by allotments from Local funds and charitable subscriptions. They contain 195 patients, and the annual expenditure is about Rs. 19,000. Raipur town has a veterinary dispensary.

Vaccination is compulsory only in the municipality of Raipur. The number of persons successfully vaccinated in 1903-4 was 32 per 1,000 of the District population.

[L. S. Carey, Settlement Report (1891). A District Gazetteer is being prepared.]