jan 1, 1833 - Mahalwari System 1822 and 1833 Holt Mackenzie and Bird

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Holt Mackenzie in 1822 but William Bentick introduced a reformed version in 1833

• By the early 19th century, the Company officials were convinced that the system of revenue had to be changed again.
• The revenues cannot be fixed permanently at such a time when the Company needed more money to meet its expenses of administration and trade.
• In 1822, Englishman Holt Mackenzie devised a new system known as the Mahalwari System in the North Western Provinces of the Bengal Presidency (most of this area is now in Uttar Pradesh).
• Under the Mahalwari system, the land revenue was collected from the farmers by the village headmen (Mahals or Estates) on behalf of the whole estate.
• The entire village was converted into one bigger unit called ‘Mahal’ and was treated as one unit for the payment of land revenue.
• The revenue under the Mahalwari system was to be revised periodically and not fixed permanently.
• The system was popularised by Lord William Bentick in Agra and Awadh and was later extended to Madhya Pradesh and Punjab.
Issue with the Mahalwari System
• A major drawback of the system was that the survey was practically based on faulty assumptions which left a space for manipulations and corruption.
• At times, it made the Company spend more for the collection than the revenue collected. Consequently, the system was regarded as a failure.

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