Section 30 in Bihar Board's Miscellaneous Rules, 1958
30. Sub-Divisional and District Officers to report promptly agricultural deterioration.
(1)It is the duty of Sub-Divisional Officers and District Officers to report promptly the existence of any agricultural deterioration, and such reports should be forwarded by the Commissioners, with their views thereon, to the Board of Revenue for orders. In the case of temporarily settled and Government estates and ward's estates it would be a matter for consideration whether abatements or suspension of revenue or rent should be granted. In the case of permanently-settled estates, the question of abatement of revenue cannot arise, while that of suspension will seldom need consideration. In the case of all classes of estates the reports will be forwarded, when this appears to the Board to be necessary, to the Director of Agriculture whose duty it is to watch over and foster agriculture.(2)Agricultural deterioration has been described by the Government of India as including (i) occasional failure that is, sudden distress due to unforeseen calamity such as failure of rain, hailstorms, inundations, etc., requiring, as a rule, immediate relief; (ii) gradual failure, that is gradual deterioration due to ascertainable causes requiring early and special measures of prevention and relief, instances of which are cattle murrain, swamping due to the interference of drainage by railway embankments or canals, the growth of noxious weeds and other causes which gradually reduce the value of land or affect the prosperity of the people; and (iii) persistent failure that is failure to reach the highest attainable standard of production, due to causes or defects of a more or less persistent character and requiring prolonged investigation, such as want of irrigation, frequent liability to failure of rain, insufficiency in the wood or fuel-supply, cattle diseases, plant diseases and blights; want of drainage, the prevalence of saline efflorescence, proved imperfections in agricultural practices, the want of suitable manures, and so on.
