(1)Where for any land in his holding [a ryot] [Substituted for 'an occupancy ryot' and the words 'apply to' were substituted for the words 'institute a suit before' by section 26 of the Madras Estates Land (Amendment) Act, 1934 (Madras Act VIII of 1934.] pays a money rent, he may [apply to] [Substituted for 'an occupancy ryot' and the words 'apply to' were substituted for the words 'institute a suit before' by section 26 of the Madras Estates Land (Amendment) Act, 1934 (Madras Act VIII of 1934.] the Collector for the reduction of his rent on one or more of the following grounds and on no others -(a)that the soil of the holding has, without the fault of the ryot, become permanently deteriorated by a deposit of sand or by other specific cause, sudden or gradual; or(b)that, in the case of irrigated land, there has been a permanent failure of supply from the irrigation work on which it is dependent; or(c)that during the currency of the existing rent, there has been a fall not due to a temporary cause in the average local prices of staple food-crops in the taluk or zamindari division.(2)[On such an application being made] [Substituted for 'In any suit instituted under this section' by section 26 of the Madras Estates Land (Amendment) Act, 1934 (Madras Act VIII of 1934.], the Collector may direct such reduction of the rent as he thinks fair and equitable and, in setting the amount of reduction under clause (c) of sub-section (1), shall have regard to the considerations specified in clauses (a), (b), (c) and (d) of section 31.
