Abstract

Cultivation on the hill slopes is generally known as podu cultiva- tion and it is largely done in the Agency tracts of this District and also in the plains where the forests are not reserved. Cultivation of these hill slopes is, of course, an evil as the rain water rushing down these deforested slopes, carry a lot of valuable top soil and deposit it in the lower levels of streams and the tanks they feed, or the lands they overflow into. Without giving much heed to this great evil, hill slopes are constantly being given on lease for this kind of cultivation, so much so, that most of the hills owned by private individuals are completely bare and are causing great havoc to the irrigation sources and lands commanded by them since the streams arising from these hills bring with them nothing but sand with their current, thus necessitating the investment of large sums of money at shorter intervals for the repairs of these irrigation sources. The cultivation of these podu lands is chiefly in the hands of poor ryots. In the lower slopes of hills in the Agency parts, the hill-men are, of course, obliged to adopt the system as there are no suitable lands for cultivation. But in the plains it is possible to stop the system provided the owners take a general interest and understand the danger of it.

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