The  unassigned  land  still  in  the  possession  of  the  State  con-  Unassigned
sists  of  all  land  which  is  not  included  in  any  Zemindary,  ryot's  ^^^^^  witMn
holding,  or  other  land  already  given  out  by  Government  for
occupation.  If  it  lies,  however,  within  the  boundaries  of  a
village,  certain  prescriptive  rights  are  conceded  to  the  villagers
of  that  particular  village,  probably  as  a  relic  of  the  old  village
communal  system,  in  the  way  of  preferential  claim  to  occupy ;
and  this  distinguishes  the  case  for  the  purposes  of  the  present
classification  from  that  of  unassigned  land  not  so  situated.
Unassigned  land  within  a  village  will  be  either  of  the  assessed
class  or  the  unassessed  class.  The  mode  in  which  assessed
lands  are  applied  for  and  taken  up  in  the  first  instance  has
already  been  described.  The  unassessed  or  poramboke  land  of
a  village  is  also  at  the  disposal  of  the  Government  acting  in
trust  for  the  interests  of  the  village  community.  Subject  to  the
instructions  of  the  Government  officers,  certain  portions  are
reserved  for  the  gratuitous  and  communal  use  of  the  villagers,


[Section  II.
118


ADMINISTRATION    OF    THE    LAND.
