Correct Option: C

By the Permanent Settlement Act of 1793, the Zamindars class became more powerful than they were in the Mughal period. Earlier zamindars in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa had been functionaries who held the right to collect revenue on behalf of the Mughal emperor and his representative or diwan in Bengal. The security of tenure of landlords was guaranteed; in short, the former landholders and revenue intermediaries were granted proprietarial rights (effective ownership) to the land they held. In addition, the land tax was fixed in perpetuity, so as to minimize the tendency by British administrators to amass a small fortune in sluiced-away revenue.