'REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY FOR THE YEAR 1903-1904' [‎83v] (54/112)

Chap. III.
PROTECTION.
§0 BOMBAY ADMINISTRATION REPORT.
General.
Income.
Expenditure.
Important works.
Debt.
Progress of schemes.
Police accommoda
tion schemes.
Acquisition.
Lands’vested in
the Board,
2.—District Municipalities.
1. The number of Municipalities in the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. and Sind was 164, of which four We ,
temporary. The Bassein Municipality continued under suspension, while the M^heji Municip a J e
in the Khdndesh District was abolished during the year. Tim number of councillors
2,252, of whom 881 were elected, 1,190 nominated, and 181 ex-officio. Forty-one Municipal^
were entirely composed of nominated members.
2. The aggregate income of all District Municipalities rose from Es. 57,70,408 t
Es. 63,29,19*6, of which Es. 39,59,572 were realised from taxation against Es. 35,76,450 intL
previous year. The increase in income was general, save for a falling off of nearly one Ubli Id
S ind, which was due mainly to the fact that the accounts of Karachi Municipality for 19O2-l90§
included the taxes collected for 15 months and that a special grant for plague expenditure %
made to that Municipality during 1902-1903. In the Northern Division the increase of R s ,
lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees is explained by the fact that the Ahmedabad Municipality took np in the open market!
loan of Es. 3 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees to meet its capital outlay on drainage works and withdrew Es. Ji
from the Savings Bank. Eeceipts from taxation also increased chiefly under the heads of
octroi, taxes on houses and lands, tolls, water-rate, and conservancy. The income of Municipalities
in the Central Division increased by Es. 1,81,507, owing to improvement in receipts from
many of the principal sources of income in most Municipalities. There was an increase from
Es. 6,16,960 to Es. 6,93,271 in the income of Municipalities in the Southern Division whiet
was mainly due to enhanced receipts from octroi in the more important of the Dharwfo
Municipalities. The incidence of taxation per head of population varied from Es. 5-7-11 k I
the Karachi Municipality to Be. 0-2-7 in the Ashta Municipality in S^tara ; and that of total
income from Es. 6-15-1 in the case of Karachi to Be. 0-4-1 in the case of Ashta.
3. In the aggregate expenditure there was an increase of Es. 1,55,482. There was!
however, a large fall of Es. 3,30,243 in Sind Municipalities which was chiefly due to the decrease
of octroi refunds in the Karachi, Hyderabad, Jacobabad, Larkdna and smaller Municipalities
and to the expenditure on road repairs in Karachi being less than in 1902-03. Intk
Northern Division the increase of Es. 3,17,946 in expenditure was chiefly due to the extension of
drainage in Ahmedabad and the greater cost of hospitals and dispensaries in all Municipalities,
In the Central Division Es. 1,19,797 more than in the previous year were spent, the increase
being mostly visible under the heads of Public Safety, Public Health and Convenience, anl
Instruction. In the Southern Division the amount of increased expenditure was Es. 48,082, j
“ Hospitals and Dispensaries ” and “ Eoads ” were the chief heads showing increases.
4. Besides the drainage works in Ahmedabad the most important works were a new
dispensary at Karachi, new municipal buildings at Bander, and a fruit and vegetable market at;
Sholapur as a memorial to Her late Majesty Queen Victoria.
5. The total liabilities of the Municipalities in respect of loans at the end of the year
were Es. 43,26,793. During the year Es. 1,69,278 were repaid. Fresh loans were raised bj
the Municipalities of Ahmedabad (Es. 3,00,000) and ShoMpur (Es. 45,000). The opening
and closing balances stood at Es. 15,26,594 and Es. 17,84,428 respectively.
3.—Bombay Improvement Trust.
1. Scheme I (Ndgp^da) is practically completed. Only 10 building sites out of 58 remaia
to be leased. On all other sites building is complete or approaching completion. Scheme II, a
road from Queen's Eoad to Carnac Bridge, has been further slightly altered with the result
that the cost has been reduced and the area available for re-sale increased. The work of acquisition
for this scheme is progressing satisfactorily, Es. 10J Idkhs being spent on it during the year,
Scheme III, a road from Queen's Eoad to Elphinstone Bridge, has been slightly modified,
with the main object of obtaining sites for the construction of chawls for the poor. Es.
lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees were spent in acquisition for this Scheme during the year. In connection with
the Gowalia Tank Scheme (Scheme IV), Es. Ukhs were spent during the year in awards,
Scheme VII (Colaba Eeclamation) has made good progress, about two-thirds of the filling in being
completed. Acquisition proceedings with regard to Scheme VJII (Mandvi-KoliwCda) have
begun. Several smaller street schemes have been sanctioned and progress has been made with
the Sankli Street extension and the road south of Crawford Market.
2. Schemes for providing Police quarters in various parts of the City have been sanctioned
and progress has been made with the building at Nagpada and Wodehouse Eoad and also-with
the Police Hospital building at Nagpada.
3. During the year 248 properties were acquired at a cost of nearly Es. 39 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees . Of these
142 or 57 per cent, were amicably acquired. There is a noticeable increase in the percentage
of cases amicably settled, which was 37 percent, in 1902-1903 and 17 per cent, in 1901 - 1902 . 4
4. In all, up to date, 136 plots have been leased, yielding a present rental of Es. 1,40,255
per annum. Buildings for the accommodation of 6,000 poor and working people are partly
completed and partly in progress. In addition preparations are being made for ibuilding 328
tenements in Nagpada, 1,000 tenements at Imamvada, 1,000 at Charniwadi, and 700 at Girgaum.
It has not yet been finally decided how the Crescent site should be utilised.