'ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1909-1910' [‎144v] (18/148)

Bombay
Improvement
Trust.
Marine
xii
BOMBAY ADMINISTRATION REPORT.
water-supply schemes of Bijapur and exte ^u a aJ
improvement schemes in Belgaum and Hubli. Ihe accounts of the majoritv,
themunicipalities underwent audit by the Local Audit Department and only
n'ZLee were serious irregularities exposed Dunng the year 34 ^
of
the municipalities underwent auuiu only
were «i» Du '“' « »«!
cinalities were granted the privilege of electing their presidents m continuation
o fee policy of withdrawing direct official contro of mnmmpa administrate
It is yet too early to estimate the full effect on the working of muniei palities -
of this policy, which has been mtroduccd with ^object of quickening ^interest
this policy, which has been introduced witu me ooject oi quickening int erest
in public affairs. Belgaum was the only city municipality to avail itself ot the
privilege of extended franchise on condition ot e appointment of a chief
officer.^ With the exception of a few instances m which private faction
r • .i j* ovbfmsf.firl the time and energy of the councillor!
officer. With tUe exception ui a x 0 >v - x • —
frivolous discussions exhausted the time and energy of the councillors,
municipalities were administered satisfactorily and serious efforts were made to
o The* .i! t.
and
municipalities were aammisieicu mciue to
nse the public revenues to the best advantage. Ihe municipality of Kaira,
however, was suspended during the year on account of mismanagement and the
^ministration at Ahmedabad and Katnagiri was marked bv sr
24 The Trust has now completed the eleventh year of its existence and
for the first time has been allowed to use its annual profits for temporarily
financing the schemes. The Trust had to pay to Government and the Muni-
cipality the sum of 17*76 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees representing the net profit Which had accrued
in the previous 10 years in the general account and henceforth any profits
shown by the year’s accounts are to he paid to the Municipality and to Govern*
ment. The obligation to pay this amount and the anticipation of heavy
payments following on the rapid acquisition of land due to the amendment of
the act required the Trust to raise a loan considerably in excess of any previous
loan. This loan of 85 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees was floated in London owing to the state of the
local money market. The total borrowings of the Trust now aggregate 400
lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees representing an annual charge of 18 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees per annum. The year was
marked by considerable activity in the acquisition of lands, the total area
acquired during the year being 75 per cent, of the acquisition of the previous
decennial period. Several important schemes were completed or almost com
pleted during the year, but the actual expenditure on works fell short of the
estimate by lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees owing to the provisional inclusion in the Budget
oi works not sanctioned during the year and also to revision of other
schemes. Of schemes approaching completion, the most important were
the im provements in Nagpada, Princess Street, Sandhurst Load and Gamdevi,
the chawls at Mandvi-Koliwada and the developments in Mathew Bead. Much
pi ogress was made in the housing of the poorer classes and the construction of
several cliawls was well advanced. A gratifying feature was the diminution
in the mortality in the Trust’s cbawls. All inspectors and peons employed on
Irast estates were trained in operations for the prevention of malaria by the
estruetion of .the larvae in breeding places. The outstanding feature of ^ ie
ffiancial administration was the 3 years’ contract under which the Bank of
om became the Trust’s sole bankers. "While this measure makes for
greater security, it has resulted in a large increase in the balance not earning
interest.
i seamen shipped through the Bombay Shipping
} o per cent., but, as a larger number of lascars A term used by the British officials to describe non-European sailors employed on East India Company ships. were discharge
the
however, was suspended during me ^ ai
municipal administration at Ahmedabad and Batnagiii was marked by gross
inefficiency. It appears that the offer of Government to.assist in carrying out
schemes of sanitary improvement is encouraging municipalities to turn their
attention to improvements that would otherwise have been indefinitely
postponed.
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