LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

MUNICIPALITIES

THERE ARE 13 MUNICIPAL COMMITTEES in the district at Amra- vati, Badnera, Chandur Railway, Dhamangaon, Daryapur, Anjan-gaon. Achalpur City, Achalpur Civil Station, Morshi, Shendur-jana, Warud, Chandur Bazar and Chikhaldara. Except the Chikhaldara Municipal Committee all others have elected representatives. They are governed under the provisions of the Central Provinces and Berar Municipalities Act, 1922 (II of 1922), as amended and the rules made thereunder. The Chikhaldara Municipal Committee has a body nominated by the State Government.

The total area under the administration of municipalities in the district according to 1961 census was 146.34 sq. km. (56.5 square miles) with a population of 3,21,921.

In the district, the municipal committees came to he first established at Amravati and Achalpur on February 2, 1887. The municipal committee was established at Amravati with the Deputy Commissioner or the Collector as the President while the Sub-Divisional Officer, Achalpur, acted as the President of Achalpur Municipal Committee. The third municipal committee was established at Achalpur Civil Station on March 27, 1893 with Sub-Divisional Officer, Achalpur, as President. All these municipal committees were established under the first legislation concerning the Local Fund Act (1869).

Following the Montford Reforms in 1920, the Central Provinces and Berar Municipalities Act, 1922 was enacted. It replaced the Central Provinces Municipalities Act, 1903 and the Central Provinces Municipal (Amendment) Act, 1918. This amended Act continued in a modified form with regard to several provisions of the earlier Acts connected with the liberalisation of the constitution of municipal bodies and adult franchise. This, therefore, resulted in the constitution of as many as 10 Municipal Committees in Amravati district as noted below: -

LIST OF MUNICIPAL COMMITTEES IN AMRAVATI DISTRICT

Under the Central Provinces and Berar Municipalities Act, 1922 (II of 1922), as amended, the State Government have power to declare by notification any local area to he a municipal committee and to extend the present limits of the existing municipal committees. Every municipal committee constitutes a body consisting of elected councillors, the Commissioner of the Division having power to nominate councillors to represent the wards, which fail to elect any seat allotted to them. The State Government have powers to prescribe the number and the extent of the wards to be constituted in each municipal committee, the number of councillors to be elected from each ward and the seats reserved for women, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

The term of the office of a municipal committee is for five years but it can be extended further by the State Government. Under the provisions of the Act, every municipality is to be presided over by a President elected from among the councillors. The President holds office for such term which is not less than one year or not less than the residue of the term of office of the Committee, whichever is less and not exceeding three years as the Committee may previous to election of the President determine or until the expiry of the term of office as a member. Each committee has a Vice-President, who is nominated by the President from amongst the members of the Committee.

A President or a Vice-President can be removed from the office, by the committee by a resolution passed to that effect, provided that three-fourth of the total number of members of the committee vote in favour of such a resolution. The President or the Vice-President is given a reasonable opportunity to show cause as to why such an action should not be taken against him.

A President or a Vice-President is also removable from office by the State Government for misconduct or neglect or incapacity to perform his duty after giving the person reasonable opportunity of showing cause before orders are passed.

Under the provisions of the Municipalities Act and the rules thereunder the duties of the President are as given below: -

(a) to preside over the meetings of the municipal committee,

(b) guide the financial and executive administration and to perform such other executive functions as may be performed by the municipality, and

(c) to supervise and exercise control over all officers and servants of the municipality.

The Act provides for the formation of sub-committees of different branches of a municipal committee for administration by the elected members.

The Act divides municipal functions into obligatory and optional. The former includes all matters essential to the health, safety, convenience and well-being of the population, while the latter are those which though thought to he the  legitimate objects of local expenditure, are not considered  absolutely essential. The following are among the obligatory  duties of all the municipalities:-

(a) lighting public streets, places and buildings ;

(b) cleaning public streets, places and removing noxious vegetation and abating all public nuisances ;

(c) disposing of night-soil and rubbish ;

(d) extinguishing fires and protecting life and property when fires occur ;

(c) regulating or abating offensive or dangerous trades or practices ; (f) removing obstructions and projections in public streets or places ;

(g) establishing and managing cattle-pounds ;

(h) securing possession of or removing buildings which are in a dilapidated state ;

(i) acquiring and managing, changing and regulating places for the disposal of the dead ;

(j) constructing, altering and maintaining public streets, culverts, municipal boundary marks, markets, slaughter-houses, latrines, urinals, drainage services and public facilities for drinking water ;

(k) providing proper and sufficient supply of water ;

(/) naming streets and numbering houses ;

(m) registering births and deaths ;

(n) carrying out public vaccinations ;

(o) establishing and maintaining poor-houses ;

(p) printing and publishing annual administrative reports of the committee ;

(q) taking such measures as may be required to prevent the outbreak, spread or recurrence of infectious diseases ;

(r) carrying out the annual census of agricultural cattle and (s) registration of cattle or any specified categories of cattle.

Municipalities may at their discretion provide out of their funds for the following among others: -

(a) reclaiming unhealthy localities and laying out new public streets ;

(b) constructing, establishing or maintaining public parks, gardens, libraries, museums, halls, offices, sarais, residential houses, hospitals and dispensaries :

(c) furthering educational objects other than the establishment and maintenance of primary schools ;

(d) watering public streets and places ;

(e) planting and maintaining road-side and other trees ;

(f) taking a census and granting rewards for information which may tend to secure the correct registration of vital statistics ;

(g) undertaking destruction or detention and preservation of stray dogs ;

(h) securing or assisting to secure suitable places for carrying on offensive trades ;

(i) supplying, constructing and maintaining pipes and other fittings for the supply of water to premises and works maintained by the committee ;

(j) supplying, constructing and maintaining receptacles, fittings, pipes, etc., for the use of private premises for recovery and conducting the sewage thereof into sewers under the control of the committee ;

(k) establishing and maintaining a farm or a factory for the disposal of sewage ;

(/) constructing and maintaining such roads, buildings and other Government works other than irrigation works and

(m) taking safety and health measures during fairs and exhibitions. Municipal taxation may embrace the following items: -

(i) tax on buildings or lands ;

(ii) tax on persons exercising any profession or art or carrying on any trade ;

(iii) octroi tax on animals or goods brought within the municipal limits for sale, consumption or use ;

(iv) market dues on persons exposing goods for sale in any market or in any place belonging to or under the control of the State ;

(v) fees on the registration of cattle sold within the limits of the municipality ;

(vi) latrine or conservancy tax payable by the occupiers or owners ;

(vii) tax for the construction or maintenance of public latrines ;

(viii) water rate where water is supplied by the committee ;

(ix) lighting rate ;

(x) drainage tax ;

(xi) tax payable by the occupiers of buildings or lands ;

(xii) terminal tax and

(xiii) tax on pilgrims.

The rules regulating the levy of taxes in the case of municipal committees have to be sanctioned by the Commissioner, Nagpur Division, who has been given powers to subject the levy to such modifications not involving an increase of the amount to be imposed or to such conditions.

The State Government may raise objections to the levy of any particular tax which appears to he unfair in its incidence, or obnoxious to the interest of the general public. The State Government may sanction or refuse to sanction any proposal for levy of taxes or sanction them subject to such modifications as it may deem fit or return them to the committee for further consideration.

With a view to improving the financial position of the municipal committee, the State Government may compel the committee to impose any new tax, acting under the advise and directions of the Collector of the district and the Commissioner, Nagpur Division.

Many of these taxes are levied by municipalities. But the yield from these taxes does not enable them to meet all their expenditure. Their incomes, therefore, are Supplemented by numerous giants made by Government which are both of a recurring and non-recurring type. Thus, grants are made by Government to municipal dispensaries and hospitals, to water-supply and drainage schemes, towards expenditure on measures to combat epidemics, towards payment of dearness allowance to staff, etc. These grants augment the municipal income substantially.

It is obligatory on every municipal committee to provide facilities for primary education within its jurisdiction. However, some municipal committees have provided facilities for higher education. In such cases expenses are reimbursed by the State Government up to a certain percentage.

Control over the municipalities in Amravati district is exercised by the Collector of the district, the Commissioner, Nagpur Division and the State Government. The Collector has powers to examine the proceedings of any committee, inspect by himself or authorize any other person to inspect any immovable property occupied by a committee, or any work in progress under its direction, call for and inspect any document which may be in the possession or under the control of a committee, require a committee to furnish such statements, accounts and reports as required. The collector can suspend execution of an order or a resolution of a committee.

If and when a committee becomes incompetent to perform its duties, the State can appoint an Executive Officer for general improvement in the administration of the committee by suspending the functioning of the municipal committee.

In case of an emergency, the State Government may provide for the execution of any work or the performance of any act necessary for the service or safety of the public in case the municipal committee fails in its duty.

The State Government have powers to dissolve or supersede a municipal committee.

The accounts of municipal committees are audited at least once a year by Local Audit Department of the Accountant- General. The Commissioner, Nagpur Division, on receipt of the report of the Examiner of Local Funds Accounts may disallow any item of expenditure which appears to him to he contrary to law and surcharge the same on the person making or authorising the making of the illegal payment. Appeal against the order may he made to the District Judge or to the State Government.

The Commissioner, Nagpur Division, has powers to sanction the rules pertaining to the levy of taxes and to remove on the recommendations of the Committee, any member, who comes under the rules of disqualification and misconduct.

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