OTHER SOCIAL SERVICES

CHARITY COMMISSIONER

Prior to 1950, the Religious and Charitable Trusts in the State were governed under various enactments. Central as well as Provincial. In 1950, a composite legislation called the Bombay Public Trusts Act (XXIX of 1950) was passed, which could be made applicable to all public trusts without distinction of religion. This Act defines " Public Trusts" as " express or constructive trusts for either a public, religious or charitable purpose or both, and includes a temple, a math, a wakf, a dharmada or any religious or charitable endowment and a society formed either for a religious or charitable purpose or for both and registered under the Societies Registration Act (XXI of I860).".

The State Government is empowered to apply this Act to any public trust or class of public trusts and on such application the provisions of previous Acts cease to apply to such trusts or class of trusts. The Act has been made applicable in all the regions of the State to the following classes of public trusts:—

(1) temples;

(2) maths;

(3) wakfs ;

(4) public trusts other than (I), (2) and (3) above created or existing solely for the benefit of any community or communities or any section or sections thereof;

(5) societies formed either for religious or charitable purpose or for both registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860;

(6) dharmadas, i.e., any amounts which, according to the custom or usage of any business or trade or agreement between the parties relating to any transaction, are charged to any party to the transaction or collected under whatever name is being intended to be used for a charitable or religious purpose; and

(7) all other trusts, express or constructive, for either a public, religious or charitable purpose or for both.

The Act has not been made applicable to the charitable endowments vested in the Treasurer of Charitable Endowments under provisions of the Charitable Endowments Act (VI of 1890). The Charity Commissioner with head-quarters at Bombay administers the Act. An Assistant Charity Commissioner heads the Pune region with jurisdiction over Ahmadnagar district. The Assistant Charity Commissioner is directly responsible to the Charity Commissioner.

The Act imposed a duty on the trustee of a public trust to which the Act has been applied to make an application for the registration of the trust within three months of the application of the Act. or its creation giving particulars specified in the Act, which include (a) the approximate value of moveable and immoveable property owned by the trust, (b) the gross average annual income of the trust properly and (c) the amount of average annual expenditure of the trust. No registration is, however, necessary in the case of dharmadas which are governed under the special provisions of the Act in certain respects. The Trusts registered under any of the previous Acts are deemed to be registered under this Act.

Public Trusts: Table No. 3 furnishes statistics relating to the public trusts from Ahmadnagar district registered at the Public Trust Registration Office, Pune Region, Pune.

TABLE No. 3—PUBLIC TRUSTS IN THE AHMADNAGAR DISTRICT, 1968

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