LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

MUNICIPALITIES

The old Gazetteer of Buldhana, published in 1910, has the following to say about the municipalities in the district:

"The District has four Municipal towns, Buldhana, Malkapur, Khamgaon and Shegaon. The Buldhana Municipality contains two ex-officio and ten nominated members; Malkapur three nominated and nine elected; Khamgaon three nominated and nine elected; Shegaon four nominated and nine elected The income of the Buldhana Municipality was Rs. 14,887 and that of Khamgaon, Shegaon and Malkapur was Rs. 33,170, Rs. 18,505, and Rs. 7,753, respectively, in 1906-07. The expenditure during the same year was, Buldhana Rs. 17,294; Malkapur, Rs. 6,377; Khamgaon, Rs. 27,297; Shegaon, Rs. 16,482. The total population within municipal limits was 50,647 and the average municipal income per head was Rs. 3-7-6 in Buldhana, annas 9 in Malkapur, Rs. 1-11-11 in Khamgaon and Rs. 1-2-5 in Shegaon. General administration, conservancy, and education are the principal heads of expenditure. The Buldhana and Khamgaon Municipalities have water-works of their own." [The Gazetteer of Buldhana, 1910, p. 387.]

There arc in all nine municipal councils in Buldhana district at Deulgaon Raja, Buldhana, Malkapur, Shegaon, Chikhli, Nandura, Khamgaon, Jalgaon and Mehkar. None of these belongs to the 'A' class municipal councils. Of the nine municipal councils, three municipal councils are placed in 'C' class. This classification is based upon the population as per 1961 Census.

These municipal committees were established under the Central Provinces and Berar Municipal Act, 1922. The municipality at Shegaon is the oldest of all of them. Three out of the 9 municipalities were established in last century. It may be noted that most of these municipal towns are famous for their cotton markets.

The total area, population, etc., of each municipal council is shown in detail in table No. 1.

TABLE No. 1

STATISTICS OF MUNICIPALITIES IN THE BULDHANA DISTRICT.

In regard to income and expenditure of these municipal towns in the district the position during 1965 was as detailed below. Nearly 46.86 per cent of the total income of all the municipalities was derived from rates and taxes, 29.64 per cent from grants, 3.83 per cent from municipal property and 18.62 from other sources. Out of the total expenditure during the same period, 26.56 per cent was incurred on public health and convenience, 34.52 per cent on public instruction and the rest on other heads of expenditure.

Under the Central Provinces and Berar Municipalities Act, 1922 [Now the municipal councils are governed by the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965.]. as amended, the State Government is empowered to declare any local area to be a municipal committee and to extend the present limits of the existing municipal committees. Every municipal committee consists of a body of elected councillors. The Director of Municipal Administration has powers to nominate the councillors to represent the wards if they fail to elect any seat allotted to them. The State Government has also powers to prescribe the number of wards, councillors to be elected from each ward and seats reserved for women, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

The life-term of each municipal committee is for five years but this period could be extended by the State Government. The President, who is elected from among the councillors, holds office for a period of not less than one year of for a period not less than the residue of the term of office of the committee, whichever is less and not more than a term of three years as the committee may, previous to the election of the President, determine or until the expiry of the term of his office as a member of the committee. Every committee has a Vice-President nominated by the President from amongst the members.

The committee, by passing a resolution, can remove the President or Vice-President from office, provided three-fourths of its members vote in favour of such a resolution. Before removing a President or a Vice-President from office the incumbent is given a reasonable opportunity to put forward his case against such an action. A President or Vice-President could be removed by the State Government from office for misconduct or incapacity to perform his duties.

Under the provisions of the Municipal Act and rules framed thereunder, the duties of President are detailed as under:-

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

(2) to guide the financial and executive administration of the committee and to perform such other executive functions as detailed under the Act, and

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

The Act provides for the formation of the sub-committees for different branches of municipal administration for the proper functioning of municipal affairs. The functions of municipal committee are divided into obligatory and optional. The obligatory functions include health, safety, convenience and well-being of the people, while optional functions are those which though considered to be the legitimate objects of local expenditure are not considered essential. Following are some of the obligatory duties of municipalities:-

(1) cleaning public streets, places and removing noxious vegetation and abating all public nuisance;

(2) lighting public streets, places and buildings;

(3) disposing of night soil and rubbish;

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

(5) regulating or abating offensive or dangerous trades or practices;

(6) removing obstructions and projections in public streets or places;

(7) establishing and managing cattle-pounds;

(8) securing possession of or removing buildings which are in a dilapidated state:

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

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

(11) Providing proper and sufficient supply of water;

(12) naming streets and numbering houses;

(13) registering births and deaths;

(14) carrying out public vaccinations;

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

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

(17) carrying out the annual census of agricultural cattle; and

(18) registration of cattle or any specified categories of cattle.

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

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

(2) Constructing, establishing or maintaining public parks, gardens, libraries, museums, halls, offices, residential houses, hospitals and dispensaries

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

(4) watering public streets and places;

(5) planting and maintaining road side and other trees;

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

(7) undertaking destruction or detection and preservation of stray dogs:

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

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

(10) 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;

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

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

(13) taking safety and health measures during fairs and exhibitions.

The municipalities derive income from the following items of taxation:-

(1) tax on buildings and lands;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(9) lighting rate;

(10) drainage tax;

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

(12) terminal tax and

(13) tax on pilgrims.

The State Government may take an objection to the levy of a tax which is unfair in its incidence or against public interest.

The State Government is empowered to sanction or refuse to sanction any proposal for the levy of a tax or give sanction subject to the modification as it may deem fit or return the proposal to the committee for reconsideration. In order to improve the financial position of the municipal committees, the State Government may allow the municipal committee to levy any new tax.

Such new taxes sometimes fall short to meet the expenditure of the municipal committees. Therefore, their income is supplemented by grants of a recurring and non-recurring nature made by the Government from time to time.

The Director of Municipal Administration exercises control over the municipalities in Buldhana district. The Director can examine the proceeding's of any committee, allow any authorised person to inspect any immoveable property in possession of the committee or any work in progress under its direction, call for and inspect any document which may be in possession or under the control of a committee and require a committee to furnish such statements, accounts and reports as required. The Collector can also suspend the execution of an order or a resolution of a committee.

When a particular municipal committee is deemed to have become incompetent to discharge its functions, the State Government appoints an executive officer for general improvement in the administration by dissolving the municipal committee.

The accounts of the municipal committees are audited once in a year by the local audit department of the Office of the Accountant General. The Director of Municipal Administration is empowered to disallow any item of expenditure which seems to him to be contrary to law and surcharge the same on the person responsible for making such illegal expenditure in the form of a payment. Appeal against this order lies with the District Judge or the State Government.

The Director has also powers to remove any member of the municipal committee on receipt of a recommendation to the effect from the committee on account of disqualification or misconduct.

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