LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

MUNICIPALITIES.

The total area in the district under the administration of the municipalities in 1961, was about 82.880 km² (32 square miles) with a population of 99,180. The following statement enumerates the municipalities in the district along with their years of establishment, population, number of seats allocated to them, etc.

TABLE No. 1

The municipalities at Chandrapur and Warora have completed 100 years. According to the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965 (XL of 1965) Chandrapur municipality is declared as 'A' class municipality, Ballarpur as 'B' class and the rest three viz., Warora, Rajura and Desaiganj as 'C' class municipalities. The four municipalities except that at Desaiganj covered 94.43 per cent of the urban population or 7.30 per cent of the total population of the district in 1961.

The State Government have powers to declare by notification any local area of which the population is not less than 10,000 to be a municipal area; to alter the limits of a municipal area so as to include therein or to exclude therefrom such local area as may be specified in the notification; to amalgamate two or more municipal areas; to split up any municipal area into two or more municipal areas; and to declare that the whole of any local area comprising a municipal area shall cease to be a municipal area:

Provided that no such notification is issued by the State Government without consulting the municipal council or councils and other local authorities.

The term of office of a municipality is for five years which may be extended by the State Government in exceptional circumstances to a term not exceeding in the aggregate six years. Under the Act, every municipality has to be presided over by a President elected from amongst the councillors. Each municipality is to have a vice-president elected from amongst the councillors.

The government of municipal district vests in the municipality. The President as the head of the municipality has to:-

(a) preside, unless prevented by reasonable cause, at all the meetings of the council and regulate the conduct of business at such meetings;

(b) watch over the financial and executive administration of the council;.

(c) perform such executive functions or exercise such powers as are conferred upon him by or under the Act or any other law for the time being in force;

(d) exercise supervision and control over the acts and proceedings of all officers and servants of the council in matters of executive administration and in matters concerning the accounts and records of the council; and

(e) furnish to the State Government or the Director of Municipal Administration or the Collector or any other Government officer authorised by the State Government from time to time, such reports, returns or records as may be prescribed by rules or as may be called for at any time by the State Government, the Director, the Collector or such officer.

The President may, in cases of emergency, direct the execution or stoppage of any work or the doing of any act which requires the sanction of the council and immediate execution or doing of which is, in his opinion, necessary for the service or safety of the public and may direct that the expenses of executing such work or doing of such act be paid from the municipal fund:

Provided that-

(a) he does not act under this section in contravention of any order of the council prohibiting the execution of any particular work or the doing of any particular act; and

(b) he reports forthwith the action taken and the reasons therefore to the Standing Committee and the council at their respective next meeting.

The Vice-President has to-

(a) preside in the absence of the President at the meetings of the council;

(b) exercise such of the powers and perform such of the duties as the President may from time to time depute to him;

(c) during the absence of the President, exercise the powers and perform the duties of the President.

Section 62 of the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965, stipulates constitution of a Standing Committee and the following five Subjects Committees for every 'A' and 'B' class councils:-

(i) Public Works Committee.

(ii) Education Committee.

(iii) Sanitation, Medical and Public Health Committee.

(iv) Water-supply and Drainage Committee.

(v) Planning and Development Committee.

The new Act also stipulates the constitution of a Standing Committee for every 'C' class council which may also appoint such Subjects Committee as it may deem necessary.

Functions.

The Act stipulates the obligatory duties and the discretional functions of the council.

The former includes all matters essential to the health, safety, convenience and well-being of the population, while the latter covers those which, despite being legitimate objects of local expenditure, are not considered absolutely essential.

A council may, at its discretion provide, either wholly or partly, out of the municipal property and funds for-

(a) laying out, whether in areas previously built upon or not, new public streets, and acquiring the land for that purpose, and the land required for the construction for the buildings or curtilages thereof to abut on such streets;

(b) establishing or maintaining public hospitals, institutions for pre-primary and secondary education, libraries, museums, lunatic asylums, gymnasiums, akhadas and homes for disabled and destitute persons, and constructing and maintaining buildings therefor, along with such other public buildings like town halls, municipal offices, shops, dharmashalas, open air theatres, stadia and rest houses;

(c) laying out or maintaining public parks and gardens, and also planting and maintaining road-side and other trees;

(d) securing or assisting to secure suitable places for the carrying on of the offensive trades;

(e) acquisition and maintenance of grazing grounds, and the establishment and maintenance of dairy farms and breeding stud;

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

(g) constructing sanitary dwellings for poorer classes;

(h) promoting the well-being of municipal employees or any class of municipal employees and of their dependents;

(i) providing accommodation for servants employed by the council; and

(j) making contributions towards the construction, establishment or maintenance of educational institutions including libraries and museums, any hospital, dispensary or similar institution providing for public medical relief, or any other institution of a charitable nature.

Municipal Taxation.

(1) Subject to any general or special orders which the State  Government may make in this behalf, a Council is empowered  to impose taxes listed below:-

Compulsory Taxes.

(a) a consolidated property tax on lands or buildings or  both situated within municipal area, based on their rateable value;

(b) an octroi;

(c) a tax on professions, trades, callings and employments;

(d) a tax on cinemas, theatres, circus and other performances and shows;

(e) a tax on advertisements other than advertisements published in newspapers.

Provided that the maximum and minimum rates at which the taxes aforesaid are levied in different classes of municipal areas and other matters relating to imposition, assessment, collection and exemptions thereof also such as may be prescribed by rules.

(2) The consolidated tax on property shall include-

(a) a general tax;

(b) a general water tax;

(c) a lighting tax;

(d) a general sanitary tax.

Other Taxes.

Subject to any general or special orders which the State Government may make in this behalf, a Council may impose  any of the following taxes, viz.,

(a) a tax on all vehicles (excluding motor vehicles as defined in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939), boats or animals used for riding, draught or burden and kept for use within the municipal area, whether they are actually kept within or outside such area;

(b) a toll on vehicles and animals used as aforesaid, entering the municipal area but not liable to taxation under clause (a);

(c) a tax on dogs kept within the municipal area;

(d) a special sanitary tax on private latrines, premises or compounds cleansed by municipal agency;

(e) a drainage tax;

(f) a special water tax for water supplied by the council in individual cases, charges for such supply being fixed in such mode or modes as shall be best suited to the varying circumstances of any class of cases or of any individual case;

(g) a tax on pilgrims resorting periodically to a shrine within the limits of the council:

(h) a special educational tax;

(i) any other tax which under the Constitution of India the State Legislature has power to impose in the State.

The rules regulating the levy of taxes referred to in the preceding paragraph have to be sanctioned by the State Government. The rates at which the taxes' are levied by the municipalities do not always enable them to meet all their expenditure. Their incomes have to be supplemented by numerous Government grants both recurring and non-recurring. For instance grants are made by the Government to municipalities towards water-supply and drainage schemes, expenditure on controlling epidemics, payment of dearness allowance to staff, etc.

These grants add substantially to the municipal income.

Control over Municipalities.

Control over the municipalities in the district is exercised by the Collector, Chandrapur district, Director of Municipal Administration and the State Government. The Collector has powers of entry and inspection in regard to any immovable property occupied by a municipality or any institution under its control or management or any work in progress under it or under its direction. He may also call for or inspect any extract from any council's or its committee's proceedings and any book or document in the possession of or under the control of the council or any of its committees. The Director of Municipal Administration or the Collector may require a council to take into consideration any objection which appears to them to exist to the doing of anything, which is about to be done or is being done by on behalf of such council.

The Collector has powers to order a municipality to suspend or prohibit the execution of any of its order or resolution, if in his opinion, it is likely to cause injury or annoyance to the public or lead to a breach of peace or is unlawful. In case of emergency the Collector may provide for the execution of any work or the doing of any act, which may be executed or done by or on behalf of a council and the immediate execution or doing of which is, in his opinion, necessary for the health or safety of the public; and may direct that the reasonable expense of executing the work or doing the act, with a reasonable remuneration to the person appointed to execute or to do it, shall forthwith be paid by the council.

Subject to appeal to the State Government, the Director of Municipal Administration is empowered to require a municipality to reduce the number of persons employed by it and also the remuneration assigned to any member of the staff. When the Director of Municipal Administration is informed, on a complaint made or otherwise that default has been made in the performance of any duty imposed on a council by or under the Act or by or under any enactment for the time being in force, the Director, if satisfied after due inquiry, that the alleged default has been made, may by order fix a period for the performance of that duty and communicate such order to the council. If the duty is not performed within the period so fixed, the Director may appoint some person to perform it and may direct that the expense of performing it, with a reasonable remuneration to the person appointed to perform it, be forthwith paid by the council.

If in the opinion of the State Government-

(a) a council is not competent to perform duties imposed upon it by or under the Act or any other law for the time being in force, or

(b) persistently makes default in the performance of such duties or in complying with the lawful directions and orders issued by the Collector, the Director, the State Government or any other authority empowered under the law to issue such directions or orders to a council, or

(c) exceeds or abuses its powers or

(d) a situation has arisen in which the administration of the Council cannot be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Act, or

(e) the financial position and the credit of the council is threatened,

the State Government may, by an order published in the official Gazette, appoint a Government Officer as the Administrator of the Council for a period not exceeding three years.

Audit of Municipal Accounts.

The audit of all local fund accounts is provided for under the Bombay Local Fund Audit Act, 1930. The Director of Municipal Administration, on receipt of the report of the Chief Auditor may disallow any item of expenditure which appears to him to be contrary to law and surcharge the same on the person making or authorising the making of illegal payment.

In addition to the audit provided for under the provisions of the Bombay Local Fund Audit Act, 1930, an 'A' class or 'B' class council has to make arrangements for audit of its account by a Municipal Auditor at such intervals and in such manner as may be prescribed and a 'C' class council may, or if so required by the State Government make arrangements for the audit of its accounts at such intervals, in such manner and by such agency as may be prescribed.

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