PLACES

PHALTAN

Population.

Phaltan (17° 55' N, 74° 25' E; RS. Lonand, 17 m. p. 12, 142). The population of the town according to the Census of 1951 was 12,144 of which the agricultural classes numbered 1,937 and non-agricultural 10,207. Of the latter, persons deriving their livelihood from production other than cultivation numbered 2,912; from commerce 2,198; from transport 325 and from other services and miscellaneous sources 4,772.

History.

Historically, Phaltan is a very ancient place famous for its Jain temples and the place is referred to as Palethan in Mahanubhav literature of the thirteenth century. Rav Naik Nimbalkar, also known as Phaltanrav was the Naik of Phaltan. His original surname was Pavar. He had taken the name of Nimbalkar from Nimbalik or Nimlak where the first Nimbalkar lived. The family is considered as one of the most ancient in Maharashtra as the Nimbalkar was made sardeshmukh of Phaltan before the middle of the seventeenth century by one of the Bijapur kings. The Deshmukh of Phaltan is said to have become a polygar or independent chief and to have repeatedly witheld the revenues of the district Vangoji or Jagpalrav Naik Nimbalkar who lived in the early part of the seventeenth century was notorious for his restless and predatory habits. Dipabai the sister of Jagpalrav was married to Maloji Bhonsle, Shivaji's grandfather who was in the service of Nizamshahi kingdom of Ahmadnagar. One of the Phaltan Naiks was killed in 1620 in a battle between Malik Ambar and the Moghals. Nimbalkar never exchanged his ancient title of Naik for that of Raja. In 1665 Shivaji, according to the treaty of Purandhar in the same year, co-operated with the army of the Moghals in a war against Bijapur, and attacked Phaltan, and reduced it. Bajaji Nimbalkar who had earlier embraced Islam for the preservation of his Jagir was later on brought back to Hindu fold by Shivaji's mother Jijabai who induced her son Shivaji to give his daughter Sakhubai in marriage to Mahadji the son of Bajaji Nimbalkar. The Nimbalkars continued to remain as rulers of Phaltan and they were attached to the Chhatrapati of Satara. After the extinction of the Maratha rule, the State passed under the protection of the British, until it was finally merged with the Indian Union in 1947.

Municipality. Constitution.

Established in 1868, Phaltan municipality has an area of 4½ square miles. It is now governed under the Bombay District Municipal Act, 1901. The municipal council has a total strength of 16 members. Of these 16 seats, two seats are reserved for women rotating in four wards and two seats for the Scheduled Castes. There are two' subcommittees, the Managing Committee and the Sanitary Committee both functioning in their respective fields.

Income and Expenditure.

The income of the municipality for the year 1957-58 excluding extraordinary and debt heads amounted to Rs. 1,51,750 under following heads: municipal rates and taxes being Rs. 1,21,727; revenue derived from municipal property and powers apart from taxes Rs. 24,867; grants and contributions Rs. 1,510; and miscellaneous Rs. 3,646. Expenditure incurred for the same year amounted to Rs. 1,60,455; the details were: general administration and collection charges Rs. 44,898; public safety Rs. 16, 521; public health and convenience Rs. 65,526; public works Rs. 19,652 and miscellaneous Rs. 13,858.

Water Supply and Drainage.

Drinking water is brought through the Nira Right Bank Canal and is stored in a reservoir and then supplied to the town through pipe lines. It is proposed to construct one more reservoir for supplying water. There is no underground drainage system but there are stone lined gutters which serve the purpose.

Education.

Primary education is made compulsory in the town which is controlled by the District School Board. The municipality pays an yearly contribution of Rs. 12,000.

Medical Facilities.

The Government runs one dispensary located in Ravivar Peth. The district Local Board runs one veterinary dispensary in the town.

Miscellaneous.

The total length of roads in the municipal area is 15.4 miles; all the roads are unmetalled.

The municipality maintains three public gardens. No cremation and burial grounds are maintained by the municipality.

Jain Temples.

Of the famous Jain temples in Phaltan Jabareshvar temple is centuries old. The temple is known for its architecture. On the entrance are carved images of the Tirthankaras while on the outer walls images of Indra and Indrani-his wife-are carved out. Mudhojirav IV installed the image of God Mahadev in the temple.

Shri Chandraprabhu Mandir is another famous Jain temple. It dates back to the regime of Pratapsinh of Phaltan (Samvat 1895). There are images of 24 Tirthankaras. The scenes depicting events from Harivamsha Purana, Mahabharat, Sita Havana, 16 dreams of the Tirthankaras (Chandraprabhu's) mother and 16 dreams of Chandra gupta adorn the temple walls. The scenes about the dreams depict the future of the universe.

Hindu Temples.

Of the Hindu temples, the temple of Dnyaneshvar is noteworthy The object of worship is a sitting image of Dnyaneshvar in meditation The image made of crystal has a necklace of holy basil.

Shri Ram Mandir is another famous Hindu temple. The entrance of the temple is guarded by two carved images of Ramduta (God Maruti). The doors of the vestibule (gabhara) are overlaid with sheets of silver and carved in artistic floral designs. Inside the vestibule are the images of Ram, Laxman and Sita in a standing position. The meghadambari (dome) is made of silver. The prabhaval (hallow) is cast in silver and is very artistic. At the top of the prabhaval is Kirtimukh (an image of cobra having a hood) cast in silver. The padukas (foot-prints) are also cast in silver.

Inspection Bungalow.

The bungalow constructed in 1918 is situated at a distance of nearly a mile and a half from the State Transport Motor Stand. The bungalow with two suites is surrounded by a beautiful garden.

Mudhoji College, Phaltan.

Mudhoji College of Phaltan was established in June 1957. It is now (1960) a full-fledged Degree College imparting instructions both in arts and science courses. It is affiliated to the University of Poona. The motto of the college is an all-round development of its students, intellectual, physical and cultural. The college is financed by the Phaltan Education Society from its collections which include money collected by way of tuition fees, public donation and Government grants. The college received a grant of Rs. 1,37,500 from the University Grants Commission in 1960 and Rs. 1,00,000 from the State Government.

High School.

There is one high school viz Mudhoji High School run by the Shriram Education Society.

Sarvodaya Scheme.

After the merger of the princely States the moneys in the former State Treasury at Phaltan were spent on the all - round development (Sarvodaya) of the newly created Phaltan taluka of the Satara district. Out of the 80 villages comprising Phaltan taluka, 35 economically backward villages from the hilly areas were selected at the first instance. The main office of the scheme is at Phaltan. A number of activities have been started under the sarvodaya scheme in the Phaltan taluka e.g. sheep breeding and wool industry, building of approach roads, bunding of the farms and facilities of water pumps and plough, primary and adult education, construction of school buildings and wells, medical aid, arranging of cultural programmes such as bhajani mandal, village sanitation, social gatherings for women, co-operative societies etc.

Phaltan is known for its sugar plantations and sugar factories viz. the Shriram Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd., and Phaltan Sugar Works Ltd. Sugar from Phaltan is exported to Belganv, Poona and Bombay.

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