The Gazetteers Department

The Collector is in charge of general administration, law and order, treasury, land revenue and civil supplies. He is assisted by a Resident Deputy Collector in his office and three Deputy Collectors, who hold charge of the three revenue sub-divisions, viz., Sholapur, Madha and Pandharpur and have their head-quarters at Sholapur, Kurduwadi and Pandharpur. Eleven Mamlatdars are in charge of eleven taluka offices. Regarding the office of the Collector the old Gazetteer states that besides his regular duties, the Collector was also acting as Political Agent. He was helped in his work of general supervision by a stall' of lour assistants, of whom two were covenanted and two uncovenanted servants of Government. For fiscal and other administrative purposes, the lands under the Collector's charge were distributed over seven sub-divisions. Four of these were generally entrusted to the covenanted assistant collectors and three to one of the uncovenanted assistants styled as district deputy collector. As a rule no sub-division was kept by the Collector under his own direct supervision. The other uncovenanted assistant, styled as the head-quarter or huzur deputy collector, was entrusted with the charge of the treasury. These officers were also magistrates and those who had revenue charge of portions of the district had under the presidency of the Collector, the chief management of the different administrative bodies, local fund and municipal committees, within the limits of their revenue charges.

Revenue: All land, wherever situated, whether applied to agricultural or other purposes, is liable to payment of land revenue. The land revenue is of three kinds, viz., agricultural assessment, non-agricultural assessment and miscellaneous.

The Collector is responsible for fixation, collection and accounting of all such land revenue. The assessment is fixed on each piece of land roughly in proportion to its productivity. Taluka-wise assessment is revised after every thirty years. A revision survey and settlement is carried out by the Land Records Department before a revision is made and the Collector is expected to review the settlement reports with care. The assessment is usually guaranteed against increase for a period of thirty years. Government may, however, grant suspensions and remissions in bad seasons as a matter of grace and the determination of the amount of these suspensions and remissions rests with the Collector. As regards non-agricultural assessment, the said Code provides for alteration of the agricultural assessment when agriculturally assessed land is used for a non-agricultural purpose. In the same way, unassessed land used for a non-agricultural purpose is assessed to non-agricultural rates. All this has to be done by the Collector according to the provisions of the rules under the Land Revenue Code. Miscellaneous land revenue also has to be fixed by the Collector according to the circumstances of each case.

Table No. 1 shows the statistics of land revenue collected in the district in 1971-72.

The Collector is also responsible for the collection of fees and taxes under various other Acts such as the Bombay Irrigation Act (VII of 1879). the Indian Forests Act (XVI of 1927), the Indian Stamps Act (II of 1899), the Indian Court-fees Act (VII of 1870), the Bombay Tolls on Roads and Bridges Act (III of 1875), the Bombay Entertainment Duty Act (I of 1923) and the Bombay Prohibition Act (XXV of 1949). There are also Acts which contain a provision that dues under them are recoverable as arrears of land revenue and the Collector and his establishment have to undertake the recovery of such dues when necessary.

The administration of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act (LXVII of 1948) rests with the Collector. He is also an appellate authority to hear appeals under the various sections of the Act.

Public utility: The Agriculturists Loans Act (XII of 1884) and the Land Improvement Loans Act (XIX of 1883) regulated the grant of loans to agriculturists at cheap rates for financing their operations. The Collector has to estimate the needs of his district in accordance with the policy of Government and in the event of a bad season to make further demands for as much money as can be usefully loaned for the purpose of tiding over the scarcity. He has to take necessary steps for the most advantageous distribution of the amount placed at his disposal and to see that the advances made are recovered at the proper time.

The Collector of Sholapur is the Court of Wards for the estates taken over under the Bombay Court of Wards Act, 1905.

Accounts: The Collector is in charge of the treasury and is personally responsible to the Government for its general administration, the due accounting of all moneys received and disbursed, the correctness of the treasury returns and the safe custody of the valuables which it contains. In matters of accounts and audit, the Collector, with the Treasury Officer under him, is responsible to the Accountant-General whose instructions he has to obey. He is not, however, concerned with the daily routine work of the treasury office.

Quasi-judicial functions: The quasi-judicial functions of the Collector on the revenue side, apart from hearing appeals from the Sub-Divisional Officers under the Land Revenue Code and various other Acts, includes the revisional powers exercised under section 23 of the Bombay Mamlatdars' Courts Act, 1906, in respect of Mamlatdars' orders under the Act; appellate powers under the Bombay Irrigation Act (VII of 1879) in regard to fixation of betterment charges on lands under the irrigable command of a canal; the work which the Collector does in connection with the execution of civil court decrees; and proceedings and awards under the Land Acquisition Act (I of 1894).

Sanitation and public health: The duties of the Collector in the matter of sanitation are: (a) to see that ordinary and special sanitary measures are initiated in cases of out-breaks of epidemics; (b) to watch and stimulate efficiency of the sanitary administration of municipalities and other sanitary authorities; and (c) to advise and encourage local bodies to improve the permanent sanitary conditions of the areas under them so far as the funds at their disposal will allow.

Officers of other department: The District Superintendent of Police and the police force of the district are under the control of the District Magistrate.

The Civil Surgeon has also a separate and independent sphere of his own, but must place his professional and technical advice and assistance at the disposal of the general district administration whenever required.

The Collector is the subordinate of the Director of Prohibition and Excise in all matters pertaining to the Bombay Prohibition Act (XXV of 1949). The Superintendent of Prohibition and Excise is his subordinate, except in technical matters.

Among the officers of the district, who have more or less intimate contact with the Collector, in matters relating to their departments and have to carry out his general instructions, may be mentioned the District Industries Officer, the Social Welfare Officer, the District Health Officer, the Divisional Veterinary Officer, the District Inspector of Land Records, the Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies, and the Marketing Inspector. The Regional Transport Officer is the other officer whose work in the district has to be conducted in consultation with the Collector.

District Registrar: As District Registrar the Collector controls the administration of the Registration Department within his district.

Zilla Parishad: The Collector is the chairman of the District Selection Committee and acts as the representative of the Divisional Commissioner in respect of the Zilla Parishad.

District Magistrate: The Collector's duties as District Magistrate are mostly executive. He is at the head of all other executive magistrates in the district. As District Magistrate, he has power to hear appeals on orders requiring security for keeping the peace or good behaviour; power to call for records from any subordinate executive magistrate; power to issue commission for examination of witnesses; power to hear appeals from or revise orders passed by subordinate executive magistrates.

Besides having control over the police in the district, the District Magistrate has extensive powers under the Criminal Procedure Code, the Bombay Police Act and other Acts for the maintenance of law and order. It is his duty to examine the records of police stations and out-posts in order that he may gain an insight into the state of crime within their limits and satisfy himself that cases are being promptly disposed of.

In his executive capacity, the District Magistrate is concerned with the issue of licences and permits under the Arms Act (II of 1878), the Petroleum Act (VIII of 1899), the Explosives Act (IV of 1884) and the Poisons Act (1 of 1904). He has also to supervise the general administration of these Acts, to inspect factories and magazines, and to perform various other supervisory functions.

District Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmen's Board : The Collector is the chairman of the District Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmen's Board. The Board is entrusted with the duties of promotion and maintenance of a feeling of goodwill between the civil and military classes; looking after the family interest of serving soldiers; and implementing in detail the work of the State Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmen's Board.

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