DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68025#0075
ROYAL COMMISSION UPON DECENTRALIZATION.
69
be on the Board, and would he not be able to see them
and exchange views with them at the Board meetings ?
—Of course, if it was simply from a social point of
view, it would be better ; but my meaning is that his
sitting as Chairman of the Board takes away the
independence of the Board itself.
16046. Does his presence frighten the people ?—
Not exactly frightens people, but people cannot
express their opinions so freely and with such
independence as they would otherwise.
16047. Do you think anybody whose opinion was
worth having would hesitate to speak out freely before
him ?—Yes. They might know a good deal of the
country, because they are local people, but still with
the feeling that their position on the Bbard was by
nomination of the District Officer, and that he was
present, they would not express their opinions freely.
16048. If they were elected, would they be frightened
of him ?—Not to such an extent.
16049. With regard to the Board’s having larger
control over dispensaries, do they not control them
now? — Not absolutely; there are the Dispensary
Committees.
16050. Is not the Dispensary Committee a branch of
the District Board ?—No, it is quite a different thing.
The dispensary is under the Medical Department, and
the District Officer is the Chairman sometimes. The
District Board only makes a grant to the Dispensary
Committee.
16051. Are not the members of Dispensary Com-
mittees members of the District Board as well ? —Not
necessarily ; some of them may be.
16052. Does the District Board make the grant and
have nothing further to say ?—Yes.
16053. What is the character of your villages ? We
are told that in Bengal village communities do not
exist in the sense that they exist in Northern India ;
is that the case in Chota Nagpur ?—We have villages,
but not village communities.
16054. Have you no village headman?—Every vil-
lage has a headman in that part of the country, who
has some local designation.
16055. Do the villagers meet together ; are there no
village officers ?—Yes ; and there is a village headman
called a munia in our part of the country ; in this way
we have village communities.
16056. Besides them, have you chaukidari unions?
16057. Who manages the chaukidars?—The police.
16058. Has not the practice ceased now? We are
told that in Bengal proper the chaukidari panchayats
have become independent of the police. Is that not so
in Chota Nagpur ?—Not yet.
16059. You suggest that Collectors should get larger
powers over Public Works? Might not that be
achieved by breaking up the provisional Public Works
budget to some extent and giving Commissioners allot-
ments to distribute for different Public Works ?—To
some extent that could be so, but still the Collector, I
think, ought to be given some power as to the actual
supervision of the work.
16060. Would you give the Collector a small budget
of his own ?—I think so.
16061. With regard to class representation on Local
Boards and municipalities, do you think, speaking
generally, if that practice were adopted, you would get
a better class of District Boards than you do now ?—
Yes.
16062. And that, therefore, they might receive larger
powers which you would not propose to give to Boards
and municipalities as at present constituted?—Just so.
(The witness withdrew.')
Babu Srigopal Bhattacharjee, M.A., B.L., was called and examined.
16063. (Chairman.) You are Deputy Collector of
Income-tax in Calcutta ?—Yes.
Subject to the principle that the expenditure should
remain within the limits of the provincial contracts, I
would generally give the provincial Governments as
large powers as may be necessary, in regard to non-
recurring items of expenditure, in order to maintain
the local administration in a high state of efficiency.
As loans involve the financial credit of Government
and have to be raised with reference, among other
things, to the state of the money-market, I would, as
at present, leave borrowing powers in the hands of the
Government of India, which can command the best
expert advice.
I would give the provincial Governments as com-
plete liberty as is possible in order to enable them to
apply to local conditions the general lines of policy
laid down by the Government of India. This principle
is now recognized in a large measure, as regulating the
relations between the Imperial and the provincial
Governments. But a large mass of correspondence
takes place in settling matters which involve compara-
tively minor questions of principle, in their relation to
different local conditions.
Although the Imperial Secretariat considers matters
from a more commanding standpoint furnished by
precedents from other provinces, local conditions do
not always impress it as effectively as they impress
provincial officers. The result is that while, on the
one hand, the Government of India take a broader
view of matters from the varied materials at their
disposal, they become, at times, too impersonal, and
discussions become necessary before the local con-
ditions can effectively modify the considerations of
revenue. The proceedings of the Orissa settlement
seemed to show traces of this tendency. But, on the
other hand, the Government of India have, generally
speaking, a marked desire to respect the wishes of the
Local Governments in matters relating to revenue,
and this, generally, prevents any undue predominance
of revenue considerations.
I would not curtail the right of appeal either to the
Local or the Supreme Government, or to Heads of
Departments and Commissioners, notwithstanding
logical considerations in favour of curtailment. It is
a privilege sanctioned by historic usage. It is a
valuable symbol of personal Government which links
the people to the royal throne. People have such a
living faith in this right of appeal to Government that
they instinctively invoke it when they feel aggrieved.
Like the right of petition, this right of appeal has a
high political value, which ought to be preserved.
For the purpose of revenue and administrative work
I would amalgamate the Board of Revenue as closely
as possible with the Government Secretariat. The
two Honourable Members and the Chief Secretary may
be formed into an Executive Council, having His
Honour as President, and subject to His Honour’s
orders, the different departments may be distributed
among these members. The creation of an Executive
Council under His Honour will not necessarily extin-
guish the statutory powers of the Board of Revenue
and, after the Council comes into being, the Board may
continue to exercise its powers. In the very small
number of cases where the law allows an appeal to
Government against the Board’s decision, the orders in
the appeal cases may be passed by His Honour.
District Officers already possess, in matters of revenue
and general administration, powers sufficient for one
officer. But the most important reform will be to
relieve the District Officers from the necessity of
attending to petty matters of routine, so that they
may have more time to keep themselves in closer touch
with the people and to consider the more important
questions.
W ithout superseding the authority of the Heads and
other officers of special departments, I would give the
Commissioners and Collectors a voice with regard to
any important expenditure of these departments in
their divisions and districts on matters in which the
local public are largely interested. I think that, in
matters relating to irrigation and drainage, the views
of the Commissioner should have as much weight as
the views of the experts when these matters affect any
considerable number of residents of the division.
By tradition and by training, the provincial Secre-
tariat establishment take a broader view of matters in
the light of the precedents at their command, and,
The Hon.
Babu
Kalipada
Ghosh.
30 Dec., 1907.
Babu
Srigopal
Bhattachar-
jee.
30 Dec., 1907.
69
be on the Board, and would he not be able to see them
and exchange views with them at the Board meetings ?
—Of course, if it was simply from a social point of
view, it would be better ; but my meaning is that his
sitting as Chairman of the Board takes away the
independence of the Board itself.
16046. Does his presence frighten the people ?—
Not exactly frightens people, but people cannot
express their opinions so freely and with such
independence as they would otherwise.
16047. Do you think anybody whose opinion was
worth having would hesitate to speak out freely before
him ?—Yes. They might know a good deal of the
country, because they are local people, but still with
the feeling that their position on the Bbard was by
nomination of the District Officer, and that he was
present, they would not express their opinions freely.
16048. If they were elected, would they be frightened
of him ?—Not to such an extent.
16049. With regard to the Board’s having larger
control over dispensaries, do they not control them
now? — Not absolutely; there are the Dispensary
Committees.
16050. Is not the Dispensary Committee a branch of
the District Board ?—No, it is quite a different thing.
The dispensary is under the Medical Department, and
the District Officer is the Chairman sometimes. The
District Board only makes a grant to the Dispensary
Committee.
16051. Are not the members of Dispensary Com-
mittees members of the District Board as well ? —Not
necessarily ; some of them may be.
16052. Does the District Board make the grant and
have nothing further to say ?—Yes.
16053. What is the character of your villages ? We
are told that in Bengal village communities do not
exist in the sense that they exist in Northern India ;
is that the case in Chota Nagpur ?—We have villages,
but not village communities.
16054. Have you no village headman?—Every vil-
lage has a headman in that part of the country, who
has some local designation.
16055. Do the villagers meet together ; are there no
village officers ?—Yes ; and there is a village headman
called a munia in our part of the country ; in this way
we have village communities.
16056. Besides them, have you chaukidari unions?
16057. Who manages the chaukidars?—The police.
16058. Has not the practice ceased now? We are
told that in Bengal proper the chaukidari panchayats
have become independent of the police. Is that not so
in Chota Nagpur ?—Not yet.
16059. You suggest that Collectors should get larger
powers over Public Works? Might not that be
achieved by breaking up the provisional Public Works
budget to some extent and giving Commissioners allot-
ments to distribute for different Public Works ?—To
some extent that could be so, but still the Collector, I
think, ought to be given some power as to the actual
supervision of the work.
16060. Would you give the Collector a small budget
of his own ?—I think so.
16061. With regard to class representation on Local
Boards and municipalities, do you think, speaking
generally, if that practice were adopted, you would get
a better class of District Boards than you do now ?—
Yes.
16062. And that, therefore, they might receive larger
powers which you would not propose to give to Boards
and municipalities as at present constituted?—Just so.
(The witness withdrew.')
Babu Srigopal Bhattacharjee, M.A., B.L., was called and examined.
16063. (Chairman.) You are Deputy Collector of
Income-tax in Calcutta ?—Yes.
Subject to the principle that the expenditure should
remain within the limits of the provincial contracts, I
would generally give the provincial Governments as
large powers as may be necessary, in regard to non-
recurring items of expenditure, in order to maintain
the local administration in a high state of efficiency.
As loans involve the financial credit of Government
and have to be raised with reference, among other
things, to the state of the money-market, I would, as
at present, leave borrowing powers in the hands of the
Government of India, which can command the best
expert advice.
I would give the provincial Governments as com-
plete liberty as is possible in order to enable them to
apply to local conditions the general lines of policy
laid down by the Government of India. This principle
is now recognized in a large measure, as regulating the
relations between the Imperial and the provincial
Governments. But a large mass of correspondence
takes place in settling matters which involve compara-
tively minor questions of principle, in their relation to
different local conditions.
Although the Imperial Secretariat considers matters
from a more commanding standpoint furnished by
precedents from other provinces, local conditions do
not always impress it as effectively as they impress
provincial officers. The result is that while, on the
one hand, the Government of India take a broader
view of matters from the varied materials at their
disposal, they become, at times, too impersonal, and
discussions become necessary before the local con-
ditions can effectively modify the considerations of
revenue. The proceedings of the Orissa settlement
seemed to show traces of this tendency. But, on the
other hand, the Government of India have, generally
speaking, a marked desire to respect the wishes of the
Local Governments in matters relating to revenue,
and this, generally, prevents any undue predominance
of revenue considerations.
I would not curtail the right of appeal either to the
Local or the Supreme Government, or to Heads of
Departments and Commissioners, notwithstanding
logical considerations in favour of curtailment. It is
a privilege sanctioned by historic usage. It is a
valuable symbol of personal Government which links
the people to the royal throne. People have such a
living faith in this right of appeal to Government that
they instinctively invoke it when they feel aggrieved.
Like the right of petition, this right of appeal has a
high political value, which ought to be preserved.
For the purpose of revenue and administrative work
I would amalgamate the Board of Revenue as closely
as possible with the Government Secretariat. The
two Honourable Members and the Chief Secretary may
be formed into an Executive Council, having His
Honour as President, and subject to His Honour’s
orders, the different departments may be distributed
among these members. The creation of an Executive
Council under His Honour will not necessarily extin-
guish the statutory powers of the Board of Revenue
and, after the Council comes into being, the Board may
continue to exercise its powers. In the very small
number of cases where the law allows an appeal to
Government against the Board’s decision, the orders in
the appeal cases may be passed by His Honour.
District Officers already possess, in matters of revenue
and general administration, powers sufficient for one
officer. But the most important reform will be to
relieve the District Officers from the necessity of
attending to petty matters of routine, so that they
may have more time to keep themselves in closer touch
with the people and to consider the more important
questions.
W ithout superseding the authority of the Heads and
other officers of special departments, I would give the
Commissioners and Collectors a voice with regard to
any important expenditure of these departments in
their divisions and districts on matters in which the
local public are largely interested. I think that, in
matters relating to irrigation and drainage, the views
of the Commissioner should have as much weight as
the views of the experts when these matters affect any
considerable number of residents of the division.
By tradition and by training, the provincial Secre-
tariat establishment take a broader view of matters in
the light of the precedents at their command, and,
The Hon.
Babu
Kalipada
Ghosh.
30 Dec., 1907.
Babu
Srigopal
Bhattachar-
jee.
30 Dec., 1907.