White Paper on Indian States (1950)/Part 8/Progress made in the Unions of States
Progress made in the Unions of States
174. So far as the Unions are concerned, the task of creating an entirely new administrative structure has been one of immense difficulty. To assist the Union Governments in their work, the Government of India have made available to them the services of experienced advisers and have also deputed senior officers of all-India services to fill certain key posts such as those of Chief and Finance Secretaries and Inspector-General of Police. The Government of India are keeping a watchful eye on the progress of integration and have been extending all possible assistance to the Union Governments.
Judiciary.—Steps have been taken in all Unions to reorganise the entire Judicial machinery. High Courts on the lines of Provincial High Courts have been constituted in all the Unions.
Legislative activities.—Codification of laws and their approximation to the Provincial legislation has made considerable progress in the Unions. Ordinances have been issued or Acts promulgated, constituting High Courts, Public Service Commissions and Boards of Revenues, and dealing with abolition of internal customs duties, safety and security measures, prevention of corruption and bribery, etc. In some of the Unions Central and Provincial enactments have been adopted with the necessary adaptations.
Secretariat Organisation.—In most cases, the Union Governments started with a nucleus Secretariat, staffed by men drawn from the Secretariats of the integrating States. The task of the setting up of proper Secretariats has now been completed in all Unions.
Integration of Services.—The pay, qualifications, experience, etc., of the staff of the Covenanting States differed widely and it was a difficult task to organise cadres of different services with uniform scales of pay. Committees consisting of senior officers were appointed to carry out a preliminary selection of officers to staff the Secretariat and the Districts. In Patiala and East Punjab States Union and Madhya Bharat, Administrative Services, on the lines of Provincial Civil Services, have been constituted.
Public Service Commissions.—Statutory Commissions entrusted with the task of recruitment to the Services and selection of officers for important posts have been constituted in all Unions. Wherever necessary officers with administrative experience and experience of working of Provincial Service Commissions have been made available to the Unions as Chairmen of their Commissions. Rules regulating the functions of these Commissions have been issued.
District Organisation.—The work of demarcating Divisions (wherever necessary), Districts and Talukas has now been completed in all the Unions. Saurashtra has been divided into 5 districts, Patiala and East Punjab States Union into 8 districts, Madhya Bharat into 3 divisions sub-divided into 16 districts in all, and Rajasthan into five divisions and 24 districts. The former Cochin State has been constituted into a District of the United State of Travancore and Cochin, the total number of districts for the entire Union being 4.
Boards of Revenue.—Boards of Revenue on the lines of similar bodies existing in some of the Provinces have been constituted in Madhya Bharat, Rajasthan and Travancore-Cochin. In Saurashtra a Revenue Tribunal on the lines of the Tribunal in Bombay functions as the highest Court of Appeal in revenue matters. As in the Punjab a Financial Commissioner (Revenue) functions as the highest revenue Court in Patiala and East Punjab States Union.
Agrarian Reforms.—Soon after the formation of the Unions, the respective Governments had to tackle the question of agrarian reforms. The systems of assessment and land tenures were different in the integrating States and with the advent of popular Governments in the Unions it was no longer possible to postpone the question of reforms. The problem was essentially the same in all the Unions, namely, that of conferment of permanent rights on cultivating tenants, but it took different shapes in different Unions according to the traditional system of land ownership and cultivation. There was, for example, the zamindari and jagirdari problem in Madhya Bharat and Rajasthan. The Central Government appointed a Fact Finding Committee to enquire into and report on the problem in these two Unions and to suggest remedies. The report submitted by this Committee is now being examined. In the Patiala arid East Punjab States Union a beginning was made by the issue of an Ordinance providing for the conferment of permanent right on certain classes of occupancy tenants. The method adopted in this Union was to divide the land between the occupancy tenant and the landlord in the ratio 3:1. The tenant has the right to purchase the landlord's share also on terms to be settled by a Partition Committee. This class of tenant could thus become a peasant proprietor in the true sense of the term. In Saurashtra the Government issued an Ordinance conferring on the landholder the right to reserve Garkhed land according to a prescribed scale, the remaining portion of his land continuing with the tenants. There was strong agitation against this Ordinance on the part of the landholders. On general grounds it was felt that it would not be appropriate to embark on such important legislation without a comprehensive enquiry by a Fact Finding Committee. The Saurashtra Government are taking steps to appoint such a Committee. In Travancore-Cochin a Committee consisting of non-official members has bеen appointed to enquire into and report on the integration of the land tenure system and on certain problems connected with agrarian reforms.
Internal Customs Barriers.—With the integration of States into Unions customs barriers as between the integrating States were abolished. In Rajasthan and Madhya Bharat after the abolition of the barriers within the Unions steps were taken to introduce uniform rates of duties leviable on the frontiers of the Unions. Similar action was taken in Saurashtra. The problem was more difficult in Travancore and Cochin as the total abolition of internal customs barriers involved a loss of revenue of over rupees ten millions. It was, therefore, decided to shift, as an interim measure, the customs barriers around the Travancore State to the boundaries of the United State. In the light of the recommendations of the Indian States Finances Enquiry Committee and having regard to the convenience of the general public it was later decided to abolish these barriers with effect from 17th September, 1949.