The Emergence of Local Bodies in British India

1st Phase - Before 1900

Introduction:

• Decentralisation of administration in India through local bodies was aimed at providing local services like education, health, sanitation, water supply, roads, and other basic amenities.

• The British government saw the establishment of local bodies as necessary due to financial difficulties, increasing economic contacts with Europe, rising nationalism, and the need to counter Indian politicisation.

• The evolution of local government in India can be traced to various stages, with the significant ones being between 1864 and 1868, Mayo's Resolution of 1870, and Ripon's Resolution of 1882.

Local Bodies between 1864 and 1868:

• Local bodies were first formed during this period, but most of them had nominated members and were headed by district magistrates.

• They were seen as instruments of additional tax collection and not as local governing bodies.

Mayo's Resolution of 1870:

• Financial decentralisation was inaugurated by the Indian Councils Act of 1861, and provincial governments were authorised to resort to local taxation to balance their budgets.

• Transfer of certain departments of administration to provincial governments, such as medical services, education, and roads, marked the beginning of local finance.

• Mayo's Resolution emphasised the need for local interest, supervision and care in the management of funds dedicated to education, sanitation, medical relief and local public works.

• Municipal acts were passed in various provincial governments like Bengal, Madras, North-Western Province, and Punjab to implement the policy.

Ripon's Resolution of 1882:

• Ripon's Government desired the same principle of financial decentralisation which Lord Mayo's Government had begun towards local bodies.

• The resolution advocated for the development of local bodies as an instrument of political and popular education.

• Policy of administrating local affairs through urban and rural local bodies charged with definite duties and entrusted with suitable sources of revenues was put in place.

• Non-officials were to be in majority in these bodies and could be elected if officials thought it was possible to introduce elections.

• Non-officials were to act as chairpersons to these bodies, and official interference was to be reduced to a minimum and exercised to revise and check the acts of local bodies, but not to dictate policies.

• Several acts were passed between 1883 and 1885 to alter the constitution, powers, and functions of municipal bodies in India.

Drawbacks of These Local Bodies:

• The elected members were in a minority in all district boards and many municipalities.

• The franchise was very limited.

• District boards were headed by district officials, though non-officials gradually came to head the municipalities.

• The government retained strict control and could suspend or supersede these bodies at will.

• The bureaucracy did not share the liberal views of the viceroy and thought that the Indians were unfit for self-government.

• Lord Curzon took steps to increase official control over local bodies during the period of imperialism in the closing decades of the 19th century.

Conclusion:

• The evolution of local bodies in India was crucial in the decentralisation of administration and providing basic amenities to people at the local level.
• The various resolutions and acts put in place were aimed at promoting local government and decentralisation of administration, but their drawbacks hampered their effectiveness.

2nd  Phase - After 1900

Evolution of Local Self-Government in India After 1900 Till 1947

Local self-government during Swadeshi Movement

• The Swadeshi Movement  led to the emergence of national leaders who realized the importance of local self-government in India.

• The concept of Swaraj (self-rule) gave impetus to the movement for local self-government.

Royal Commission on Decentralisation (1908)

• The Royal Commission on Decentralisation, headed by Lord Minto, was set up in 1907 to examine the existing system of administration in India.

The commission's recommendations on local self-government are as follows:

• The commission recommended the establishment of local self-governing bodies in all districts of India.

• It suggested that the powers and functions of these bodies should include matters related to public health, sanitation, roads, education, and local taxes.

• The commission recommended that these bodies should have the power to levy taxes on property, trades, professions, and other local resources.

• It suggested that the members of these bodies should be elected by the people, and not nominated by the government.

• The commission recommended that the government should provide financial assistance to these bodies, but they should also be encouraged to generate their own revenues.

• The commission suggested that the elected members of these bodies should have the power to make rules and regulations for their own conduct, and for the administration of local affairs.

• It recommended that the government should provide adequate training to the members of these bodies, so that they could discharge their duties effectively.

• The commission suggested that the government should gradually transfer more and more powers and functions to these bodies, so that they could become more self-reliant and autonomous.

Overall, the Royal Commission on Decentralisation (1908) recommended a significant expansion of local self-government in India, with elected bodies at the district level empowered to take charge of local administration and decision-making.

Indian Councils Act of 1909

• The Indian Councils Act of 1909, also known as the Morley-Minto Reforms, provided for the establishment of local self-government bodies in the provinces.

• The Act introduced the principle of election for the first time in Indian legislative councils, although the electorate was limited to a small section of the population.

The Government of India Resolution of 1915

• The Government of India Resolution of 1915 recommended the introduction of a system of decentralization and the establishment of local self-government bodies in India.

• The resolution proposed the creation of two types of local bodies - district boards and municipal councils - with elected members.

Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919

• The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 provided for the establishment of elected local self-government bodies at the village, district and provincial levels.

• The reforms introduced the concept of responsible government and increased the participation of Indians in the administration of their country.

• Local self-government was made a ‘transferred’ subject under
  popular ministerial control by Government of India Act,
  1919.

• Since finance was a ‘reserved’ subject under the charge
  of an executive councillor, the Indian ministers could not do
  much work.

Government of India Act of 1935

• The Act introduced the concept of provincial autonomy and provided for the establishment of elected provincial assemblies and local bodies.

• The Act also extended the franchise and increased the participation of Indians in the governance of their country.

• However, financial resources and power of taxation of
  local institutions remained more or less at the same level
  as in the days of Ripon.