Modern Hyderabad (Deccan)/Chapter 8
CHAPTER VIII.
Finance.
Finance is, no doubt, the pivot of an administration, and no one will deny that the smoothness of the government machinery in His Highness's Dominions at the present time is largely due to Sir George Casson Walker, I.C.S., who held the position of Finance Minister in Hyderabad from 1901 to 1910.
One of the first things undertaken by him was the establishment of an up-to-date mint. No coining had been done for ten years, and the coinage had become seriously depleted in consequence. The experiment proved a complete success, and, although silver was not as cheap then as it is now, the coining profits were very large, the government securing a profit of nearly a crore and a half of rupees on their mint expenditure. Good seasons favoured the nine years that Sir George Casson Walker held office, the departments of land revenue, customs, excise, opium and to some extent forests, brought increased receipts to the govern- ment exchequer, new cotton factories were established, the State Railway began to be a paying concern, the Berar Settlement yielded a steady annual revenue, and the net result of Sir George Casson Walker's regime was that, whereas in years immediately preceding the period when he took office the government treasury had not had enough to meet calls of quite an ordinal nature upon it, when he left Hyderabad the income paid into the government treasury was annually in excess of the whole year's expenditure.
In 1911, Sir George Casson Walker was succeeded by Mr. R. I. R. Glancy, i.c.s., who was, at the time of his appointment, First Assistant to the Hon'ble the British Resident. Since then there has been a yearly surplus, and there seems to be every reason to believe that this prosperous state of affairs will continue.
In 1320 Fasli (1910-1911) the surplus yielded amounted to Rs. 1,37,48,681 and in 1321 Fasli (1911-1912) it was Rs. 69,38,073. In the preface to his Budget Note for 1323 Fasli (1913-1914) the Finance Minister says : — "The annual surplus now averages almost half a many capital crore (of rupees), though works are being financed from revenue. Further, in three years time the Berar famine loan and in eight years time the Two Crore loan will be extinguished. British government rupees eighteen lakhs a year are now devoted to the payment of these two loans. Finally there is every reason to anticipate a steady increase in revenue as the country is developed by roads, railways and irrigation. Of course famine may at any time cause a set back to the prosperity of the State, but people and government are now better prepared to face such a calamity than they were fifteen years ago when the last serious famine occurred."
The government revenue receipts for 1321 Fasli (1911-1912) were Rs. 5,04,13,240, and the principal heads of revenue during that period were as follows : —
M. S. Rs.
Land Revenue . . 2,34,20,266
Customs . . 74,42,720
Excise . . 81,51,635
Opium . . 7,04,825
Forest . . 9,11,020
Stamps . . 9,57,166 M. S. Rs.
Registration . . . . 97,295
Mines . . . . 78,276
Berar Rent . . . . 29,16,667
Interest . . . . 28,54,263
Post Office . . . . 4,21,490
Mint . . . . 3,42,013
It will be noticed that the revenue derived from excise was very great, and it may be added that this source of revenue is yearly increasing. H. E. the Minister says in the general summary of the administration report for 1320-1321 Fasli (1910-12) : —
"As a result of the elimination of the Jagir competition and the gradual establishment of complete government control over the excise administration, the excise revenue continues to expand. The revenue derived from the sale of country spirits, sendhi, and mohwa flowers, was in 1321 Fasli Rs. 81,70,538."
It is satisfactory to learn from the same administration report that the duty on liquor is to be increased and an attempt will be made to reduce the consumption of spirits throughout the Dominions "which is at the present time admitted to be excessive." The government expenditure during 1321 Fasli (1911-1912), was Rs. 4,38,15,094, and the following figures show the different heads of account during that time : —
M. S. Rs.
Land Revenue . . 37,46,974
Refunds and Compensation 17,51,976
Customs . . . . 7,39,262
Excise and Opium . . 1,55,983
Forest .. .. 2,32,559
Stamps and Registration . . 1,61,156
Mines . . . . 30,478
Interest . . . . 8,02,849
Post Office . . . . 4,94,387
Mint .. .. 4,94,387
General Administration . . 19,01,848
Law and Justice . . 13,95,853
Police .. .. 32,99,397
Education . . . . 10,19,778
Medical . . . . 11,56,079
Minor Departments . . 3,95,387
Contribution to Municipality 5,11,168
Payments to His Highness 50,00,000
Stipends and Allowances . . 45,64,606
Miscellaneous Civil Charges 32,17,802
Settlement of old State Debts 22,63,381
Irrigation and Public Works Department . . 53,37,297 M. S. Rs.
Military .. .. 53,62,575
Railways .. .. 3,43,921
Adjustments . . . . 2,08,365
The grant for the construction of new roads in 1321 Fasli (1911-1912), was only Rs. 3,37,639, and the Superintending Engineer, in submitting his report for that period, referred to the inadequacy of this grant and drew attention to the fact that whilst the area of His Highness's Dominions is 82,698 sq. miles, there is only one mile of maintained road for every 41 sq. miles of area.
Only one who has travelled in the four divisions of the State can know how very badly roads are needed in the districts. There is nothing direct to show for roads in the way of dividends, but they are really more necessary for the development of the State than the Hingoli railway, for instance; and those who have the true interests of the State at heart will rejoice to hear that, according to the administration report for 1320-1321 Fasli (1910-1912) "a comprehensive programme of road construction has been put in hand." Local Boards in the districts have since 1887 been in receipt of a cess of one anna per rupee of land revenue, and this money, which is called Local Fund, is partly spent on the repair of roads. But the money thus received is not sufficient for road construction.
When I asked a gentleman who holds a high position in His Highness's government why the roads are so few and so bad in the State, he blamed the Public Works Department, which has the care of them, and said that want of enterprise and not want of money is the cause of the undeveloped state of the Dominions by means of roads to-day.
This may be true, or it may be false, but I know that roads are one of the greatest needs of the State at the present time.