Local Government in Ancient India c13.s1.2

c13.s1.2

THE manifold kinds of administrative activity shown by these ancient Indian local bodies, embracing not merely the sphere belonging to the ordinary and normal civil functions, but also that covered by much socialistic, philanthropic, and charitable work, undoubtedly imply the existence of an adequate public fund at the disposal of these institutions. We have some evidence on the subject in some of our Smṛti works. The sources of the corporation finances are thus indicated by Bṛhaspati (XVII. 24)¹: ‘Whatever is obtained or preserved by the members of a fellowship or earmarked for a particular purpose of the society or acquired through the king’s favour is common to all (members of the society).’ Another source of that joint-stock is indicated by Yājñavalkya (II. 190),² viz. the profits which an individual member of the association may earn in the execution of a public work entrusted to him by the association. These profits legally vest in the corporation, and cannot be appropriated by the individual who has reaped them. If he unlawfully appropriates them he has to refund eleven times the amount of the original profits as a penalty. Thus the sources of the public fund of corporations comprise the contributions of individual members, the gifts of the king, the profits earned on public works, and the proceeds from penalties which included confiscation of property for serious offences, as stated by Bṛhaspati and Yājñavalkya. But the *Vīramitrodaya* mentions an additional source of municipal revenue, viz. octroi duties on goods sold within municipal limits.¹ The *Vivādaratnākara*, in its chapter on immunities enjoyed by towns, also mentions some other sources such as those connected with the rights granted to the municipalities to import and export goods without the sanction of government (and thereby earning immunity from the necessary cesses), to levy a duty on goods carried on people's shoulders, and to decide disputes relative to the conduct of the minor associations existing within the municipal limits.² When these sources of municipal revenue proved inadequate, recourse was had to private borrowings or state help.