THOUGHTS ON LINGUISTIC STATES 159
property. The State within which the property is situated is entitled to the yield of the Tax.
With regard to the Electricity Tax the situation is different.
When Gujarath and Maharashtra are separated—and they must be— Gujarath will claim the revenue derived from electricity produced and consumed within Gujarath. Maharashtra will claim the revenue derived from electricity produced and consumed within Maharashtra. Bombay City as a State will do the same. Can Bombay be allowed to do so and appropriate the revenue to itself ? Is it just ? Bombay City does not produce electricity. It is produced outside Bombay City in Maharashtra. Therefore the new Bombay City State has no right to appropriate to itself the whole revenue derived from electricity. The proper thing to do is to apply the principle of the segregation of the sources and division of the yield well known to all students of State Finance.
To put it in concrete shape let the Centre take over the taxation of Electricity and divide the yield among the four States of Maharashtra—
(1) Bombay, (2) Western Maharashtra, (3) Central Maharashtra, (4) Eastern Maharashtra according to their needs.
It will also ease the financial strain that the three Maharashtras are likely to suffer on account of the separation of Bombay.
IV
UNITED OR DIVIDED ?
I have said that Bombay be given a new area and made into a separate City State.
There now remains the question of how to deal with the rest of the Maharashtra. I have suggested that the rest of the Maharashtra should be divided into three States.
From very ancient times Maharashtra has been divided into three States.
Maharashtra first comes to be known in history during the time of Ashok. It is mentioned in Mahavansa in connection with reference to the missionaries sent by Ashok to different parts of India for the purpose of propagating Buddhism. But thereafter the Pali literature speaks of Trai Maharashtrika or three Maharashtras. It means that from very ancient times there have been three Maharashtras. My proposal is not therefore new.
The distribution of population, area and revenue would be as shown in Table (on page 160).
The accompanying map No. 5 will show the area and boundaries of each of the three divisions.