176 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
The only Province which was outside the pale of the quasi permanent system was Burma. The last quinquennial settlement made with it in 1902-3 having expired, the Government of India decided to bring it in uniformity with the other Provinces by giving it a quasi-permanent settlement from April 1, 1907. In a spirit of perfect impartiality it was also given an even share in the principal joint heads of revenue and expenditure, salt being imperialized as in other provinces. It was given an adjusting assignment of Rs. 90,68,000 a year to cover the deficits in its standard expenditure and an initial grant of Rs. 50,00,000.
By the year 1907 all the Provinces were brought within the pale of the quasi-permanent settlement, and we would have expected the scheme of Provincial Finance to run its course undisturbed by any further changes. But it so turned out, as must have been noticed, that the quasi-permanent settlements made with Madras and U.P. in 1904 had become a little unfair to them in comparison with the terms offered to the Provinces subsequently dealt with. To remove this ground of injustice, which was one of those recognized for subjecting the quasi-permanent settlements to revision, the shares of the two Provinces in the joint heads were raised with effect from
| April 1, 1907, to one-half, with | the following exceptions :— |
|---|---|
| Madras | United Provinces |
| Revenue 1. Registration. Wholly Provincial, 2. Land revenue. Minimum receipt of 308 lakhs guaranteed if the provincial share fell below that amount. Expenditure 1. Registration. Wholly provincial. 2. Land Revenue. Wholly provincial. | Revenue 1. Land Revenue. 3/8 Provincial. Minimum of 240 lakhs guaranteed. 2. Irrigation. Minimum receipt of 60 lakhs from major irrigation works guaranteed, if the provincial share fell below that amount. |
The fixed assignments to cover the difference between the excess of standard expenditure over standard revenue were :—
To Madras ... ... Rs. 22,57,000
To U.P. ... ... Rs. 13,89,000
Thus the scheme of Provincial Finance in British India had advanced by gradual but distinct steps of assignment budgets, assigned revenue budgets and shared revenue budgets to a stage the terms of which were regarded by the parties concerned as