§ 23. Sir CHARLES OMANasked the Secretary of State for India if he can give any estimate of the amount of extra taxation in India that will be caused by the creation of the new provInces of Sind and Orissa, by the loss of the opium revenue under the arrangements with China, and by the cost of a general election for the new constituencies?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for INDIA (Mr. Butler)The Chairman of the Sind Conference, 1932, estimated that the net additional expenditure involved by a separate ProvInce of Sind would be about Rs.12 lakhs per annum. On page 61 of Command Paper 4238 an estimate is given that the additional expenditure of a separate ProvInce of Orissa would be Rs.15 lakhs per annum. The export of opium to China ceased in 1913. The net revenue of the Central Government from the export of provision opium to other countries is expected in the current year to be about Rs.60 lakhs. This source of revenue will undergo progressive annual reduction in accordance with the policy of reduction of opium exports adopted by the Government of India in 1926, and will entirely cease in 1936–37, when export will have ceased. As will be seen from the dates these facts have no connection with the revision of the constitution. As regards the last part of the question, the only figures available are those given in Appendix VI of the Report of the Indian Franchise Committee, Command Paper 4086.
§ Sir C. OMANIs the hon. Gentleman aware of the fact that in the last presentation of the Indian Budget the Finance Member stated that it was impossible to balance the Budget on the present revenue and that reductions would have to be followed by drastic taxation?
§ Mr. BUTLERThe questions in regard to the new Constitution that the hon. Member raises, have been carefully considered by His Majesty's Government.