26
* Letter from Commissioner, Nagpur, to Sanitary Com-
missioner , para 7.—"Your proposals contemplate giving
the vaccinators full salary all through the year, whereas
it has. been hitherto the custom to put these people on
half salary during the recess. I fully agree in your view,
that if we want men to work well and honestly during
the season, we must not leave them with insufficient
means of support during the recess. The men cannot
make their livelihood in any other way during the short
recess; while they can, if they reside in their circles, be
useful in dispensing fever medicines during the rainy and
sickly seasons. I think, however, that your proposals
as to the vaccinator's salaries might be to some extent
modified, so as to admit of payment by results for suc-
cessful vaccinations. I would put the salaries of the
vaccinators at Rs. 7, Rs. 9, and Rs 11 per mensem, and
an allowance of 1 Rupee for every 20 successful opera ¬
tions might be granted to each vaccinator at the end of
the season The grant of the allowance would depend
on the reports of the Superintendent and Civil Surgeon
as to the state of things in each circle at the time of their
visits, and on the report of the Tahsildar as to the gen¬
eral conduct of the vaccinator. The men could live on
their salaries (as now suggested), and the capitation
allowance would help to make them active and attentive.
Effective supervision would, it is hoped, reduce the risk
of fudging returns for the sake of the allowance to a
minimum. A vaccinator who worked well might
manage 1,500 successful operations in the year. If so,
he would earn Rs. 75 over and above his salary. The
yearly earnings of a first class vaccinator who effected
1,500 successful operation, would be 11 x 12 = 132 +
75 = Rs. 207 a year, = about Rs. 17 a month. I do not
think this would be too much to pay for good work.
† Para. 6 —" The vaccinators would send all their re-
ports, their bills, and their references, to the Tahsildars
in the first place, and they would receive orders from the
Tahsildars In this way they would become part of the
tahsil staff, and they would be more popular and in-
fluential than if they were mere wandering vaccinators.
I think it might be well to provide each vaccinator with
a small house at some central town or village of his circle.
Such house could in time be a dispensing place for sim-
ple drugs, such as quinine, cholera medicine, ammonia
per snake bites, and such like things.
6. This system, the Officiating Chief
Commissioner thinks, will answer well, but
he is not at all prepared to sanction the pay-
ment by result-system* as it would certainly
be expensive, and liable at the same time to
abuse. Nor would the Officiating Chief Com-
missioner wish the vaccinator to be provided
with a house at his head-quarters † The vac-
cinator in all probability would only be in
his circle during the working months, and
then he should be ever on the move. The
possession of a house at head-quarters might
induce him to spend too much of his time
there, and were this house, as proposed, looked
on as a kind of Dispensary his attention might
be diverted to some extent from his duties, to
perform which properly, he requires, in the
season, his whole time and strength.
7. The other details may be carried
out as proposed by you and the Commissioner
of Nagpur
8. In conclusion I am to express the
Officiating Chief Commissioner's satisfaction
at the action taken by you in the matter, and
to assure you that he will watch the working
of the scheme with the greatest interest.