( 10 )
During the years 1910-11 to 1923-24 (except in 1920-21) the income
of the dépôt always exceeded the expenditure, more especially so before a
largely increased expenditure was entailed owing to the installation of the
cold storage plant, but under present conditions, it is in my opinion impos-
sible to increase the receipts or to lower the expenditure unless the price of
the lymph issued to district boards, municipalities and notified areas, is
considerably increased.
The price of the lymph issued in bulk to local bodies is the same now
as it was before the heavy rise of prices which occurred during and after
the war and this fact accounts for the recent deficits. Prices of calves,
fodder, coolies and other establishment and the prices of annual repairs,
buildings and machinery have largely increased while the price of the
lymph has remained stationary. In addition Rs. 1,562 pension charges
are now included in the dépôt budget while before this was not included.
Also Rs. 3,580 per annum for annual repairs is now included while before
this was in the Public Works department budget. The profits previously
shown did not take these two items into account at all.
The policy of Government in the past has been to endeavour to make
the receipts and sale of lymph equal to the expenditure on the dépôt, but
as I have said above this is not possible unless the price of lymph to the
local bodies is raised by between 30 and 40 per cent.
I am personally of the opinion that it would be very bad policy indeed
to raise the price of the lymph to local bodies as it is evident from my
accounts and from my knowledge of the budgets of district and municipal
boards that they have even now the greatest difficulty in paying for the
lymph supplied even at present prices. In the year under report out of
about Rs. 28,000 due from local bodies only about Rs. 14,000 have been
paid and some local bodies are often one or two years and even more in
arrears.
The Government is aware that the majority of local bodies agreed to
a contract rate for lymph supplied instead of the old system of payment for
the actual amount issued. Local bodies, therefore, know exactly the amount
they have to pay at the very beginning of the financial year, but in spite
of this, the majority fail to make these payments. The contract system
was introduced solely for the purpose of facilitating payments within the
financial year concerned and it appears to have failed in its object.
The Government is also aware that during the last two or three
years small-pox has been far more prevalent than in the previous decade.
As a result of this the amount of lymph issued at contract rates has been
considerably more than the amount issued on payment; the dépôt, there-
fore, lost income by the introduction of these contract rates.
As, however, the financial condition of most local bodies is in a pre-
carious state, it is probable that under the old system much less lymph
would have been used and much more small-pox would have occurred.
After fully considering the whole question, I have come to the conclu-
sion that the time has now come for Government to stop the issue of
lymph to local bodies on payment and to issue it free of all charges. I
am convinced that if this were done, more lymph would be used and
more vaccination would be carried out. It would also relieve local bodies
of these annual payments and release these funds for other purposes, such
as increased grants for the improvement of sanitation. At present the