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in the campaign as soon as he has received a satisfactory assurance that they will
proceed with vigorous measures under proper direction for the eradication of malaria
from Bombay.
12. The Governor in Council agrees that for effective working it is necessary
that the operations should be under the control of a Special Assistant Health
Officer whose whole time should be devoted to this duty. He commends to the
Municipality the proposals made in paragraph 465 on this subject, and the
proposals in paragraph 466 on the subject of subordinate staff.
13. Dr. Bentley has fully discussed the important question of the additional
legal powers that are required for the success of the proposed campaign. In two
respects the law requires to be supplemented, firstly, in order to declare "mosquito
breeding" a statutory nuisance and, secondly, in order to invest the Municipal
Commissioner with power not only to take action himself for the abatement of
such a nuisance, but to delegate the power to the Executive Health Officer or to a
responsible assistant. A Bill to effect the necessary amendments in the City of
Bombay Municipal Act, 1888, will now be drafted. It is also suggested that
a system of registering and licensing collections of water, such as wells, etc.,
should form part of the campaign. As indicated above, Government are
prepared to make a grant limited to one lakh of rupees to cover the cost of filling
in or permanently covering dangerous wells south of Grant Road, which will thus
be effected without cost to the owners. Those persons who may prefer a more
uncertain method of protection (e.g., well covers with trap doors, stocking with fish
or both) should be required to take out a license for which a fee would be charged.
The Governor in Council desires to be favoured with the opinion of the Corporation
on these suggestions for the amendment of the Act which are made in Chapter III
of Part III of the Report, and on the proposed system of licenses.
14. While mosquito reduction must constitute the chief measure in malaria
prevention in the city, the use of quinine as a prophylactic and curative agent
should not be neglected. It has been suggested that quinine might be distributed
through the agency of tea-room keepers and small dealers generally in the shape of
sugar-coated tablets done up in stoppered phials. This suggestion commends
itself to His Excellency in Council, and he has already taken measures to ascertain
the cost and other particulars regarding this form of the drug. When the investiga-
tions are complete, the results will be communicated to the Corporation.
15. Dr. Bentley suggests that the wealthier members of the various com-
munities of the city should be asked to organize measures for the gratuitous
distribution of quinine among the poorer inhabitants in the worst malaria-infected
parts of the city. His Excellency in Council commends this suggestion to the
charitable citizens of Bombay, and he trusts that the members of the medical
profession belonging to the different communities will be able to place themselves
at the head of a movement designed to carry it out.
16. In conclusion, His Excellency in Council desires to quote with approval
the last paragraph of the report, which runs as follows:-
"Finally it may be urged that the measures that have been suggested
should be given close consideration. It is often claimed that not only is
Bombay the wealthiest city of India, but she is the largest as regards
population and the most advanced as regards education and the general
enlightenment of her citizens. She possesses local self-government, and an
up-to-date municipal administration, and her resources per head of the
population are far larger than those of any other municipality in India. The
problem of malaria prevention in the city is far more easy, as far as natural
difficulties are concerned, than that to be faced in many other places; not
only can malaria be reduced, but it can be absolutely eradicated from the
greater part of Bombay; and the expenditure required is not only well within
the means of the city, but would amount to less than a tenth part of the loss
occasioned each year by the disease."
L. ROBERTSON,
Secretary to Government.