HOUSING OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORKER. 273
the mills ; numbers of deep tube wells have been sunk, and in other cases
water is pumped from the river and purified before distribution. The
creation in the mill areas of small municipalities, many of the members of
which are associated with the jute industry, has done much to improve
general health conditions in difficult circumstances, and substantial sums
have been expended with benefit to all concerned. In Titaghar, for ex-
ample, a complete sewerage scheme with purification works has been con-
structed at a cost of over Rs. 12 lakhs. In Bhatpara a more comprehen-
sive improvement scheme, estimated to cost Rs. 22 lakhs, is in course of
development and comprises a complete sewerage scheme with purification
works, a town water supply, new road construction and provision of
parks. In both cases the Government agreed to contribute one-third of
the cost. In a number of areas the industrial concerns have assumed res-
ponsibility for pumping and distributing water supplies and have also
borne the bulk of the cost of the sewerage schemes. The municipalities,
however, have failed to make adequate use of the powers they possess
under the Bengal Municipal Act for the improvement of private bustees.
While much has been done, therefore, the general problem of the housing of
the workers is still unsolved. The majority remain unprovided with
decent dwellings, and the houses built by the mills are in marked contrast
to those in the bustees lying around.
The * Chawls” of Bombay.
The housing problem in Bombay presents certain_special fea-
tures. Lack of space has given birth to the chawl, a tenement three
to four storeys high with at least one family in each small room. The
plan by which a central passage provides entry to rooms on either side is
unsatisfactory, and the main characteristics of these dwellings must be
entirely foreign to the habits and customs of their occupants. The entry
of light and air is greatly restricted, and the insufficient space between the
individual tenements further accentuates these defects. Not only are the
sanitary arrangements totally inadequate, but cleansing and sanitation are
also badly neglected. There can be no question that many of the older
types of mill chawls are detrimental to the health of their occupants, and,
although they are being gradually eliminated, large numbers still remain
in use. Moreover, because of their proximity to the mills, they are
invariably the most crowded, and frequently additional difficulty is caused
by persons other than mill employees inhabiting them. In the majority
of cases these chawls are impossible of improvement and therefore fit only
for demolition. We suggest later how their disappearance might be
expedited.
An enquiry made in 1926 by the Bombay Labour Office showed
that 28 of the textile mills had provided housing in the form of single-room
tenements for about 20% of their employees, a full economic rent being
charged in only two cases. The Bombay Port Trust has built chawls in
three centres which accommodate over 3,000 of its 8,000 workers. The
Bombay Improvement Trust provides for all its workers housing accom-
modation of a low standard, the semi-permanent sheds being made of