HOUSING OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORKER, 283
sums which can be repaid in ten months, and construction is supervised
in order to ensure good design and the use of good materials.
We consider that ample scope exists for a wider use by employers of
these methods ; they are applicable to many industrial areas in different
parts of the country.

Railway Quarters.

The Railway Board has laid down that its general policy is to
provide quarters where, for special reasons, it is necessary to do so, and
where conditions are such that private enterprise does not adequately
meet housing demands. Railway administrations can acquire land
for building schemes under the Land Acquisition Act, and we were inform-
ed that every endeavour is made to secure sites situated in healthy locali-
ties. Expenditure up to 1st April 1929, was Rs. 24-81 crores, while the
expenditure during the 4 years ending 1st April 1929, was 4-85 crores and
the next two years’ programme contemplates a further expenditure of 2
crores. Even so, considerable numbers of the railway staffs are not pro-
vided for, and these live in rented houses owned by private landlords. At
wayside stations only a very small proportion of the staff is not provided
with railway quarters, and all staff employed on construction projects are
housed in temporary quarters especially erected for the purpose. The
available accommodation is fully utilised, although gangmen recruited
locally prefer to live in their own villages. Rent is charged except in the
case of the lowest grades who are normally given free quarters. Generally
men who are liable to be called upon at any time without notice are also
provided with free quarters and, where an employee is entitled to free
quarters and none are available, a house rent allowance is given.
Up to the present, as a general rule workshop staffs have not been
given quarters as most of the workshops are within reach of large
towns. On some railways, however, a proportion of the workshop staff
is provided with houses owned or leased by the railways. The Burma
railway administration states that 78%, of the workshop employees at
Myitnge and 389, of the locomotive shop staff at Insein are so housed.
On the Bombay Baroda & Central India Railway 92 quartershave been
provided in Bombay for the lower paid workshop staff and arrangements
have been made to lease from the Development Department certain
chawls at Worli to accommodate another 400 workmen. Provision alse
exists for housing a large percentage of the workshop employees at
Khargpur by the Bengal Nagpur Railway and at Golden Rock, Trichi-
nopoly, by the South Indian Railway. The Bengal and North Western
Railway have a colony at Gorakhpur for men employed in the workshops.
The Railway Board has recently revised its policyin regard to the
grant of free quarters and rent on state-aided railways. Under the
new policy all future entrants, except men in inferior service, will have to
Pay rent. Further, each class of quarters is pooled, and rent is assessed
and levied at a rate calculated to yield not less than 4%, on the capital
cost of each class, excluding cost of land. This percentage represents
interest and costs of maintenance only, and depreciation charges will be
met from general railway revenues. In actual practice the rent charged