Report of the Royal Commission on Labour in India

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1850495947

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-233603

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Report of the Royal Commission on Labour in India

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: His Majesty's Stationery Off.

Year of publication:: 1931

Scope:: xviii, 580 S.; graph. Darst., Kt.

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter XV. - Housing of the industrial worker

Collection:: Economics Books

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

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