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. 289 the earliest opportunity should be taken to make it an adequate weapon. In Bengal and Bombay Presidencies particularly, Town Planning Acts are urgently required and we believe that in other provinces this form of legislation would be found useful. These Acts should provide for the acquisition and lay-out of suitable areas for working class populations and for the opening up and reconstruction of congested and insanitary areas. Fchemcs approved by the Ministry of Health should be eligible for Government grants and loans. Other sections of the same Acts should deal with the “zoning of industrial and urban towns, whereby in future the erection of new factories or other industrial CONCerns can be prohibited, except in areas specially allotted for industrial develop- ment, and other areas can be reserved for industrial housing schemes. The principle of zoning has been applied with advantage in other coun- tries and its early application in India would prohibit for the future the haphazard growth which has so much enhanced town-planning diffi- culties. Other provinces might well follow the example of Madras by appointing a Director of Town Planning so that expert advice might be available, not only to local authorities, but to leaders of industry. Improvement Trusts. In some of the large centres such as Bombay, Calcutta and Rangoon, Improvement and Development Trusts have done valuable work in opening up congested areas, in re-planning those under reconstruction. and in preparing new areas for housing schemes. Such bodies are usually provided with full powers to acquire land for these purposes, but so far, except in Bombay, they have attempted little in the way of providing working class housing. Apparently, private individuals and local autho- rities were left to provide the houses after sites had been prepared. The re-planning and rebuilding of some of the smaller slums can be dealt with in this manner, but we consider it to be the duty of every Improve- ment Trust to provide housing for the working classes and recommend that this should be a statutory obligation. The Cawnpore Improvement Trust and the Rangoon Development Trust are two examples which may be quoted in support of this recommendation. In both these cities the Trusts have done admirable work in opening up and developing areas suitable for housing, but there is some reason to fear that one result of their activities has been to increase overcrowding, particularly in those areas where congestion was worst. Moreover, in certain cases there seems to be lack of co-operation between Municipal Councils and Im- provement Trusts. It should be possible for the latter to provide land, roads, sewers and sanitary conveniences for new areas where loans have been raised, but the cost of street lighting and water mains should be met by the Municipalities in the same manner as for other areas within municipal limits. So far as existing slums are concerned Municipal Couneils need not acquire the land as they have the power to condemn houses unfit for human habitation. Improvement Trusts can Acquire a whole area, develop it and lay it out. These different methods are applicable to different cases, but we believe that progress will only be made possible when these bodies co-operate whole-heartedly with each

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