BURMA AND INDIA. 
437 
because of the Corporation’s inability to extend the supply. But although 
sections of the existing Act contain provisions for the working out of town- 
planning schemes, it has not been found possible to put these into opera- 
tion. As regards the housing problem, the Trust has so far done no- 
thing directly, and it has given no facilities for the acquisition of 
land for workers’ houses. Within recent months a draft bill entitled 
the Rangoon Immigrant Labour Housing Bill has been prepared for 
the provision of housing accommodation. Under this bill, the Deve- 
lopment Trust is authorised to maintain and administer a fund for 
these purposes. The main source of income would be derived from 
5 tax to be levied on every male passenger leaving Rangoon by sea- 
going vessels for a destination outside Burma. Such a tax, which 
would be additional to the Rs. 2 tax already in existence, is estimated 
to produce Rs. 4 lakhs per annum. The objects on which this fund is 
to be expended include repayment of loans, the purchase and preparation 
of sites, the construction and maintenance of rest-houses, barracks 
and other forms of accommodation suitable for housing labourers and 
the payment of subsidies to private persons for the construction of such 
buildings. Itis proposed that the Trust should build workmen’s dwellings 
and then sell them to private owners atthe market price. The proceeds 
of the tax would cover the loss incurred by the Trust. The proposals 
smbodied in the bill met with some criticism on the ground that the whole 
burden of providing the necessary taxation was to be placed on persons 
leaving Burma. We deal later with the question of responsibility for hous- 
ing, but we would observe here that various interests are responsible for, 
and stand to gain from, the provision of satisfactory housing for immi- 
grant labour. The Chairman of the Trust stated that they hoped to 
build sufficient accommodation under this arrangement to house 33,000 
persons in the next ten years and, by that time, to enable the municipal 
public health authorities to use their powers in dealing with overcrowd- 
ing without producing cases of unquestioned hardship. To begin with, 
at least, the Trust’s activities are to be confined to the sewered area 
of the city where the labourers are now living. One of the first 
steps to be taken should be the provision of rest-house accommodation, 
and we would emphasise the need for urgent action in this connection. 
The Protector of Immigrants might with advantage be given some 
responsibility for its supervision. We also consider that the desirability 
of providing married quarters should not be overlooked. 
Under-development of Available Sites. 
A considerable amount of land, even in the heart of the city, 
is not being used to the best advantage. Numbers of plots suitable for 
housing purposes lie vacant, and some are held up either by private 
owners for a rise in price or by some public authority for future 
needs. Many other sites are “ under-developed ” in that the type of 
building is inadequate or unsuited to the present needs of the locality. 
Large and valuable sites are also occupied by such buildings as the 
jail and the old asylum, both of which institutions could be advantage- 
susly removed outside the city to cheaper and more open sites. The