INDIA'S CROWDED CITIES

Evening Star, Issue 12674, 30 November 1905, Page 7

INDIA'S CROWDED CITIES

Problems connected with the opening out erf great cities, with the provision of breathing ppace for over-crowded populations, with the relief of congested traffic, are becoming very familiar to Europe. To the London ratepayer such schemes are likely to be unpleasantly prominent in the immediate future. In India there is no city of the Fame magnitude as the English metropolis, but the great seaports of Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Karachi, and' Rangoon have alrradv attained the dimensioDs of first class European cities, and are grow. ing with inuneufc, if varying, rapidity. In the thirty years 1872-1901 the population of Calcutta has increased by one-third, of Bombay by one-fifth, of Madras by more than one-fourth, whilst that of Rangoon has ris'-n by 137 per cent., and Karachi has rather mora than doubled. Tie tendency, too, has been rather towards an increased concentration of population in the- old area than towards a distribution of tlvo new-comers in suburbs which, with insufficient means of local communication, aro inconvenient for thooe whoso daily bread is gained in the business quarters of the old city. To a stranger even, posting through the crowded quartere of Bombay or the recking "baatis" of Calcutta, it lias for yours past been apparent that, sooner or later, heoric measures must be taken for the provision of air spaces in these rookerics, where human beings aro crowded to an extent which throws into the shade 6uch quarters as the old Roman "Ghetto" or Liu: worst slums of Loudon or Paris. The population of the City of London, is fairly dense with 36,000 souls to the square mile, but that is nothing to one of the wards of Calcutta, which had 145,000 persons crowded into an equal space. It exceeds in density the whole of tiie Bombay population, and it falls coneiderably short of that of Calcutta. In bot U thxASa oases tbo statistics include the open Kuiopean quarters, the Wimbledons and Hiunpsteads of India, as well a» the crowded native cities. That epidemic diseases sliould flourish in such places was to be expected, and the only wonder is that the great scourge of plague should have been slight in Calcutta as compared with Bombay. In the latter city the ravages of the dread disease hastened ou the measures for opening out the crowded quarters, and a Ikjmbay Improvement Act was passed in 1898, the ytar of occurrence of the first ltv corded plague cases in Calcutta: The local Plague Oommisyjon of Calcutta had, however, already, in anticipation of the adveni of the disease, made a sanitary survey of the city, which revealed the full extent of tlte over-crowding above described, cspecially in the northern wards, where it was calculated that 80 per cent, of the total' available space was covered bv solid masonry buildings. The first definite proposalri for improvement were not drawn up until 1899, since when the subject has been under continuous discussion. At lust iu July, 1906, tiie Government of India has found it possible to publish for criticism and completion a definite schemo drawn up by a committee representing the Calcutta ratepayers, the commercial interest, and the local and Supreme Governments. It was assisted by the host expert advice procurable on methods of improvement and on finance, the crux of the whole question. The scheme is too elaborate for full description in a newspaper article. It profets«o to bo only provisional, and to be open to modification on criticism, which is freely invited. First estimates of the cost of city improvements are almost invariably too low ; in the case of Calcutta the original idea of on expenditure of throe and onetliiid millions sterling has already grown to five and a-half. Before it is done with, it will not be surprising if it rises ptill higher. It is proposed that the improvements under the scheme eventually to be adopted should be mode over, as in Bombay, for execution by an Improvement Trust of six members and a president. Three of theerais will be filled by the- chairman and members of the Calcutta Corporation, to which the work will be handed over on completion. The principal works conteinplaled are the construction of new and tlte improvement of existing roads, the provision of open spaces and of new quarters controlled by building regulations for the dislodged population, as well as for the estimated increase of the inhabitants for a generation. The Trust will, as far as possible, avoid the erection of dwelling-honses —e work which may best be left to private enterprise on sites provided bv a public bedy, confining itself generally to the role of a ground landlord, regulating, with special regard to sanitary oonsiideration. 1 -, the buildings to bo erected on his property a-ud in its neighborhood In order to prevent, as far as possible, the rush of speculators to buy up property likely to be acquired in the course of operations, it has bton thought necessary to lay down tlwit no detailed scheme should be prepared boforehand. This, it is to be hoped, will diminish the number of fictitious claims such as have been only too common in Calcutta when property has been acquired in the past for improvements. That itwill completely stop sucb speculation in hardly probable, lor it will be difficult to prevent leakage of the Trust's views. The general idea is to run brood roads, north and south, east and west, with diagonal connections, through the crowded areas. When more than one-third of a block of : forty acres is covered by buildings, open spaoes will be provided to the extent necvssaiy to reduce it to that proportion. The land required for expansion of population will be t;.kcn up in strips in the direction which the overflow' may be expected to take. The great difficulty in this extensive scheme is finance. Of the gro.sw estimated cost of nearly four and a-half millions for roads and open spaoes, it is hoped to recover more than half from the increased value of frontages and from sales or leases of land acquired for expansion. That still leaves about three millions, towards whioh Government will contribate ore-third of a million, leaving the rett to be raised by loans under the guarantee of Government. Without going too deeply into financed d-.'tail-s, it will suffice to state that the residents of Calcutta will have to contribute, until the loans are paid off in aixty years, nearly £70,000 a year in the Conn of special taxation. 'that will still leave the municipal taxation at less than 5s in the pound on rateable vnlu*, a rato whioh is to bo envied by the Londoner. It is round the question of the taxeo to be hnpojed that controversy will probably rage most botly. A proposal to impose a tax of 1 per cent on jute i-xported, coupled with an excise of tutsan e amount on that locally purchased, will probably meet with more opposition fiom Europe than frcm Calcutta, for, with an almost complete monopoly of the fibro in India, the tax will fall on the European consumer. It will neither affect Calcutta nor, in v'ew of tho low rate, injure trade. A recent question in Parliament indicates nhat Dundee bo® already taken alarm. Another proposal for a small addition to the income tax, to be made over to the Corporation, will probably be opposed Vocally, tor tl«b tare is ol'ora.yy. Uttpoyik'r in India. Two alternative suggestions axa a. tax on petroleum and a xaihraar ftmrcired tax.

'.I he latter would be a charge of one halfpenny per bend on passengers arriving at or leaving Calcutta stations, with a buK stantial reduction in the case of daily passengers, intended, of course, to avoid imposing any check on residence in suburbs. Being probably collected by the railway companies as part of the fare, it -would Dot be much noticed and is likely to be adopted. Whatever form the additional taxation may eventually take, it may be assumed as certaini thai it will have to be imposed in order to rescue Calcutta from the rapdJy increasing dangers of an overcrowded population. Tbe operations of the Trust are to take the form of separate schemes, which will be sanctioned by Government from time to time, with reference to tba existing and prospective financial position of the Trust as Ehown by experience up to the time of their submission. At the best, it is not expected tiud. tiie opera-tiuns will bo completed in less than twenty years. Independently of the great operations of the Trust tiw Calcutta Corporation will still remain charged with the in-modelling of the " bastis." The commencement of serioufi work iu. improving Calcutta has been, delayed too long; it is to be hoped that, once started, it will be pushed with vigor by future Governments. With the initiation of improvements in Bombay and Calcutta, the two most urgent cases will have been taken uj>. but it cannot be doubted that as trade and industrial enterprises incnaase eunilai- problems will arise elswhere. Tbe difficulty of housing workmen a* Oawnpone has already leeii fiit and has been, to some taken in hand by their employers, who recognise th-jt the question- is ore seriously affectuiij the supply ft.' labor. Fortunately, the problem is 6impi)fiod there by the comparative cheapness of land up country, even in the neighborhood of groat towns, and by the fact if Cawnpore is to some extent prevented from expanding on one sido by tho Ganges, it is oj«cn in every direction. In, towns where the industrial population is proportionately smaller the difficulty is kss felt, Walied cities like Delhi are no doubt liiblc to over-crowding within the encunte, but the case is not very serious, for already suburbs have sprung up outside;, in which newcomers willingly nettle, and into which the older residents are often glad to migrate from the .watering streets within.—'Times.'