Calcutta’s £5,500,000 Improvement Scheme

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7979, 9 December 1911, Page 11

Calcutta’s £5,500,000 Improvement Scheme

A FEW weeks ago the Calcutta Improvement Bill passed through tho Bengal Legislative Council after a discussion lasting six days. Tim Bill may be said to have had its genesis iu 1896, in which year a commission drew attention, to the overcrowding which prevailed in the northern quarter of Calcutta. In one ward, m fact, there wore as many as 145,000 persons to the square mile, and in the north ward generally 80 x>er cent, of tho total area was taken up by solid masonry buildings. In 1904 a conference was held to make recommendations for tho removal of a state of affairs which was felt. t° unworthy of the capital of India and these recommendations word subsequently x>ub]ished for criticism. Since that tune every public body iu Calcutta has Had an opportunity of expressing an opinion both uxxm the draft scheme and the Bill itself.

Jute to be Taxed

What is to be Done ? Tho Bill provides for tho expenditure of ,£5,560,0011. A trust consisting of eleven members is to be constituted to carry out tho provisions contained in it. Tho Corxjoration of Calcutta will be reX>rescnted by its chairman and three members. . .. An important part 1 of tho duties of the trust will be the construction of a system of new roads, GO feet wide, at a cost of some *£3,300,000. Open spaces are to be provided at a further cost of ,£1,140,000; c£GGG,OOO is set aside for the xmovision of accommodation for persons who been disfdaced by the operations -of the trust and for laud which is to bo acquired to xmovido for tho normal growth of the xiopulaiion for a generation to come; and .£330,000 has been allocated to tho preparation of the land for building. At present the narrow and crowded state of tho Calcutta streets makes it difficult for peojdo working in tho city to get into the suburbs, and it is hoped

To Relieve Congestion in Overcrowded, Quarters of Indian Capital

that tho new roads will permit of this problem being solved.

Among the various measures of finance which aro to bo taken to meet tho xiroposed expenditure not the least interesting is tho Customs and Excise duty on raw Jute, from which c£S6,UUU is expected. Calcutta is the headquarters of the jute trade and some idea of the urgency of the improvement scheme will bo gamed wTieu it is stated that the jute industry has cheerfully acquiesced in the iraxmsition of this tax. Tho extended acquisition of property which the ox>crations of the trust have entailed has been responsible for the institution of a special tribunal to obviate appeals to the high court in case of disputed awards for property which has been taken over.

Considerable opposition has been offered to tho measure by the land owners of Calcutta, and it is probable that the institution of this special tribunal is responsible Tor much of the antagonism displayed.

The other day a sign appeared in the window of an up-country store: “Wo give .£7 19s for 19U8 King Edward pennies." This attracted the attention of a xiolitical candidato with a local rexmtation as a critic of national financial methods. Ho walked tip to the counter, laid down a penny of the mintage specified, 9ml asked for tho .£7 19s. Tne shopman took the penny, examined it, and asked the politician if it was genuine. “Certainly .t js. Where's iny ,£7 1851"

“Whore," answered the shopman, ‘ are tho other 1907 pennies." Tljo largest cantilever crane in the world, recently made by a British firm for a Japanese dockyard, is capable of dealing with a load of 200 tons at a radius of 95ft. A still larger one is now being built for tho Jaixiancso Navy, to have a load capacity of 200 tons at 105 ft radius.