§ 6. Mr. O'GRADYasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been called to the social conditions of the populations in the new settlements of irrigation areas; whether, in view of the fact that in the areas in question high charges (rent) are imposed by capitalistic landowners, and that houses are inadequate to accommodate the families living in them and are lacking in necessary means of sanitation, that roads are bad, and that there is no provision for medical aid nor for education of children, he will give instructions that in all future official surveys a comprehensive statement shall be contained in the reports setting forth the actual facts of social life in such Colonies?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for INDIA (Mr. Montagu)The Secretary of State has seen in a weekly periodical some notes of a visit paid by a traveller to some canal villages in the Punjab. The, description is at variance with the reports of other persons who have visited these prosperous agricultural communities, and who have praised the provision which the Government through its officers has made for the moral and material welfare of the Colonists. The matter will be brought to the notice of the Local Government, which will consider whether any amplification of the Annual Report on the Colonies is desirable.