NCERT Class 8 Political Science Chapter 9: Public Facilities YouTube Lecture Handouts

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NCERT Class 8 Political Science/Polity/Civics Chapter 9: Public Facilities

Water Issues

Illustration: Water Issues
  • Prosperous Areas – Abundant water for spraying in & around bungalows – if shortage is there – immediate water tanks are made available
  • Other Areas – Borewell water (brackish – not potable) – water purification systems
  • Further other Areas – People get bottled water – water once in 4 days
  • Slums – common tap (water available for 20 minutes – twice a day – maximum limit per family is 3 buckets) and common toilets – long hours for water

Water as Fundamental Right

  • Essential for life
  • Safe drinking water – prevent water related diseases
  • About 1600 child below 5 years die every day because of water related diseases
  • Constitution of India recognises the right to water as being a part of the Right to Life under Article 21
  • 2007: Andhra Pradesh High Court - hearing a case based on a letter written by a villager of Mahabubnagar district on the contamination of drinking water by a textile company that was discharging poisonous chemicals into a stream near his village (Collector ordered to supply 25 liters of water to each person)

Public Facilities

Illustration: Public Facilities
  • Healthcare
  • Sanitation -68% households in India have access to drinking water & 36% have access to sanitation
  • Electricity
  • Public Transport – Buses to metros (β‚Ή 11,000 crores in Delhi) , Mumbai Suburb – 65 lakh passengers commute daily
  • School and Colleges
  • Benefits can be shared by many people

Government՚s Role

  • Someone to carry responsibility to provide it to people – Government
  • Private companies operate for profit - Chapter β€œStory of Shirt” in Class 7
  • Water tanks by private companies - private companies provide public facilities but at a price that only some people can afford
  • Those who can՚t pay will be deprived – Govt. takes care
  • Central Govt. spends on interest, defense, subsidy, economic services, social services, grants, police etc.
  • Budget is presented in Parliament – expense of government & how much it plans to spend
  • Sources of revenue – comes from taxes, charges of water price

Water Supply

  • Closer areas – more water
  • Far areas – lesser water
  • Municipal supply meets only half of the need
  • Shortfall burden- falls on poor
  • Middle Class – dig Borewell, buy bottled water, buy tankers
  • Universal access to β€˜sufficient and safe’ water
  • Water coming to urban areas from nearby places – ground water levels have dropped in nearby places

Water Alternatives

  • Water is increasingly being filled by an expansion of private companies who are selling water for profit
  • Great inequalities in water use
  • Supply of water/person in urban area – 135 l/day (about seven buckets) as by Urban Water Commission in India – for slums it is less than 20 l/day (one bucket) & for luxury hotels it is 1,600 l/day (80 buckets) .
  • Shortage of municipal water – sign of govt. failure
  • There are areas in the world where public water supply has achieved universal access - Porto Alegre, Brazil – lower infant deaths – average price is low & poor is charged at half the rate – working of department is transparent and they vote on priorities
  • Water handed to private companies witnessed huge rise in price – protests in Bolivia
  • Water department in Mumbai raises enough money through water charges to cover its expenses on supplying water
  • Hyderabad – increased coverage & performance in revenue collection
  • Chennai – initiates for rainwater harvesting – used service of private companies to operate – on contract

Sanitation

Illustration: Sanitation
  • Sulabh, NGO for 3 decades - to address the problems of sanitation facing low-caste, low-income people in India.
  • Constructed more than 7,500 public toilet blocks and 1.2 million private toilets, giving access to sanitation to 10 million people.

Conclusions!

  • Poor localities are underserved
  • Handing over to private companies might not be a solution
  • Provide rights on equitable manner

✍ Mayank