Bt facilities are essential for the well-being of all people. (Roads, hospitals, educational tons, parts, drains, toilets, water supply et supply, health services, transport services, phone services) and postal services are some ples. These facilities are called public facilities. licfacilties as part of right to life ‘The right to some facilities is recognised as part ofthe right to life teed by Article 21 of the constitution, One fh facility is water. Not only water, the whole ent, of which water is just’ a part, is Pognised as a public facility. And, the right to enjoy {healthy environment with clean air and water 18 ded as part of the right to life under Article 21 is evident from several decisions of high courts i the Supreme Court which have gone against who cause pollution How Public Facilities are Provided Blow Public Facilities are Prov! Provides 4s the government's facilites are pro wre that responsibility to make st wided to all the people. Some Public Facilities and Social Justice public facilities may be provided by the government and also by private companies. For example, in some places, especially cities, there may be government schools and private schools, and government hospitals and private hospitals. And though the local government supplies drinking water, you may still find bottled drinking water being sold by private companies. Sometimes, the government hires the services of private companies for providing public facilities. For instance,(it gives contracts for building roads, bridges, etc.. to private companies) And, in some cities. like Delhi and Kolkata, private companies are involved in supplying electricity. Cost of Public Facilities Providing public facilities costs money. To supply clean water, for example, money has to be spent on. pumping water from water sources, treating it to make it fit for use, transporting it by tankers or laying, pipes to transport it, and so on. The government gets. this money partly from the various taxes it collects and partly from the price it charges for the water supplied. Usually, the price charged by the8 Our World: Then and Now = 3 government is such that everyone can afford at least a Uttle of tt, Di (Private companies are run for profit, So, they chabge higher prices for the facilities they provide. Many people cannot afford to pay these prices. This ts ‘one reason why many people fee! that the government Should not give over the task of providing public facilities completely to private companies, They fee! {this would completely cut off the poor people's access to these facilities) This is exactly what happened in the ‘ity of Cochabsiinba in Bolivia. Privatisation of the ‘ity’s public water supply led to a sharp increase in water prices. This cut off many people's access to water. In 2000, there were riots in protest against the Privatisation. One person died in these riots and many were injured. This suggests that even if the government allows private companies to provide Public facilities, it should regulate the prices suitably. Distribution of Public Facilities Though the government provides public facilities at cheap rates, it is often unable to supply enough for ‘everyone's needs. When this happens, the areas closer to the centres of production or storage and the areas where rich and important people live are usually Detter supplied. The rich also buy facilities from 9.2 In many areas this kind of tap serves 28 the only Fe arate for several fami. At ties, the reduced 10 a thin wick so that a fay may ‘wait many hours to be able to fil a | ii sai nll 92 | private suppliers when the government supply cannot ‘meet their needs, The poor cannot afford to do thig, So, they have to make do with whatever little the government provides. Consider the use of water as an example, The average water requirement of a person in India is about seven buckets per day. But, while a rich person may get to use more than fifty buckets per day, a person in a slum may not get more than one bucket per day. The scarcity of water is a common problem im crowded cities. Due to the continuous pumping out of water from under the ground, the groundwater levels in many of these cities have been falling steadily over the years. The authorities supplying water in these cities often have to bring water from outside to meet the demand, Usually, they bring water from the surrounding rural arcas. Water is thus taken away from the rural people, who also need it for use in thelr farms and their homes. This may cause resentment. For instance, farmers living near the Kankavats Dam in Gujarat rose in protest when the authorities decided to supply water from the dam to nearby Jamnagar town, In the matter of providing sanitation, the situation 1s worse than that of water supply. In 2001, about 68 per cent of households in India had access to Cy.drinking water, but only about 36 per cent had access to attached tollets(Sulabh Internationals & ongovernmental organisation which enters int contracts to build and maintain hygienic toilets) Sulabh has built over a million totlets in India. Mani) of @hese toilets are public totlet complexes meant mainly for lowdncame people) Local govenaiell bodies have given funds and laid for building these complexes. A small fee usually has to be paid for Using them, and the money thus collected is used to ‘maintain the facilities The , nunieipal water and sanitation departments) ‘in India could draw inspiragion from the system of 1m Brazil. This city has a‘Thueh higher qualify Me than most cities of similar size in developing’ countries across the world. The rate of infant death the city is remarkably low, largely access to clean water and sanitation water supply and sanitation is managed Water and Sanitaipy Muatcpal Demastacd departnent. thought RABY oe the ae fnanclally independent. It provides treated rates that all the people can afford. The lovedPublic Facilities and Social justice sywhere in ca Fig. 93 Three diferent schools. The pubic facilies for students are not equally good ever Gh projects the department should take up. The Power supply in India snot uniform across regions vtis accountable to the people, and has to It 4s not as good in rural arcas as itis in urban areas them information on how money is spent on & In 2001, rural electrification in India was estimated to eet and how the project is implemented. be about 44 per cent. In other words, most rural ay i a very important public fc, ‘onseholie were without emer: Tis sisal needs frower is needed in industries, farms and homes. t0 Pe improved. scien or we we eg oa ose cae ci) Nc ple facies i esopied A purantced under Article 21 of the it some Pub stein ronment wsclean a an : en oe ra reopoutasy fo make Se al Pe ean rovided toll the people. 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