Public Facilities

Question 1
Mention some public facilities that are provided by the government.
Solution:
Public facilities provided by the government are:- Health care
Water
Sanitation
Transport
Education
Electricity
Roads

Question 2
Which Article in the Indian Constitution recognises the ‘right to water’?
Solution:
The Constitution of India recognises the right to water as being a part of the Right to
Life under Article 21.

Question 3
What is Universal Access to water?
Solution:
Every person, rich or poor, has the right to sufficient amount of water to meet their daily
needs, at a price they can afford. This is known as Universal Access to water.

Question 4
What are the characteristics of Public facilities?
Solution:
The benefits of public facility can be shared by many people. Government schools
enable many children to get educated. The supply of electricity is essential for all
households. Farmers can run pump sets to irrigate their fields; people open small
workshops that run on electricity.
Public transport help people commute at an affordable price. Public parks and libraries
provide recreation for the citizens. Health care and sanitation are essential for a healthy
life.

Question 5
Mention some public facilities that only the government can provide and maintain.
Solution:
Roads
Railways
Sanitation
Water supply
Electricity

Question 6
Mention a few public facilities that are provided by private companies.
Solution:
Schools and colleges
Hospitals
Transportation
The above mentioned facilities are provided by the government and private companies.
We can find many private educational institutions in cities. Long distance buses are
operated by private companies; similarly there are many Private Hospitals that provide
health care for the citizens.

Question 7
How does the government raise fund to provide public facilities?
Solution:
The main source of income for the government is through the tax it collects from the
citizens.
Some of the types of taxes the government collects are………..
Income Tax
Property Tax
Sales Tax
Excise Duty
Water Tax
Vehicle Tax
With the revenue from the tax collected, the government provides the public facilities
mentioned earlier.

Question 8
What is a Government Budget?
Solution:
The government plans its expenditure, making a clear statement on the amount of
money it is going to spend on each facility.
This statement is called the ‘Government Budget’ and is presented in the Parliament
and Legislature every year in the month February / March.

Question 9
What is sanitation?
Solution:
Sanitation is measures taken up by the government to protect public health through
proper solid waste disposal, sewage disposal, and cleanliness during food processing
and preparation.

Question 10
Write a short note on Sulabh International.
Solution:
Sulabh International is an Indian based social service organization which works to
promote human rights, environmental sanitation, non-conventional sources of energy,
waste management and social reforms through education. Sulabh was founded by Dr.
Bindeshwar Pathak in 1970 and has 50,000 volunteers.
The organization constructs and maintains pay-&-use public toilets, popularly known as
Sulabh Complexes with bath, laundry and urinal facilities being used by about ten
million people every day.
There are more than 7,500 public toilet blocks and 1.2 million private toilets. The
majority of the users of Sulabh facilities are from the poor working class.

EXTRA QUESTIONS:
Very Short Answer Type Questions

1. Why do the residents of Subramanian’s Apartments in Mylapore use

borewell water in their toilets for washing?
Answer: It is because borewell water is brackish.

2. How do they manage water for other uses?

Answer: For other uses, they purchase water from tankers.

3. How do they manage water for drinking?

Answer: For drinking water, they have installed water purification systems in their
homes.

4. What is the position of water availability in the slum area where Padma
lives?
Answer: For 30 hutments there is a common tap at one corner, in which water
comes from a borewell for 20 minutes twice daily.

5. What does Right to Water mean? [V.Imp.]

Answer: It means that it is the right of every person, whether rich or poor, to have
sufficient amounts of water to fulfil his/her daily needs at a price that he/she can
afford.

Short Answer Type Questions

1: What are public facilities? What are its important characteristics?

Answer: Primary requirements like food, water, shelter, sanitation,

healthcare, education etc which are necessary for survival are referred to as public
facilities. The important characteristic of public facilities is that the benefits provided
by public facilities can be shared by many people.
For e.g- A school in a village will enable many children to get education.

2: Why do you think that there are so few cases of private water supply
in water?

Answer: There are so few cases of private water supply in world as

It is more expensive and private companies only think of their profits so people
cannot afford it.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. Discuss the role of the government in regard to public facilities.

Answer: Public facilities are associated with our basic needs. Our
Constitution recognises many of the public facilities as being a part of the Right to
Life. Therefore, the government must see that these rights are protected so that
everyone can lead a decent life. But its efforts are not successful to some extent.
There is a shortage in supply and there are inequalities in distribution. Metros and
large cities are not in very bad condition but towns and villages are underprovided.
In comparison to wealthy localities, the poorer localities are underserviced.
The government is expected to take steps in order to make all the public facilities
accessible to everyone. So far we are concerned, we must cooperate with the
government.

2: Do you think water is available in Chennai and affordable by all? Discuss.

Answer:
• Water supply in Chennai is marked by shortages.
• Municipal supply meets only about half the needs of the people of the
city, on an average.
• There are areas which get more water regularly than others. Those
areas that are areas that are close to the storage points get more water
whereas colonies further away receive less water.
• Apart from the availability of water access to ‘safe’ drinking water is
also available to some and this depends on what one can afford.
• The burden of shortfalls in water supply falls mostly on the poor.
• The middle class, when faced with water shortages are able to
cope through a variety of private means such as digging bore wells,
burying water from tankers and using bottled water for drinking.