Textbook Solutions: The Working of the state Government | Window on the Word Class 7: Solutions, Notes & Worksheets PDF Download

Exercise

1.
Ans: (a)

2.
Ans: (c)

3.
Ans: (d)

4.
Ans: (a)

B. Fill in the blanks.

1.
Ans: In a democracy, the legislature is the body that makes laws.

2.
Ans: The Vidhan Parishad is the upper house of the state assembly.

3.
Ans: The governor is the constitutional head of the state.

4.
Ans: The High Court is the highest judiciary body in the state.

5.
Ans: The governor is advised by the Council of Ministers on all matters of the state.

C. Mark the sentences as True or False. Correct the statements that are false.

1.
Ans: False
The members of Vidhan Sabha are elected for a term of three years. (False, they are elected for a term of five years)

2.
Ans: True
The Council of Ministers and the chief minister are answerable to the legislature. (True)

3.
Ans: The Council of Ministers can continue to remain in power even after the chief minister has resigned. (False, if the chief minister resigns, the Council has to resign too)

4.
Ans: True
A bill cannot become an Act unless signed by the governor. (True)

D. Answer in one or two sentences.

1.
Ans: Members of the Vidhan Parishad are elected indirectly by members of the Vidhan Sabha, local bodies, high school teachers, and graduates in the state. Some members are also nominated by the governor.

2.
Ans: The term 'unicameral' refers to a legislature with only one house or chamber, while 'bicameral' refers to a legislature with two houses or chambers.

3.
Ans: The functions of a High Court include interpreting the law, protecting the fundamental rights of the people, settling disputes, and punishing law-breakers.

4.
Ans: The Planning Commission was replaced by the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog).

5.
Ans: The Orissa Land Reform Act was passed with the aim of making the distribution of land more equitable, ensuring that landless peasants could own land, and encouraging proper and effective utilization of land.

E. Answer in a paragraph.

1.
Ans: The Vidhan Sabha, also known as the Legislative Assembly, is the lower house of the state legislature in India. Members of the Vidhan Sabha are elected directly by the people of the state in assembly elections and are known as Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). Each MLA represents a constituency, which is a political unit that each state is divided into. The party that wins more than half the seats in the assembly forms the government, becoming the ruling party, while the other members form the opposition. The Vidhan Sabha has a term of five years.

2.
Ans: The Chief Minister of a state has numerous functions. As the leader of the Legislative Assembly, their decisions on the running of the state are final. They also head the Council of Ministers, allocating portfolios to the ministers and monitoring all the policies, programs, and activities of the Council. The Chief Minister has the power to ask the ministers to resign if needed. If the Chief Minister resigns, the entire Council also has to resign. Furthermore, the Chief Minister functions as the advisor to the governor and has to convey all the decisions of the Council to the governor.

3.
Ans: Laws in a legislative assembly are made through a democratic process that begins with the proposal of a bill. The bill is discussed and debated upon by the members of the assembly. If the majority of the members vote in favor of the bill, it is passed on to the Vidhan Parishad (if present) for approval. Once it receives approval from both houses and the governor, it becomes a law.

4.
Ans: The government needed to undertake land reforms because the distribution of land resources in India was highly unequal, especially in rural areas. This lack of access to fertile, cultivable land was a primary reason for rural poverty. In rural India, rich landlords owned large tracts of land on which tenant farmers worked, often in miserable conditions and with no security of tenure. Land reform was prioritized to correct this gap between poor landless peasants and rich farmers, and to protect the landless and marginalized.

5.
Ans: The state of Odisha passed the Orissa Land Reforms Act (1960) and the Orissa Land Reforms (Amendment) Act (1973) to ensure an equitable distribution of land. The former gave land rights to tenants and aimed to encourage proper and effective utilization of land, while the latter put a ceiling on the amount of land a family could hold. However, these laws failed to achieve the desired result due to several factors. The rich landlords agreed to transfer the land on paper but did not actually give the land to the peasants. Often, there were no records of land ownership, making the transfer of ownership to the landless impossible. The land that people gave up was usually of poor quality, making it almost impossible for the peasants to cultivate. Furthermore, vast tracts of agricultural land were bought by large mining companies, severely affecting tribal areas.