Public Facilities Class 8 Worksheet Civics Chapter 9

Q.1. Mention few public facilities that are also provided by private companies.

School, Colleges, Healthcare and Transportation

Q.2. Which article in the Indian Constitution recognises the right to water?

The Constitution of India recognises the right to water as being a part of the Right to Life under Article 21.

Q.3. Besides water, what are the other public facilities which come under Right to Life?

The Indian Constitution recognises the right to water, health, education etc. as being a part of the Right to Life.

Q.4. Is right to safe drinking water a fundamental right?

Yes. Right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use.

Q.5. Why should government be responsible for providing public facilities?

Government should be responsible for providing public facilities in order to ensure that these public facilities are made available to everyone.

Q.6. What is a government budget?

This is an account of the expenses the government has made on its programmes in the past year and how much it plans to spend in the coming year.

Q.7. Why do you think there are so few cases of private water supply in the world?

Water is a basic necessity for all. Hence, a private company cannot be in a position to supply water at a rate which is affordable to all people. Due to this, there are very few cases of private water supply in the world.

Q.8. Describe Right to water.

The Constitution of India recognises the right to water as being a part of the Right to Life under Article 21. This 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.

Q.9. What is company?

A company is a form of business set up by people or by the government. Those that are promoted and owned by individuals or groups are called private companies. For example, Tata Steel is a private company whereas Indian Oil is a company run by the government.

Q.10. Do you think that lack of access to proper sanitation facilities affects peoples’ lives? How?

Yes, lack of access to proper sanitation facilities indeed affects the lives of the people adversely. Lack of such facilities leads to Cholera, typhoid and also respiratory and skin problems. Lack of proper sanitation facility can also leads to death of adults and infants.

Q.11. Do you think the distribution of public facilities in our country is adequate and fair? Give an example of your own to explain.

Distribution of public facilities in our country is not adequate and fair. Compared to the metros and large cities, towns and villages are under-provided. Compared to wealthy localities, the poorer localities are under-serviced.

Q.12. Why are most of the private hospitals and private schools located in major cities and not in towns or rural areas?

The private hospitals and private schools are opened with the sole motive of earning profit. They charge high amount of money from their customers. The hefty amount of money; charged by such hospitals and schools; can only be affordable for people in major cities. Thus, most of the private hospitals and private schools located in major cities and not in towns or rural areas.

Q.13. Do you think water in Chennai is available and affordable by all? Discuss.

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 water more regularly than others. Those areas that are close to the storage points get more water whereas colonies further away receive less water. 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 borewells, buying water from tankers and using bottled water for drinking. Apart from the availability of water, access to ‘safe’ drinking water is also available to some and this depends on what one can afford.

Q.14. How is the sale of water by farmers to water dealers in Chennai affecting the local people? Do you think local people can object to such exploitation of ground water? Can the government do anything in this regard?

The shortage of water has opened up opportunities for private companies in a big way. Many private companies are providing water to cities by buying it from places around the city. In Chennai, water is taken from nearby towns like Mamandur, Palur, Karungizhi and from villages to the north of the city using a fleet of over 13,000 water tankers. Every month the water dealers pay farmers an advance for the rights to exploit water sources on their land. This is water taken away not just from agriculture but also from the drinking water supplies of the villagers. Ground water levels have dropped drastically in all these towns and villages as a result. Hence, the local people can object to this trade of water.
Yes, it is the government who can sort out this problem. The government needs to help the people of the city by providing them adequate water.

Q.15. What are the characteristics of Public Facilities?
OR
What is the importance of public facilities?

The important characteristic of a public facility is that once it is provided, its benefits can be shared by many people. For instance, a school in the village will enable many children to get educated. Similarly, the supply of electricity to an area can be useful for many people: farmers can run pump sets to irrigate their fields, people can open small workshops that run on electricity, students will find it easier to study and most people in the village will benefit in some way or the other.