Class 6 Civics Chapter 6 Question Answers - Urban Administration

Short Questions

Q1: What is a city? Why some cities are called metropolitan cities?
Ans:  A city is a place where people from different regions and states live together. Population of a city varies from twenty thousands and 5 lakh.

Q2: Why do state governments give grants to the municipalities?
Ans:  The sources of income of the municipalities are very limited while the expenditure is more than the income. So, the State governments give grants to the municipalities.

Q3: Why are parks required in big cities?
Ans:  Parks are necessary in big cities because it provide a proper environment for our health. It helps to protect our localities from pollution and keep ourselves healthy.

Q4: All the cities don't have Municipal Corporations. Justify.
Ans: No, not all the cities have Municipal Corporations; big cities like Pune, have Municipal Corporation while smaller towns like Mainpuri, Sitapur, etc. have Municipal Council.

Q5: What was the reason for the spread of the plague in Surat?
Ans: The main reason for the epidemic Plague in Surat was the unhealthy sewerage conditions and the inefficient health infrastructure.

Q6: What are public amenities?
Ans: Public amenities are facilities or benefits continuously offered to the general public for their use or enjoyment, with or without charge. For example, the essential services like arrangement of drinking water, light, hospital, education etc.

Q7: Briefly explain the different types of urban local bodies.
Ans: Urban government bodies consist of Municipal Corporations and Municipalities. Municipal Corporations are found in larger cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, and other places. Municipalities exist in smaller towns and cities.

Q8: Who looks into the elections of the Municipalities?
Ans:  According to the Indian Constitution "the superintendence, direction, and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to the Municipalities shall be vested in the State Election Commission".

Q9: Define Plague.
Ans: Plague is a bacterial disease of rodents that can be spread to humans and other animals by infected fleas. Pneumonic plague is the most infectious form because it can spread from person to person in airborne droplets.

Q10: Explain the composition of the Ward Committee.
Ans:  The Ward Committee is a committee that includes the councilor and the a few residents of that ward. It is designed so to be representative of the people residing in that ward. The ward councilors are elected by the people.

Q11: Explain the features of the Municipal Corporation.
Ans:  The local bodies of the cities having large population are called Municipal Corporation. The area of the work of the corporation is wider. The number of elected representatives varies in between 50 to 100. The day to day work is looked after by various committees.

Q12: Discuss the impact of the Plague on Surat.
Ans: The epidemic has caused mass panic and alarm in the city, the state, and the whole country. Within days of the outbreak, about 300,000 people left Surat, and all work ceased. Many people even left other cities in the state even though there were no positive cases. Trains were not allowed to stop at Surat station. It has cost Surat a huge loss in terms of business.

Q13: Why Urban Administration is important?
Ans: Urban administration is necessary to provide basic amenities like street lights, garbage collection, water supply, keeping the streets and the markets clean, collecting house tax and water taxes, etc. They are responsible for the cleaning of the city drainage system, maintenance of parks, and market. It has made it possible for regulating the urban development and local management of civic facilities.

Q14: What is a Municipal Corporation?
Ans:  A Municipal Corporation is established in big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai etc., to solve the local problems of the people staying in these cities. Its main functions are sanitation, records of birth and death, the establishment of schools and libraries, establishment and maintenance of hospitals, water and electricity supply, etc.

Q15: Why it is important to clean roads and garbage?
Ans: Garbage and dirt lying over roads and streets, if remains uncollected attract flies, rats, dogs, etc. and this harms the people. People get ill from the smell. After a point movement of people and the playing of children gets stopped due to the fear of illness. So to save us from diseases, regular cleaning is required.

Long Questions

Q1: What lessons are learned from the plague epidemic in Surat?
Ans: The lessons learned from the plague epidemic in Surat are crucial for understanding how public health crises can be managed and prevented.

1. Sanitation and Hygiene:

• The epidemic underscored the importance of maintaining cleanliness in cities. Surat's poor sanitation conditions, including the accumulation of garbage and stagnant water, contributed to the outbreak.
• Lesson: Ensuring proper waste management and sanitation is vital in preventing the spread of diseases.

2. Public Health Preparedness:

• The outbreak revealed that the city's healthcare facilities were unprepared to handle such an emergency. The sudden spread of the plague overwhelmed the health services.
• Lesson: It is essential to have a well-prepared public health infrastructure that can respond quickly to emergencies.

3. Urban Planning:

• The rapid urbanization of Surat without proper planning led to overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, which played a significant role in the spread of the plague.
• Lesson: Proper urban planning that includes adequate infrastructure for sanitation, housing, and healthcare is necessary to prevent such outbreaks.

4. Community Awareness:

• The epidemic highlighted the need for public awareness about hygiene and cleanliness. Once the importance of sanitation was understood, efforts to clean the city became more effective.
• Lesson: Educating the community about hygiene and the importance of sanitation is critical in preventing and controlling diseases.

These lessons emphasize the importance of sanitation, urban planning, public health preparedness, and community involvement in preventing and managing public health crises like the plague epidemic in Surat.

Q2: How does the municipality take care of health facilities in a locality?
Ans: The Municipality and the Municipal Corporation help keep people healthy in a locality by doing several important things:

• Waste Disposal: They make sure that garbage and waste are properly collected and disposed of, which helps prevent diseases.
• Sewage System: They build and maintain sewage systems to carry away dirty water, keeping the environment clean.
• Disease Prevention: They work to protect people from epidemics and diseases like cholera and smallpox by taking necessary actions.
• Vaccination: They organize polio vaccination programs for children to protect them from this disease.
• Healthcare Facilities: They maintain dispensaries and hospitals where sick people can get treatment.
• Public Facilities: They also build public toilets and urinals to ensure cleanliness in the community.

These efforts help keep the locality clean and healthy, reducing the risk of illnesses.

Q3: What did Gangabai do and Why?
Ans:  Garbage was scattered around Gangabai's neighborhood, and the bad smell was making it hard for people to breathe. Gangabai noticed this and decided to take action. She, along with her neighbor, went to talk to the Ward Councillor about the problem. She explained the situation to him, and the Councillor promised to fix the issue right away. Gangabai also warned the Commissioner that if the problem wasn't resolved, many women from her area would protest against the Municipal Corporation. This shows how Gangabai took a stand to improve her community's living conditions.

Q4: Critically evaluate the role of the Ward Councillors.
Ans: A ward councilor is directly elected to represent and serve the people in a specific ward. The ward councilor should make sure that the interests of the people in the ward are represented properly. The ward councilor remains in touch with the key issues in their area, understand the crucial problems, and monitors its development. The ward councilor acts as a spokesperson for the people in the ward. They are the direct link between the council and the voters. People can also bring their problems to the ward councillor and he/she should suitably deal with these.

Q5: How does a Municipality or Municipal Corporation get its money?
Ans: To provide and run several services, the Municipality needs a lot of money. The Municipal Corporation collects it in diverse ways. A tax is a sum of money that people pay to the government for the services the government supplies. People who own homes have to pay a property tax as well as taxes for water and other services. The larger the house the more the tax, i.e. tax according to quantity. Property levies however form 25-30 percent of the total money that a Municipal Corporation earns. There are also taxes for education. Even taxes like entertainment tax on tickets etc. are also levied. Rich people account for property taxes while the wider population pays more general taxes.

Q6: Differentiate between the Councillors and the administrative officers.
Ans: Councillors are elected by the people and keep their positions only if they are re-elected. Officials are appointed on the merit basis by council management to specified jobs within the municipal administration and are like any other employee in a job. Officials possess the knowledge and skills in the technical and specialized aspects of municipal affairs. Councilors who don't have this knowledge have to rely on the reports of officials to help them make decisions. Both the Councillors and officials decide the policies and direction of the municipality. Once the council has reached a decision then officials are expected to carry these out most efficiently and cost-effectively.

Q7: Write a note on the municipality or municipal council.
Ans:  A municipality, also called a municipal committee or a municipal council, is a local self-government body in smaller towns and cities. It is elected for a term of five years and can also dissolve earlier if it fails to function according to the rules laid down by the state government. The municipal members have meetings at regular intervals. These members elect a chairperson who presides over the meetings. The administrative head of the municipality is called commissioner. Certain permanent officials such as an executive officer, secretary, health officer, sanitary inspectors, municipal engineers, junior engineers and education officers are appointed by the state government or the municipality.

Q8: List the functions of the chief executive officer in a municipal corporation.
Ans:  The chief executive officer in a municipal corporation is also known as the municipal commissioner. The state government appoints this person. The executive officer acts as a link between the state government and Municipal Corporation. Various officers in charge of departments like those in charge of health, education, engineering and sanitation help him or her in this work. The municipal commissioner co-ordinates their work and has the power to appoint lower level employees. He/she is the head of the executive branch of the municipal corporation. The municipal commissioner has all the executive powers. The day-to-day work of the municipal corporations is carried out with the help of a number of committees.

Q9: Explain the relation between the local bodies and the state government.
Ans:  The local bodies, like the Municipality or Municipal Corporation, need the state government's permission to do their work. The state government carefully monitors the money given to these local bodies. For example, if the local bodies want to collect a new tax or take a public loan, they must first get approval from the state government. If the state government is not happy with how a Municipality or Municipal Corporation is performing, it can even dissolve them. Both the local bodies and the state government work together to ensure the well-being of the people.

Q10: What are the functions of the Ward Committee?
Ans:  
The important functions of the Ward Committee are as follows:-

• Supervision of the overall municipal work.
• Water and sanitation requirements.
• Identification of slums and their upgradation.
• Public health - information dissemination.
• Environment protection.
• Supervision of public physical infrastructure like hospitals, schools, and roads.

Q11: State any five functions of the Municipalities.
Ans:  The five functions of the Municipalities are as follows:-

• Supply of adequate drinking water.
• Providing and maintaining drainage and sewage systems.
• Maintenance of public street lighting.
• Construction and maintenance of bus terminals, roads and bridges.
• Maintenance of birth and death records.