Class 6 Civics Chapter 6 Practice Question Answers - Urban Administration

Q1: Define the term 'Octroi'.
Ans: The duty levied on goods brought into the town is called an Octroi.

Q2: Who is a Mayor?
Ans: The presiding officer or Chairman of a Municipal Corporation is called a Mayor.

Q3: What is Grant in Aid?
Ans: A Grant in Aid is the aid given to the local bodies by the government for meeting their expenditure.

Q4: Who is a district collector?
Ans: A district collector is the highest officer of a district. He is in charge of maintaining law and order in the district.

Q5: Who looks into the elections of the Municipalities?
Ans: 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.

Q6: In what way is the Municipal Chairman elected?
Ans: In some State the Municipal Chairman is elected by the elected members of the municipality. In some States, he is directly elected by the people. The Municipal Council comprising of 36 ward councillors is headed by a Chairman.

Q7: Why it is important to clean roads and garbage?
Ans: Garbage and dirt lying over roads and streets, if remains uncollected attracts flies, rats, dogs that will harm the people. People get ill from the smell. After a point movement of people and playing of children gets stopped due to the fear of illness. In order to save us from diseases, regular cleaning is required.

Q8: What was the reason for the spread of plague in Surat?
Ans: The main reason for the epidemic Plague in Surat was the unhealthy sewerage conditions and the inefficient health infrastructure.

Q9: Discuss the impact of 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.

Q10: Why Urban Administration is important?
Ans: Urban administration is important as it provide the basic amenities like street lights, garbage collection, water supply, keeping the streets and the markets clean, collecting of house tax and water taxes, etc. They are responsible for cleaning of city drainage system, maintenance of parks, and market. It had made possible for regulating the urban development and local management of civic facilities.

Q11: Briefly explain the different types of urban local bodies.
Ans: Urban government bodies consist of Municipal Corporation and Municipalities. Municipal Corporations are found in the larger cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai and other places. Municipalities exists in smaller towns and cities.

Q12: Where was the First Municipal Corporation of India established?
Ans: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (formerly Calcutta Municipal Corporation) is the first Municipal Corporation of India. It was established by the British Government in the year 1690 in order to establish local trade, which was favorable in many villages. It became more effective and efficient with the passage of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation act of 1980, which stated the functions of the municipality department.

Q13: What is meant by the devolution to urban local bodies?
Ans: Devolution is the transfer of responsibility and accountability from the higher levels of governments (central and state) to the local governments. It involves de jure as well as de facto transfer of responsibilities to the municipal governments along with the transfer of adequate funds to enable municipalities to carry out their functions in a fair and proper manner.

Q14: Discuss briefly the composition of the Ward Committee.
Ans: The Ward Committee is a committee that includes the councillor and the a few residents of that ward. It is designed so to be representative of the people residing in that ward. The ward councillors are elected by the people.

Q15: 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.

Q16: Critically evaluate the role of the Ward Councillors.
Ans:

• A ward councillor is directly elected to represent and serve the people in a specific ward.
• The ward councillor should make sure that the interests of the people in the ward are represented in a proper manner.
• The ward councillor remains in touch with the key issues in their area, understand the crucial problems and monitor its development.
• The ward councillor 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 deal with these in a suitable way.

Q17: 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 a specified jobs within the municipal administration, and are like any other employee in a job.
• Officials possess the knowledge and skills on the technical and specialized aspects of municipal affairs. Councillors 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 in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

Q18: How does Municipality or Municipal Corporation get its money?
Ans: For providing and running 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 wider population pays more general taxes.

Q19: Write a short note on 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.

Q20: Explain the relation between the local bodies and the state government.
Ans: The local bodies cannot work without the permission of the state government. The state government keeps a strict watch on the financial grants that are given to the local bodies. It should get the permission of the state in levying any new tax, in getting public loan that can be taken only with the permission of the state government. A state government can dissolve any Municipality or Municipal Corporation if it is not satisfied with its performance. The main function of the local bodies and the state government is to promote the welfare of the people.