Question 1 Why did the children go to Yasmin Khala’s house?
Answer They went to Rehana’s mother who told them that it is the Municipal Corporation of the city that takes care of replacing lights. She also told them that Yasmin Khala would be the best person because she has just retired from the Municipal Corporation. She advised the children to go to Yasmin Khala to get their problem solved.
Question 2 List four ways in which the work of the Municipal Corporation affects the life of a city-dweller.
Answer The ways in which the work of the Municipal Corporation affects the life of a city-dweller are disposal of garbage, supply of electricity, supply of drinking water, maintenance of drainage system and construction and maintenance of roads, streets and parks.
Question 3 Who is a Municipal Councillor?
Answer A Municipal Councillor is an elected member of committee of Municipal Corporation.
Question 4 What did Gangabai do and why?
Answer Gangabai collected a large number of women and went to the Municipal Commissioner along with ward councilors to protest against garbage dumps all over the street.She did that as there was garbage here and there all over the street and this was attracting mosquitoes, flies,dogs and rats in the locality.
Question 5 How does the Municipal Corporation earn the money to do its work?
Answer The Municipal Corporation undertakes all the public facilities and welfare works like sanitation, water, road, education, health, etc. As these works require funds, so it collects revenue from the residents living in its corporation area. It levies taxes on property, water, and other services. Taxes are fixed on the measurement and consumption of the services. Taxes are levied on education and other amenities like owning a hotel, entertainment.
Question 6 Discuss
In the two photographs you see different ways of collecting and disposing garbage.
(i) Which way do you think provides safety to the person disposing garbage?
(ii) What are the dangers of collecting garbage in the manner shown in the first photograph?
(iii) Why do you think that proper ways of disposing garbage are not available to those who work in municipalities?
Answer 6 (i) The way shown in photo 2 provides safety to the person disposing of garbage
(ii) People are so close to open garbage that they may fall sick or they may develop symptoms of some deadly disease in the long run. There may be pieces of broken glasses. While collecting garbage in this manner, their fingers may get injured. We see two stray cows around the garbage searching some eatables. These cows may attack these boys which may take their lives.
(iii) The proper ways of disposing of garbage are not available to those who work in municipalities because
(a) There is lack of funds.
(b) Careless behaviour of officials.
(c) The workers working in the municipalities are generally less aware of health and hygiene.
Question 7 Several poor people in the city work as domestic servants as well as work for the Corporation, keeping the city clean. Yet the slums in which they live are quite filthy. This is because these slums seldom have any water and sanitation facilities. The reason often given by the Municipal Corporation is that the land in which the poor have set up their homes does not belong to them and that slum-dwellers do not pay taxes. However people living in middle class neighbourhoods pay very little in taxes compared to the amount of money the corporation spends on them in setting up parks, street lighting facilities, regular garbage collection etc. Also as you read in this chapter, the property taxes collected by the Municipality makes up only 25-30 per cent of its money. Why do you think it is important that the Corporation should spend more money on slum localities? Why is it important that the Municipal Corporation provide the poor in the city with the same facilities that the rich get?
Answer I think it is important that the corporation should spend more money on slum localities because slum-dwellers are also a part of our society. They need education, sanitation, rehabilitation, and other facilities as the common people avail. They are also human beings. They lack even basic amenities of life which cause the spread of many diseases among them. They are the citizens of our country. So in order to achieve our constitutional ideals, the Municipal Corporation should provide the poor in the city with the same facilities that the rich get.
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