8th Class Social Science Public Facilities Notes - Public Facilities

 

Public Facilities

 

 

'Public' refers to the people in general. So public facilities are services, institutions, etc. that are used by the people in general. For example-trains, buses, roads, power supply and water supply. In this chapter, we will discuss why it is necessary for the government to ensure that everyone has access to certain facilities and how this is done in our country.

 

PUBLIC FACILITIES AND THE ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT

 

When you need new clothes you go to a shop to buy them. When you want to watch a film or eat out, you go to a cinema hall or a restaurant. Shops, cinema halls, restaurants, some schools and hospitals, and so on, are privately owned. People run them because they can make a profit out of selling goods (food, clothes, etc.) or services (healthcare, education, etc.). But there are certain things that everyone needs, such as wells and drains, which no one wants to make or maintain because no profit can be made from them. This is one of the reasons why the government has to get involved in providing such facilities.

 

Another reason relates to the question of equity (equality) or social justice. Article 21 of the Constitution entitles everyone to the Right to Life. The Right to Life does not only mean the right not to have one's life taken away except according to the process of law. It also means the right to have the basic necessities of life. According to the Constitution and various decisions of the high courts and the Supreme Court, the Right to Life includes the right to a clean environment (that is, clean air and water), the right to food, the right to a livelihood, and so on. This is where the government comes in. It tries to provide the basic necessities of life, either free of cost or at a price that most people can afford. However, providing for such a vast population is a problem. So quite often, there are shortages and it is the poor who are the worst affected.

 

WATER SUPPLY

 

In urban areas, the responsibility of supplying water lies with the municipal authority. In most cases, however, the water supply department (of the municipality) is unable to meet the requirements of the people.

 

RIGHT TO WATER

                                

?      In a case related to the Narmada Bachao Andolan, the Supreme Court said: "Water is a part of the Right to Life...the right to a healthy environment is also a part of the Right to Life."

?      In April 2005, Santulan, an NGO, filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court on behalf of stone quarry workers at Wagholi in the district of Pune in Maharashtra. The high court upheld the workers' right to safe drinking water and directed the state government to complete a water supply scheme for the workers within four months.

 

Those who can afford it solve the problem of short supply by buying water from private companies or by digging bore-wells. Those who cannot, have to manase with far less than what is generally considered the minimum requirement of about seven buckets per person. Thus, people living in slums may have to manage with less than one bucket per person, while people living in well- to-do neighbourhoods may use more than forty or fifty buckets per person.

 

 

If this is the condition even with the government trying to provide water to meet the needs of the people, you can imagine what would happen if the supply of water were left in the hands of private companies. People often argue that privatisation would lead to greater efficiency, but it would also lead to greater inequalities. The price of water would become so high, that the poor would not be able to afford it. Thus the government must have the overall responsibility of water supply to keep the price at a level that is affordable for everyone. Also, the distribution of water must be equitable (fair).

 

The problem of water supply is far more acute in villages, where the sources of water are natural water bodies and (mostly) privately owned wells and tube-wells. What is more, these sources are often polluted due to the lack of sanitation. The lack of safe drinking water leads to diseases, such as dysentery and typhoid, which may lead to death.

 

Swajaldhara is a project launched by the government in 2002 to supply clean water to rural households. Here the government plays the role of facilitator (helper) rather than provider. It helps the community design, create and manage its drinking water resources. The community shares the cost by making contributions in cash or kind (things needed to dig a well, for example) and is responsible for maintenance. It also takes steps for the conservation of water, for example, recharging groundwater by not allowing rainwater to run off.

 

SANITATION

 

When we speak of sanitation, we usually mean a hygienic system of disposing of human excreta.

 

EQUITY AND WATER SUPPLY                          

 

?      The responsibility of water supply in Cochabamba (in Bolivia) was handed over to a private (multinational) company in 1999. This led to a hike in the price of water, which triggered widespread protests lasting almost a year. Finally, after a four-day general strike and clashes between the police and protesters, the government decided to hand over the job to community leaders and the price of water returned to the earlier level.

?      In January 2000, farmers near Jamnagar (Gujarat) staged a protest over the decision of the authorities to draw water from the Kankavati dam (used for agriculture) to supply the town of Jamnagar. Three farmers died in the clash between the police and protesters.

 

The problem of sanitation is even greater than that of safe drinking water. According to government figures, while 68% of households have access to drinking water, only 36% have access to sanitation. Here too, it is the poor in villages and towns who are the worst affected. The lack of toilets and a proper system of garbage and waste water disposal leads to the pollution of sources of water and water-borne diseases.

 

The Central Rural Sanitation Programme was launched by the government in 1986, with the aim of providing household and community toilets in rural areas. The idea was to improve the quality of life in villages and provide 'dignity and privacy' to women and girls, who are the worst affected by the lack of toilets. This programme was replaced by the Total Sanitation Campaign, in which the government again played the role of the facilitator. The community was encouraged to build sanitary and pom-flush toilets to meet its needs. Several NGOs partnered the government in providing safe drinking water and sanitation to the poorer sections. The Sulabh International is one such NGO that has been constructing community toilets and toilet complexes (with bathing and washing facilities) in urban areas.

 

In 2012, the Total Sanitation Campaign was renamed the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, which was then restructured into the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. The primary aim of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is to eliminate open defecation by motivating the people and constructing community and individual toilets. It also aims at creating awareness and encouraging people's participation in keeping towns and villages clean. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is the largest cleaniness drive in the country so far. It has attracted the participation of NGOs, corporate houses (business and industry), schools and colleges, celebrities and ordinary people. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have extended financial and technical support, and several business houses have undertaken to build community toilets.

 

Discuss

Bal panchayats are self-government bodies of rural children supported by UNICEF. These bodies are working in several states in areas such as drinking water supply, vaccination and sanitation. Do you think you could start such a body in your neighbourhood? What would you like your panchayat to work on?

 

OTHER FACILITIES

 

Heaithcare

Healthcare, education, transport and power supply are some of the other basic facilities that the government tries to provide for. In rural areas, healthcare is provided through primary health centres and community health centres. Community health centres have a laboratory, X-ray facility and beds for patients who need hospitalisation. A community health centre covers 80,000 to 120,000 people, which shows that a lot more needs to be done in the field of rural healthcare. In urban areas, there are district hospitals, medical college hospitals and other government hospitals.

 

Education

Elementary education was made a Fundamental Right for children in the age group of 6-14 years by an amendment to the Constitution in 2002. In 2001, the government launched the Sarua Shiksha Abhiyan to cover all children in this age group. Special attention is given to girls and children of weaker sections under this programme. The mid-day meal scheme, under which schoolchildren are provided one meal a day, was launched in 1995 to improve the nutritional status of children and encourage them to attend school. However, we are still far from achieving universal elementary education. Besides, many government schools lack basic facilities, such as drinking water and sanitation. They also have a shortage of teachers. Navodaya Vidyalayas are residential co-educational schools set up by the government to provide quality education to talented children from poor families, especially in rural areas. There is one such school in every district.

 

Q. Do you think we need more such schools?

 

Transport

Railways, roads and modes of public transport, such as buses, are maintained by the government (Central and state). There are problems of inequality and insufficiency here too. In towns and cities, people often complain about overcrowded buses and local trains, while many villages are not connected by roads, so there is no question of public transport. In many towns and cities, private buses are given permits (licences or permission) by the state or city transport authority, which regulates the fares to be charged. Taxi fares and auto-rickshaw fares are also fixed by the government.

 

Power

Generally speaking, the demand for power is much higher than the availability, so people face hours of power cuts even in urban areas. In rural areas, the situation is much worse. According to the 2011 Census, only 55.3% of rural households use electricity for lighting. Solar power (power generated from sunlight, using solar panels) and power generated from biogas are being explored as alternatives, especially to meet rural demand.

 

The distribution of power is mostly controlled by the government. In Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi, private power distribution companies have been allowed to function. 

 

The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, which has been passed by the Lok Sabha, aims to enhance the safety of road users and develop an efficient road transport system. Some of its important features are greater penalties for traffic rule violations, improvement of the licencing system, setting up of a fund to provide relief to road accident victims and holding vehicle manufacturers liable for faulty design. Two other developments that may help to reduce road accidents and save lives are directives from the Supreme Court. In 2016, the Supreme Court gave its approval to guidelines issued by the government to protect Good Samaritans who help accident victims. The Supreme Court's approval makes it legally binding for the police and other authorities not to harass such helpful people or force them to record a statement, give evidence in court, etc. The Supreme Court has also banned the selling of liquor along state and national highways to discourage people from drinking and driving.

 

Privatisation sometimes leads to an increase in tariffs (charges), but the government retains the right to control tariffs. In Delhi, for example, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission controls the rates charged by the private companies.

 

FUNDING OF PUBLIC FACILITIES

 

The annual budget contains an account of the expenses incurred by the government in the past year and an estimate of the expenses for the next year. A part of these expenses is related to the cost of providing public facilities. Money is needed, for example, to pump and treat water and to lay pipes to carry water. Similarly, money is needed to set up and run schools and health centres. The money for government expenditure comes from taxes. (The Finance Bill contains proposals for new taxes, increase in taxes and relaxation of previous taxes). A part of the money spent on public facilities also comes from the money people pay for using public facilities, for example, water and electricity.

 

SPECIAL TAX OR CESS

 

Sometimes the government charges a special tax or cess to meet the cost of a particular service or facility. The education cess, for example, is an extra tax that people pay to fund the government's expenditure on education. According to one estimate, the government collects Rs. 27,500 crore through the education cess. Another example is the Swachh Bharat cess of 0.5% on all services imposed by the government in November 2015. The money collected will be used for the Swachh Bharat Campaign. The difference between other taxes and a cess charged for a particular facility is that all the money that is collected through a special cess is supposed to be spent on providing that facility. A cess may also be charged to meet expenses on an unexpected emergency, for example, a cess had been charged to provide relief to the victims of the Gujarat earthquake in 2001.