NCERT Solution For Class 8 Civics, Chapter 9 – Public Facilities

NCERT Solutions is known as an extremely helpful resource for preparing for the exam. Takshila Learning provides its learners with access to a wealth of NCERT problems and their solutions. CBSE Class 8 Social Science Civics NCERT Solutions are built by subject matter experts, so be sure to train learners for a good grade. The questions set out in the NCERT Books are prepared in compliance with the requirements of the CBSE.

NCERT Solution For Class 8 Political Science, Chapter 9 – Public Facilities provides us with all-inclusive information on all concepts. As students would have to learn the basics about the subject in class 8, this curriculum for class 8 is comprehensive study material, which explains the concepts in a great way.

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

Answer: Water is a basic requirement. Therefore, universal use of safe drinking water is essential for a standard quality of life. It needs to be provided to everyone – either free or at affordable rates. But, as private companies work towards the unique goal of maximizing profits, the price of water has increased drastically in cases where responsibility for water supply was entrusted to private companies. This made the water useless for many people. Massive protests followed riots at various places in the cities. This forced the government to withdraw service from private hands. Therefore, only a few cases of private water supply exist in the world.

2. Do you think water in Chennai is available to and affordable by all? Discuss.

Answer: Water is not equally available to all citizens in Chennai. The water in Chennai is supplied by the municipality, which fails to meet 100% of the demand. Some areas have a regular water supply, while many areas have an irregular water supply. Middle class and upper class people buy packaged water or water from tankers. The lack of water supply mostly falls on the poor, as they cannot afford tanker or packaged water. Those who live close to storage points get more water, while colonies further receive less supplies.

3. 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 groundwater? Can the government do anything in this regard?

Answer: Due to water scarcity, private companies have got an opportunity and are buying water from places around the city and selling water to cities. In Chennai, water is drawn from nearby towns, Karungizi Palur and Mamandur villages, north of the city, using a fleet of over 13,000 water tankers. Every month, water dealers pay farmers in advance for the rights to exploit the sources of water on their land. In this way, the water that is extracted is not only creating losses for agricultural purpose, but also increasing the lack of drinking water supply in the villagers. As a result, groundwater levels in all these towns and villages have fallen drastically.

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

Answer Most private schools and hospitals are located in cities rather than towns or villages. Because their only motive is maximum profit, the services they provide are expensive and affordable only by the affluent residents in the city.

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

Answer While there is no doubt that public facilities should be available to all, in fact, we see that there is a huge shortage of such facilities. The distribution of public facilities in our country is neither adequate nor appropriate. For example, Delhiites take advantage of all public facilities such as health care and sanitation, water, electricity, schools, colleges and public transport. But if we go a few kilometers away like Mathura or Aligarh, then people have to face serious crises for these facilities. Water scarcity and power outages are part of the normal routine of life in those places. Public transport is also not well developed. Compared to metros and under larger cities, towns and villages are provided. Poor areas tend to be under-served compared to wealthier areas. Handing these facilities over to private companies is no answer. The important fact is that every citizen of the country has the right to these facilities, which should be provided equally to all.

6. Take some of the public facilities in your area, such as water, electricity, etc. Is there scope to improve these? What in your opinion should be done? Complete the table.

Answer

7. Are the above public facilities shared equally by all the people in your area? Elaborate.

Answer None of the above facilities are shared equally across regions. Water supply is not shared equally by all people. Slum dwellers have to manage with a single water tap, where each house in the middle-class area has a separate connection for water. When the people of middle class households buy water from tankers to meet their needs, the people living in slums cannot afford it. However, other facilities like electricity, road and public transport are shared equally by all.

9. Private educational institutions – schools, colleges, universities, technical and vocational training institutes are coming up in our country in a big way. On the other hand, educational institutes run by the government are becoming relatively less important. What do you think would be the impact of this? Discuss.

Answer Education is a basic need and there should be universal access to education. But, as the main objective of private educational institutions is making profits, they charge high fees which are affordable only by the affluent section of the society. Thus, the right to quality education is only available to the rich class. Similarly, if the government educational institutions are not up to the mark, the weaker sections are again deprived of quality education. As a result, inequality of quality education arises between rich and poor people.