Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
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 make up only 25-30 percent 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?
Advertisements
Solution
The people living on the streets live in extremely unhygienic and filthy conditions. The Municipal Corporation is responsible for the welfare of all the people living in the city whether they live in posh localities or in slums. Slums are the breeding grounds of several diseases, and it is the municipal corporation’s job to keep the city clean and healthy. The presence of unequal living conditions is a factor that can add to the list of crimes taking place in the city. The Constitution of India talks about providing “equality of status and opportunity” to everyone. It also talks about providing “social, economic, and political justice” to each individual. Therefore, the problem of unequal living conditions has to be addressed. The Municipal Corporation should provide the poor in the city with the same facilities that the rich get. They should ensure that the poor do not experience any discrimination. The Municipal Corporation should spend more money on slum localities so as to provide the poor with the basic needs of proper food, clothing, and shelter. It can collect this money by various methods; for example, by increasing the amount of property taxes and by making use of its unused lands and building for the proper settlement of the people living in the slums.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Have you ever wondered who is responsible for running all this (civic amenities)?
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?
Look at the image below.
The Government of India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission on 2 October 2014 to promote cleanliness in both rural and urban areas all over the nation. Under the “Swachh Bharat, Swachh Vidyalaya” campaign, many activities are also being carried out in schools to generate awareness on sanitation and hygiene amongst students. Observe the ways in which “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” is being implemented by municipality/panchayat in your locality.
Prepare a poster and display it in your school.
Choose the correct option to complete the statement given below.
Which one is not the job of the Municipal Corporation?
Fill in the blank with appropriate word to complete the sentence:
Collecting garbage is quite a ________ job.
State whether the sentence is true (T) or false (F).
Larger houses have to pay less taxes.
State whether the sentence is true (T) or false (F).
The Commissioner and the administrative staff implement the decisions taken by the Councillor’s Committees and the councillors.
Very Short Answer Type Question:
Who was Yasmin Khala?
What is a tax?
Very Short Answer Type Question:
What types of taxes people have to pay?
