Social Science [5 marks Questions]

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.

The local bodies of the cities having large population are called Municipal Corporation. The area of the work of the corporation is wider. The number of elected representatives varies in between 50 to 100. The day to day work is looked after by various committees.

Times have changed now and so have the people and rules, according to the necessities of the people and time. Even the municipal corporation feels that it cannot meet all the expectations of the people. The water and power needs of the people have also gone up. The Commissioners of many municipalities, throughout the country, now hire private contractors to get the garbage collected and processed. The nature of this kind of hiring of private contractors is called sub-contracting. Since the workload has increased it has become necessary to hire the services of private companies. The workers employed by them are either on daily wages or are on lesser payment.

Collector or District Commissioner: He is the highest officer of the district. His main function is to maintain peace, law and order in the district.
District Civil Surgeon or Chief Medical Officer: He supervises all the hospitals and dispensaries of the district. Doctors, compounders and nurses assist the CMO in his work.
District Education Officer: He inspects schools and looks after the education department.
The Executive Engineer: The maintenance of government building and major highways are under public works department. The executive engineer is the head of the department.

The committee or group of ward councillors decides what tasks are to be done:

1. Bus stand to be improved.
2. Crowded market places to be cleaned.
3. Drain cutting across the city to be cleaned.
4. Water supply.
5. Electricity.
6. Garbage collection.
7. Electric wires (dangerous) to be replaced. –
8. Street lighting.

Recycling of waste material is to make the waste material reusable. The following photo gives several examples of recycling.

Recycling is not a new thing. People like the man in the photo above have been recycling paper, metal, glass and plastic for a long time. The kabadi wallah plays a major role in recycling household plastic and paper, including your notebooks.

The chief executive officer in a municipal corporation is also known as the municipal commissioner. The state government appoints this person. The executive officer acts as a link between the state government and Municipal Corporation. Various officers in charge of departments like those in charge of health, education, engineering and sanitation help him or her in this work. The municipal commissioner co- ordinates their work and has the power to appoint lower level employees. He/she is the head of the executive branch of the municipal corporation. The municipal commissioner has all the executive powers. The day- to- day work of the municipal corporations is carried out with the help of a number of committees.

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.

Provision for services provided by Municipality requires money. It gets its funds from the following sources:

1. Taxes on property, shops and offices.
2. Water and electricity tax.
3. Scavenging tax for cleaning of streets and drains.
4. Octroi or Terminal tax.
5. License fee from commercial establishments.
6. Vehicle tax on motorised vehicles.
7. Fees for issuing birth and death certificates.

Features of a city:

1. Crowded markets.
2. Many buses and cars.
3. Water facilities.
4. Electricity facilities.
5. Hospitals.

The functions of a municipality and municipal corporation are as follows:

1. To make provision for collection and disposal of garbage.
2. To build hospitals and dispensaries and launch immunisation programmes.
3. To build public toilets and urinals.
4. To provide fresh and clean drinking water and electricity.
5. To ensure adequate lighting of streets.
6. To build schools, public libraries and museums.

The ward councillors perform the following tasks:

1. All the ward councillors meet and make the budget.
2. They spend money as per the budget provisions.
3. Ward councillors put the demands of their ward before the entire council.
4. They take decisions.
5. They get the works implemented.

The functions of the Municipal Corporations are as under :
1. Urban planning including town planning.
2. Regulation of land-use and construction of buildings.
3. Planning for economic and social development.
4. Roads and bridges.
5. Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes.
6. Public health, sanitation conservancy and solid waste management.
7. Fire services.
8. Urban forestry, protection of the environment and promotion of ecological aspects.
9. Safeguarding the interests of weaker sections of society, including handicapped and mentally retarded people.
10. Slum improvement and up-gradation.
11. Urban poverty alleviation.
12. Provision of urban amenities and facilities such as parks, gardens, playgrounds.
13. Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects.
14. Burials and burial grounds; cremations and cremation grounds.
15. Vital statistics including registration of births and deaths.
16. Public amenities including street lighting, parking, bus stops and public conveniences.
17. Regulation of slaughterhouses.

(i) The second photograph shows people pushing a trolley full of garbage is segregated is a Safefui way of disposing of garbage.
(ii) The dangers of collecting garbage in the manner shown in the first photograph are:
1. People are standing on the garbage heap and work with bare hands, they are exposed to all kinds of infections.
2. The stay cows and other animals are trying to find food and they also pollute the land.
3. The garbage is not segregated into degradable and non-degradable.
4. Pieces of broken glass can pierce the hands of the workers and there is a possibility HIV germs may enter the bodies.
5. The whole area is a filthy and polluted area which is a breeding ground for germs of all kinds of diseases.
(iii) The proper way of disposing of garbage are not available to those who work in the municipalities because:
1. Municipal Corporation does not provide gumboots and gloves to the workers.
2. The Corporation does not have garbage trucks that can automatically lift the garbage.
3. The Corporation does not provide enough landfills where the garbage can/be dumped.
4. The people are expected to segregate the degradable and non-degradable garbage, which is not done by them.