Civics - Class 7
Social and Political Life II
Chapter 3: How the State Government Works
Intext Questions:
Question 1 :What is happening in Patalpuram?
Answer:People are facing acute water shortages. Due to unclean water, Diarrhoea has spread. Children are the worst affected.
Question 2 :Why is this problem serious?
Answer:This problem is serious as numerous people are dying daily due to diarrhoea.
Question 3 : What action do you think can be taken in the above situation and who do you think should take this action? Discuss.
Answer:
- Health services should be improved immediately.
- The Health Department should provide mobile health services to the people at once.
- Proper sanitation drive can be carried out.
- Clean drinking water should be made available.
Question 4 : Discuss the following terms with your
teacher —
The public meeting, States in India, constituency, majority, the ruling party, and
opposition.
Answer:
Public meeting: Meeting of the general public/people about current problems.
States in India: Geographical boundaries divided mostly based on language. Every state draws its power from constitution itself with amending power vested in parliament.
Constituency: Area represented by MLA or MP.
Majority: Representatives having more than 50% of members (MLAs or MPs).
Ruling Party: Party or parties which rule the state or the country (with more than 50%) of the total strength of the house.
Opposition: Parties with less than 50% majority.
Question 5 :Can you explain the following terms— a majority, the ruling party, opposition with reference to your state?
Answer:
State: Delhi
Majority: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has a majority in the Delhi Assembly with 67 MLAs out of a total of 70 MLAs.
Ruling Party: AAP.
Opposition: Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress, B.S.P., Janata Dal (S), and some independent MLAs.
Question 6 :Construct a table, similar to the one given for Himachal Pradesh, for your state.
Answer:
Results of Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2017
| Political party | Number of Mla elected |
|---|---|
| Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) | ----------306 |
| Smajwadi Party (SP) | ----------49 |
| Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) | ----------18 |
| Indian National Congress (INC) | ----------7 |
| Others | ----------23 |
| Total | ----------403 |
Question 7 :At times, the ruling party may not be a single party but a group of parties working together. This is called a coalition. Discuss with your teacher.
Answer:When no party gets a clear majority,
few parties come together and elect their leader.
They go to the Governor and inform him about the leader. The Governor appoints him as
C.M.
The Governor gives the leader and his council of ministers an oath of secrecy and
allegiance to the constitution.
The coalition parties prepare a common minimum program (CMP) and work to implement the
program during the tenure of the coalition.
Question 8 :Can you identify the MLAs of the ruling party and the opposition in the illustration? Color the ruling party in one colour and the opposition in another.
Answer:
Ruling party: Pink in colour
Opposition party: Yellow in colour
Question 9 :What were the main arguments put forward by different MLAs who thought that the government was not taking the situation in a serious manner?
Answer:
Main Issues:
Spread of an epidemic.
Shortage of drinking water.
Bad/Poor condition of hospitals.
The dearth of doctors.
Question 10 :If you were the health minister, how would you respond to the above discussion?
Answer:I would have started the mobile health care vans with the necessary equipment and doctors immediately.
Question 11 : Do you think the above debate would have been useful in some ways? How? Discuss.
Answer:Yes, because it has brought the issues to the front and get solved in minimum time.
Question 12 :In the working of the government, explain the difference between being an MLA and an MLA who is also a minister.
Answer:An MLA highlights the burning issues
and can suggest some solutions.
Minister takes the decision and implements it.
Question 13 : Write two measures that the government undertook for controlling diarrhea.
Answer:Removal of garbage.
Arrangement of drinking water through tanker trucks.
Question 14 :What is the purpose of a press conference? How does the press conference help you get information on what the government is doing?
Answer:To highlight the steps taken by the
government.
The press conference is broadcast or telecast.
It is also printed in newspapers for the common people. So it can give information to
common people at one go
Question 15 : Find out with the help of your teacher, the work done by the government departments mentioned above, and fill in the table.
| Name of the department | Example of their work |
| School Education | |
| Public Works Department | |
| Agriculture |
Answer:
| Name of the department | Example of their work |
| School Education |
|
| Public Works Department |
|
| Agriculture |
|
Exercises:
Question 1 : Use the terms 'constituency' and 'represent' to explain who an MLA is and how is the person elected?
Answer:MLA is the member of the legislative assembly who represent people and also form the government.
- Each state has a legislative assembly.
- Each state is divided into different areas or constituencies.
- From each constituency, the people elect one representative who then becomes a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).
- MLA is elected by the people, who participate in elections by voting.
Question 2 :How did some MLAs become Ministers? Explain.
Answer:
- After the elections, a political party whose MLAs have won more than half the number of constituencies in a state becomes the ruling party.
- The MLAs belonging to the ruling party will elect their leader who will become the chief minister.
- The chief minister then selects other people as ministers.
- The Governor of the state then appoints the chief minister and other ministers.
Question 3 :Why should decisions taken by the Chief Minister and other ministers be debated in the Legislative Assembly?
Answer:
- In a democratic government, participant is important from each and every section.
- Thus, whatever decisions are being taken have to be approved by the members of the legislative assembly.
- These members then ask questions, debate an important issue, decide where money should be spent, etc.
- After that, they have the main authority to finalize the decision.
Question 4 :What was the problem in Patalpuram? What
discussion/action was taken by the following?
Fill in the table.
| Public meeting |
|---|
| Legislative Assembly |
| Press conference |
| Cheif Minister |
Answer:Main problem in Patalpuram:
- Lack of proper sanitation and hygiene.
- Scarcity of clean drinking water.
- Not proper medical facilities.
- Spread of diarrhoea.
Discussion/action was taken by the following:
Public meeting: Demand for the improvement of the healthcare and sanitation facilities from the officials.
Legislative Assembly: intend to supply drinking water to every village through tanker trucks and also explained the steps the government had taken for collection of garbage.
Press conference: Organised by the health minister. Newspapers and the media widely discussed the issue and the government has to respond by holding press conference.
Chief Minister: Visited Patalpuram district. They went to visit the families who had lost their relatives and also visited people in the hospitals. Promised funds for the works and also planned to start a campaign to inform people.
Question 5 :What is the difference between the work that MLAs do in the Assembly and the work done by government departments?
Answer:
- Act of making laws on certain issues is done by MLAs in the Legislative Assembly of each state while the implementation of these laws is done by various government departments.
- Whatever work is done by these government departments has to be approved by the members of the legislative assembly or MLAs.