Answer: (b) Member of Legislative Assembly

Answer: (a) the people

Answer: (a) majority

Answer: (a) Leader of winning party

Answer: (c) Chief Minister

Answer: (d) Health Minister

Answer: (d) All of these

Answer:

Answer: water

Answer: Legislative Assembly

Answer: people

Answer: constituencies

Answer: True

Answer: False

Answer: True

Answer: True

Question 1.
What issues are being discussed by the characters in the story?
Answer:
The girls are reading the newspaper article about shortage of water and people falling sick. In many places in the state drinking water is not clean, streams and tanks have dried. At Patalpuram people especially children are suffering from acute diarrhoea.

Question 2.
Why were they stopped on their way back from school?
Answer:
They were stopped on their way due to road blockage. People with opposition party workers were angry and were protesting against the local MLA. People wanted the government to take action to improve water and health situation.

Who is an MLA?

Question 1.
Who is a MLA?
Answer:
MLA’s are elected by the people. They become the members of Legislative Assembly and form the government or opposition. Thus they represent the people.

Question 2.
How is MLA elected?
Answer:
Every state has a Legislative Assembly. Each state is divided into constituencies. For example Himachal Pradesh is divided into 68 constituencies.

From each constituency one representative is elected by the people who then becomes a MLA.
Candidates belong to different political parties or may be independent.

Question 3.
Which party is called the ruling party?
Answer:
Political party whose gets more than half of the seats of Legislative Assembly is the majority party. This party is called the ruling party and all other members are called opposition.

For example: In 2003 in Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, The Indian National Congress won 43 seats (required no. was 34) and became the ruling party. All the other MLAs became the opposition. Here BJP was the major opposition party having the largest number of MLAs after INC. There were independent MLAs as well.

Question 4.
How do MLAs become a minister or Chief Minister?
Answer:
The MLAs of the ruling party elect their leader who becomes the Chief Minister. For Example, Congress MLAs choose Sh.Virbhadra Singh as their leader.

The Chief Minister then selects other people as ministers. The Governor appoints the Chief Minister and other ministers.

Question 5.
What are the responsibilities of the chief minister and other ministers?
Answer:
They have the responsibility of running various government departments or ministries. They have separate offices though all the decisions are discussed in the Assembly.

In the Assembly all the MLAs discuss various things. Thus, some MLAs have dual responsibility: as a MLA and as a Minister.

A Debate in the Legislative Assembly

Question 1.
Why were Afreen and Sujata excited?
Answer:
Afreen, Sujata and other students were excited because they were travelling to the state capital to visit the Legislative Assembly. Assembly was housed in an impressive building.

After the security checks, children were taken upstairs to the visitor gallery. From there they saw the large hall with rows of desks for the MLAs.

Question 2.
How does Assembly work?
Answer:
Current issues are discussed in the Assembly and decisions are taken on various issues.
During this time MLAs can express their opinion and ask questions related to the issues. They may give suggestions about running of the government.

Those who wish can respond to the same. The concerned ministers replies to the questions and assure the assembly about the step taken by the government about a issue.

Question 3.
Who takes the decisions about running of the government?
Answer:
The chief minister and other ministers have to take the decisions about running the government. JjThese decisions have to be approved by the members of Assembly.

In democracy these members (MLAs) can ask questions, debate an issue or take decision about spending the money. They have the joint authority. We see or listen about these discussions from the newspapers or news channels.

Question 4.
Define: Government, Legislature, Executive.
Answer:
Government

• MLAs are together responsible for the work of the government.
• In common usage the word ‘government’ refers to government departments and various ministers who head them. The overall head is the Chief Minister.

Legislature

• All the MLAs who gather together (assemble) in the Legislative Assembly are called the legislature.
• They are the ones who authorise and supervise the work.

Executive

• The work of the Chief Minister, Ministers and MLAs is called the executive part of the government.

Notes: Examples of discussions in the Assembly

• MLA of Akhandagaon highlighting the deaths in his constituency due to diarrhoea. He is drawing the attention of health minister to take control of the situation.
• Another MLA raises questions on lack of doctors and medical staff and government steps
  in this direction.
• MLA from Tolpatti raises the issue to water supply. He wanted to know about the disinfecting process of wells and ponds.
• MLA from ruling party outlines the steps taken by the government to control the situation.
  He talks about water tankers and ORS packets being distributed.
• Another member brings the point of doctors on long leave or no medical staff for years in certain hospitals. He asks about the process of distributing ORS packets.
• Ruling party member blames the poor sanitation condition on the previous government. And informs about the sanitation drive in process.

Working of the Government

Question 1.
Where else work of government is discussed other than the legislature?
Answer:

• Besides Legislative Assembly there are other places {means) where opinions are expressed about the work of the government and action is demanded.
• The newspapers, T.V. channels and other organisations regularly talking about the government.
• In a democracy there are various ways through which people express their views and also take action.
• One such way is the Press Conference.
• Large numbers of people from different newspapers come to the Press Conference.
• The minister and some government officials explain the steps that the government has taken.
• There were many questions asked by news reporters at this meeting. These discussions were then reported in different newspapers.

Question 2.
What did the Chief Minister and the Minister for Health do in the next week of the Assembly Session?
Answer:

• During the next week the Chief Minister and the Minister for Health went to
  Patalpuram district to visit the families who had lost their relatives.
• They also visited people in the hospitals. They announced a compensation for these families.
• The Chief Minister thought the problem was not only one of sanitation but also one of a lack of clean drinking water.
• He announced a high-level enquiry committee to suggest ways to provide sanitation facilities. He also requested the Minister for Public Works to care for proper water supply in the region.

Question 3.
How does government in a state function?
Or
How do Chief Minister and cabinet work?
Answer:
Government in a state is headed by Chief Minister. He appoints ministers at various levels.

• These ministers head different departments like public works, agriculture, health etc.
• The bureaucracy is responsible for the functioning of the departments.
• The Chief Minister and cabinet is answerable to the people. They do so in the Assembly by answering the questions and through media by holding press conferences.
• Laws are made in the Legislative and the government departments implement these.

Question 4.
What else the government did to improve health situations?
Answer:
The government decided to make new laws for the state regarding sanitation and health facilities. Like, it made it compulsory for municipal corporations to ensure adequate toilet facilities in urban areas. Ensuring appointment of health worker in villages.

Question 5.
Who is responsible for making laws?
Answer:
The Assembly collectively makes laws. These are implemented by the government departments. Laws for the country are made in Parliament.

Question 6.
Who has the main authority in the democracy?
Answer:
Democracy is of the people, by the people and for the people.

• It is the people who elect their representatives. They can change them in the next election.
• It is people’s representatives in the assembly. So, people are the main authority.

Question 7.
What is the role of different parties in the legislature?
Answer:
The ruling party members form the government and some members are appointed as ministers. These ministers are in charge of various departments such as health.
The work done by these departments has to be approved by the Assembly.

A Wallpaper Project

Question 1.
What is a wall-paper project? Discuss its various aspects.
Answer:
A wall-paper project is research activity done on various topics.

• The class is divided into groups. Children work in pairs or individually.
• Discussion on topic is held.
• Children collect information and write their observations or experiences.
• This may be in form of photographs, poems, stories, case studies etc.
• Each group finalises the layout for the wall-paper and present it to the class.
• Each group is allotted same time. More than one member presents their group’s work.
• After presentation there is a feedback session on what more could have been done.