Solutions for NCERT Class 7 Civics Social and Political life ll Chapter 3 How the State Government Works

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Find Answers to NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Civics Chapter 3 – How the State Government Works, here.

1. Use the terms ‘constituency’ and ‘represent’ to explain who an MLA is and how the person is elected.
Answer:
Every state in India has a Legislative assembly. Each state is divided into a number of constituencies(areas) based on its population. From each constituency people elect one member to represent them and their interests at the Legislative Assembly of the State. These representatives are called MLAs or Members of the Legislative Assembly and are elected through a general election.
In a constituency several candidates belonging to different political parties contest for the post of MLA. The candidate who secures the maximum number of votes is elected as MLA for that particular constituency.

2. How do some MLAs become Ministers? Explain.
Answer: 
The political party whose MLAs win more than half the constituencies in a state is called the ruling party and forms the government. MLAs of the ruling party elect their leader who becomes the Chief minister of the state. The Chief Minister then selects other ministers from the MLAs of his party and allots them portfolios such as law, health, education, etc. It is the Governor of the state who appoints the Chief Minister and other Ministers who are responsible for running various government departments or ministries.

3. Why should the decisions taken by the Chief Ministers and other ministers be debated in the Legislative Assembly?
Answer:
Decisions taken by the chief minister and other ministers should be debated in the Legislative Assembly to assess whether the decisions are in the best interest of the people, whether the cost of implementing them is reasonable, whether they infringe upon the rights of any community. The MLAs are collectively responsible for the work that the government does.

4. What was the problem in Patalpuram? What discussions/actions were taken by the following? Fill in the table.

Public meeting

Legislative Assembly

Press conference

Chief minister

Answer:

The problem in Patalpuram was an acute shortage of drinking water forcing people to drink polluted water. As a result, many children had fallen ill and had been admitted with acute diarrhoea to the District Hospital and ten people had already died.

Public meeting	People protested against the public health situation and demanded that the local MLA take responsibility for the situation.
Legislative Assembly	The need for clean drinking water, proper sanitation and adequate facilities at the district hospital were stressed by the MLAs who sought immediate remedial measures.
Press conference	The health minister explained the steps the government had taken for improving sanitation, healthcare and supply of drinking water to every village through tankers.
Chief Minister	The chief minister visited Patalpuram district, and announced compensation for the families of the affected, assured that action would be taken to provide regular water supply and sanitation facilities.

5. What is the difference between the work that MLAs do in the Assembly and the work done by government departments?
Answer:
The main difference between the work that the MLAs do in the assembly and the work done by government departments is as follows:

Work done by MLAs in the assembly	Work done by Government Departments
MLAs raise issues about problems faced by people in their constituencies. They also take decisions and make or amend laws. The work done by the government departments needs approval of the members of the Legislative Assembly.	Government Departments which are headed by Ministers who are MLAs implement the decisions taken and laws passed by the assembly.

Solutions for In–text questions of NCERT Class 7 Civics Social and Political life ll Chapter 3 How the State Government Works

Text Book Page no 25

1. What is happening in Patalpuram?
Answer:
The lack of safe drinking water and absence of sanitation facilities in Patalpuram have led to an outbreak of diarrhoea. Ten people were reported dead and the district hospital was overflowing with patients, many of whom were children with acute diarrhoea. The situation sparked a wave of public protests demanding immediate action by the MLA.

2. Why is this problem serious?
Answer:
The problem is serious because unless the problem is solved soon, the death toll will keep on rising and the government will have an epidemic to deal with. It will also lose the trust of the people.

3. What action do you think can be taken in the above situation and who do you think should take this action? Discuss.
Answer:
The following actions must be taken immediately:

• Safe drinking water must be supplied to the people living in the area.
• Immediate measures to be taken to improve sanitation facilities in the area. Waste disposal especially human excreta should be done scientifically so that the sources of drinking water are not contaminated.
• Wells, ponds, lakes and canals should be cleaned up
• Long term measures such as rain water harvesting and recycling of waste water should be taken up to lessen the pressure on ground water.
• Adequate supply pf Saline and ORS to be kept on hand.
• Mobile health units should be pressed into service to ease the pressure on the district hospitals and to ensure that all get treatment.

These steps should be undertaken by the district administration under the leadership of the District Collector along with the District Medical Officer and the Zilla Parishad committee on sanitation.

Textbook Page no 26

1. Discuss the following terms with your teacher – public meeting, States in India, constituency, majority, ruling party and opposition.
Answer:

Public meeting – Meeting of the general public to discuss current problems, to create awareness about certain issues. It can also be a means of obtaining feedback on proposed changes by the government.

States in India – India has been divided into 28 states or political units on the basis of region and language for ease of administration. Each state has a Chief minister governor appointed by the President of India and a legislative Assembly.

Constituency – Each State has been divided into different areas or constituencies based on its population. People living in a constituency elect one person to represent them in the legislative assembly.

Majority – More than half the total number constitutes majority. A political party whose MLAs won more than half the number of constituencies in a state is said to be in a majority.

Ruling party – The party that has the won majority of the seats is called the ruling party.

Opposition –  The elected representatives who do not belong to the ruling party are called the opposition.

2. Can you explain the following terms – majority, ruling party, opposition with reference to your state.
Answer:
My State is Delhi where there are 70 assembly seats altogether.

So, 36 seats are needed for a majority.

The Aam Admi Party won 62 seats, and the BJP won 8 seats.

Therefore, the AAM Admi Party got absolute majority and is the ruling party

The BJP is the Opposition.

Textbook page no 27

1. Construct a table, similar to the one given for Himachal Pradesh, for your state.
Answer:

Results of the Assembly Elections in Delhi in 2020
Political party	Number of MLAs elected
Aam Aadmi Party	62
Bhartiya Janata Party	8
Total	70

2. 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 single party obtains more than half of the total seats in a State Legislative Assembly, two parties may decide to join forces to muster up the required number and form the government. Such a government is called a coalition government.

Textbook page no 29

1. Can you identify the MLAs of the ruling party and the opposition in the illustration? Colour the ruling party in one colour and the opposition in another.
Answer:
This is an interesting activity to be carried with your classmates and the help of your teacher, have fun!

Textbook page no 30:

1. 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:
The main arguments put forward by different MLAs who thought the government was not taking the situation seriously were as follows:

• 15 people had already lost their lives in Akhandagaon due to diarrhoea in the last three weeks, but the government has failed to check a simple problem like diarrhoea while claiming to be a champion of technology.
• The government hospitals are in a bad situation. The government is not appointing Doctors and medical staff in the district.
• There is an acute shortage of drinking water in Tolpatti constituency. Women have to carry water from a distance of 3 or 4 kilometres. The government is not supplying water in tankers to ease the shortage. Ponds and wells have not been cleaned.

2. If you were the health minister, how would you respond to the above discussion?
Answer:
These are the steps that I would take to tackle the emergency:

• Discuss the situation with the District Magistrate, the Chief Health officer and the Chairman of the Zilla Parishad and ask for their suggestions on what would be the best course of action. I would advise them to form a team and work together for efficient use of available resources.
•  Sanction emergency funds to tackle the situation and ask for daily reports on the action taken to supply clean drinking water to the affected areas and improve sanitation.
• Pass an order deputing doctors from city hospitals to man the mobile healthcare units to be sent to the affected areas to tackle the epidemic.  
• Ensure that adequate medical supplies like medicine, ORS and saline are available for treatment.

3. Do you think the above debate would have been useful in some ways? How? Discuss.
Answer:
Yes, the debate was useful on the following counts:

• All the MLAs in the assembly were apprised of the alarming situation in Akhandagaon and Tolpatti which might affect neighbouring areas also unless precautions were taken to clean up the area and disinfect water sources. So, they can all be prepared to tackle the worst if needed.
• The Health Minister instructed all collectors and chief medical officers to take urgent measures to tackle the situation.
• The Chief Minister and the Health Minister and visited the families of the deceased in Patalpuram district and announced compensation for them. He also visited patients undergoing treatment in the hospital.
•  The Chief Minister said a high- level enquiry committee would be asked to look into the needs of the district to provide sanitation facilities.
• The Chief minister asked the minister for Public Works to take care of proper water supply in the region.

4. In the working of the government, explain the difference between being an MLA and an MLA who is also a minister
Answer:
An MLA and an MLA who is also a minister have different roles to play as discussed here below:

An MLA: It is the duty of the MLA to highlight the problems faced by people in his constituency in the Legislative Assembly and also to take part in the process of framing new laws. MLAs can raise questions in the assembly when an issue is being debated and give suggestions about what should be done by the government. An MLA is a part of the legislature.

An MLA who is also a Minister: Hehas a dual responsibility. Not only does he have to participate in the legislation, but he is also a part of the executive arm of the government. As a minister, he has an active role to play in the functioning of the government. Ministers have to formulate the policy of their respective departments and supervise the implementation of the decisions taken or laws passed by the legislative assembly as well.

Textbook page no 31:

1. Write two measures that the government undertook for controlling diarrhoea?
Answer:
Two measures taken by the government to control diarrhoea are:

• Distribution of drinking water to the people in affected areas through water tankers
• Distribution of ORS packets.

2. What is the purpose of a press conference? How does the press conference help you get information on what the government is doing?
Answer:
The purpose of a press conference is to apprise the media about the steps taken by the government to contain the situation.

A large number of journalists who attend the press conference report the details shared by the ministers in different newspapers and television channels, so the public can learn about the action taken by the government.

Textbook page no 33

Find out with the help of your teacher, the work done by the government departments mentioned above, and fill in the table.
Answer:

Name of Department	Examples of their work
School Education	Ensures free access to education for all across religions, gender, class, race and religion. to ensure and maintain quality education by recruiting trained teachers, encouraging quality teaching and learning. To further encourage computer education and Literacy To equip secondary and higher secondary schools with library and laboratory facilities To ensure enrolment at higher secondary level of all students who have passed secondary level of education.
Public Works Department	PWD is charged with planning, survey, design, construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, buildings throughout the state as well as having various responsibilities for emergency and relief activities.
Agriculture	Formulation and implementation of policies aimed at achieving rapid agricultural growth through optimum use of land, water, soil and plant resources. It helps out farmers for cultivation of crops. It provides licence for the seeds, fertilisers and insecticides It arranges for fertilisers and irrigation of crops. It builds canals and supplies electricity to farmers.

Textbook Page no 34

1. Do a similar wallpaper project about any issue connected with the working of your State Government like an education programme, any law-and-order issue, midday meal scheme, etc.
Answer:
Do it yourself in collaboration with your group members. First choose a topic. Then go through the last three months English, Hindi and any one other language newspapers looking for, pictures, reports and editorials on your chosen topic. Cut those out and arrange then on a big Chart paper with catchy captions. Then display it in class. (Hint choose a topic that has recently been the subject of controversy because it will be easy for you to find pictures and articles).

Extra Questions NCERT Class 7 Civics Social and Political life ll Chapter 3 How the State Government Works

A. Multiple Choice type Questions (MCQ)

1. One MLA is elected from each ________ .

(i) state

(ii) capital

(iii) contituency

(iv) None of the above

2. MLAs become members of ___________.

(i) Parliament

(ii) Cabinet

(iii) Minister

(iv) Legislative Assembly.

3. MLAs represent the ______.

(i) the states

(ii) the MPs

(iii) the people

(iv) all of the above

4. Where do the MLAs from the ruling party and the opposition meet to discuss important issues affecting the peopleof the state?

(i) the legislative assembly

(ii) the cabinet

(iii) the Parliament

(iv) None of the above

5. Who becomes Chief Minister?

(i) the leader of the oposition

(ii) the person selected by the governor

(iii) the leader of the majority party

(iv) None of the above

6. Who selects the other ministers?

(i) The governor

(ii) the chief minister

(iii) the MLAs

(v) None of the above

7. What is the party which obtains the most number of votes called?

(i) the minority

(ii)the majority

(iii) the ruling party

(iv) None of the above

8. What do you understand by the word minority?

(i) the party that does not secure majority votes

(ii) the opposition

(iii) Both (i) and (ii) above

(iv) None of the above

9. Who is the head of State?

 (i) the Chief minister

(ii) the governor

(iii) The senior most minister

(iv) None of the above

10. Who is responsible for the work of the government?

(i) The governor

(ii) the chief minister

(iii) all the MLAs collectively

(iv) None of the above

Answer:

1. (iii) contituency

2. (iv) Legislative Assembly.

3. (iii) the people

4.(i) the legislative assembly

5. (iii) the leader of the majority party

6. (ii) the chief minister

7. (iii) the ruling party

8. (iii) Both (i) and (ii) above

9. (ii) the governor

10. iii) all the MLAs collectively

B. Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the box to complete the following sentences:

divided	elect	Legislative Assembly	representative	areas
constituencies	state	half	member	majority

1. Every state in India has a ________________. Each State is _______ into different  ________or ________. From each constituency, the people ________ one ___________ who then becomes a __________ of the Legislative Assembly.

2. A political party whose members won more than __________the number of constituencies in a________ are said  to be in the ________.

Answer:

1. Every state in India 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.

2. A political party whose members won more than half the number of constituencies in a state are said to be in the majority.

C. Match the words in column A with those in column B

A	B
Head of the State	Chief Minister
Head of the government	Elected by the people of a constituency
MLA	Governor
Coalition government	Legislative Assembly of the State
Makes or amends laws	Government formed by two or more parties when no single party secures majority

Answer:

A	B
Head of the State	Governor
Head of the government	Chief Minister
MLA	Elected by the people of a constituency
Coalition government	Government formed by two or more parties when no single party secures majority
Makes or amends laws	Legislative Assembly of the State

D. State whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE:

1. The chief minister is a nominated member of Parliament.

2. Some MLAs have dual responsibities.

3. The Chief Minister selects other ministers from the MLAs of his/her party.

4. In a democracy it is the people who elect their representatives as Members of the legislative Assembly (MLAs), thus it is the people who have the main authority

5. The main function of press conferences is to criticise the working of the government.

Answer:

1. False – A candidate has to first contest for the post of MLA and win the election from a constituency in his/her state . Later the MLAs of the ruling party elect their leader who becomes the Chief Minister.

2. True

3. True

4. True

5. The main function of a press conference is to spread information and update the public about action taken by the government

E.  Very Short Answer type Questions:

1. Who is the the Head of State?

Answer:

The Governor who is apponted by the Central Government is the Head of State.

2. What is the role of the Governor?

Answer:

The role of the Governor is to ensure that the State Government works within the rules and regulations of the Constitution.

3.What are the responsibilities of the Chief minister and other ministers?

Answer:

The Chief Minister and other Ministers are responsible for running the government departments or ministries.

4. What is a Legislative Assembly?

Answer:

A Legislative Assembly is a place where all the MLAs from the ruling party and the opposition meet to discuss various things.

5. Who elects the Chief Minister?

Answer:

After the elections, the MLAs belonging to the ruling party elect their leader who goes on to become Chief Minister.

6. Who selects the other ministers?

Answer:

The Chief Ministerial candidate selects the other ministers from the MLAs of his party.

7. Who appoints theChief minister and the other ministers?

Answer:

The governor appoints the Chief minister and other Ministers.

8. What do you understand by the executive part of the government?

Answer:

The executive part of the governmentrefers to the various government departments and the various ministers who head them. The Chief Minister is the overall head.

9. Who is the executive head ?

Answer:

The Chief Minister is the executive head.

10. What is the legislature?

Answer:

All the MLAs who gather together in the legislative assembly are called the Legislature.

F. Short Answer Type Questions:

1.What is the purpose of a press conference?

Answer:

A press conference is a meeting held for the purpose of officially giving information to the media. The attending journalists can ask questions. A minister can call a press conference for informing the public about steps taken to solve a problem. The information is spread quickly as the news is reported in all newspapers and telecast on all channels.

2. What do you understand by the term  ‘opposition’ ? What is the role of the opposition?

Answer:

The parties which do not secure majority in an election are called the opposition. They cannot form the government but their MLAs are members of the Legislative Assembly and attend all the sessions.

The opposition’s main role is to question the government in the Legislative Assembly and hold them accountable to te public.

They are like watchdogs and ensure that the government does not take any steps that is detrimental to the interest of the people of the country.

 They should check the excesses of the ruling party but at the same time must support their beneficial actions.

3. What do you understand by the term ’MLA”? Do all MLAs have to belong to a political party?

Answer:

MLA stands for Member of the Legislative Assembly. MLAs are elected from a particular constituency which they represent. If the MLA belongs to the ruling party, he will form the government, if not, he will be a part of the opposition.

It is not obligatory to belong to a political party to become an MLA. In fact one can contest as an independent candidate.

1. What is the importance of debates in the legislative Assembly?

Answer:

The decisions taken by the chief Minister and other Ministers need to be debated in the legislative Assembly because the decisions have to be approved by the members of the Legislative Assembly. In a democracy, the MLAs can ask questions and seek details, debate an important issue, decide where the money should be spent, whether the particular issue is in the interest of the people, etc. They have the main authority because the MLAs are collectively responsible for the work of the government.

G. Long Answer Type Question:

1. Describe the process by which the government is formed in a state.

Answer:

The process of forming the government in a state begins after the elections are conducted. Each state has been divided for administrative convenience into a number of areas, known as constituencies, based on its population. People of each constituency elect one representative who becomes a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the state. The candidates who contest the elections belong to different political parties. A political party whose MLAs have won more than half the number of constituencies in a state is called the ruling party and all other members are called the opposition.

After the elections, the MLAs belonging to the ruling party elect their leader who goes on to become the Chief Minister. The chief minister then selects other ministers from his party. The governor of the State appoints the Chief Minister and the other ministers. The chief minister and other ministers have the responsibility of running various government departments or ministries.

Frequently asked Questions (FAQs) on NCERT Class 7 Civics Social and Political life II Chapter 3 ‘How the State Government Works’