Essence of Social Rights: Public Facilities, Governance, and Financial Responsibility

December 1, 2023 667 0

Indian Polity

Public facilities are an intrinsic facet of fundamental rights, ensuring citizens’ access to essential services and opportunities for a dignified life. By guaranteeing access to such services, fundamental rights promote equality, social justice, and well-being social rights.

Meaning: Public facilities are services provided by the government to meet citizens’ essential needs, contributing to their overall quality of life satisfaction of social rights.
- These facilities include basic services like water supply, sanitation, healthcare, education, and transportation.
Dignified Lives: Their availability ensures that citizens can lead dignified lives, irrespective of their economic status.
Promote Inclusivity: Public facilities play a vital role in reducing social inequalities and promoting Social rights and inclusivity within a society.
Integral to Human Development: These services are integral to human development and the realization of individual potential.

Case study: Water and People of Chennai

Chennai faced a severe water crisis due to dwindling water sources, erratic rainfall, and inadequate management.
Residents encountered daily challenges like water scarcity, disruption of routines, and economic impacts on businesses.
The water crisis highlighted the vulnerability of urban areas to water scarcity and the need for sustainable water management.
Efforts to conserve water, explore alternative sources, and improve water infrastructure gained importance in Chennai.
The situation in Chennai serves as a case study for understanding the complexities of urban water management.

Access to Water as Part of a Fundamental Right to Life

Access to clean water is linked to the (fundamental) social right to life enshrined in the Indian Constitution.
The right to life includes the right to a decent standard of living, health, and access to basic necessities.
Clean water is essential for drinking, cooking, sanitation, and agriculture, impacting multiple dimensions of human life.
The Constitution recognizes the government’s responsibility to ensure citizens’ well-being through the provision of public facilities like water.
This right underscores the importance of equitable access to water for all citizens.

Access to Water as Part of a Fundamental Right to Life

The above case study shows how its mismanagement by the government can have serious repercussions:

Cater Citizens’ Needs: Governments have a significant role in providing and maintaining public facilities that cater to citizens’ diverse needs.
Equitable Access: They are responsible for planning, developing, and regulating infrastructure to ensure equitable access.
Resource Allocation: Governments must allocate resources, create policies, and build partnerships to efficiently deliver these services.
Social Cohesion: Public facilities enhance social cohesion, support economic activities, and contribute to the overall well-being of a nation and uphold social rights.
Responsible Leadership: Effective governance and responsible leadership are essential to ensure the successful provision of public facilities.

The Financial Blueprint: Government Funding for Public Facilities and Essential Services

Governments have a significant role in upholding social rights by providing and maintaining public facilities that cater to citizens’ diverse needs.
However, the Government needs appropriate resources for funding these public facilities.
Hence, it becomes imperative to study those resources.

Government Budget and Expenses:

The government presents an annual budget in Parliament detailing expenses from the past year and planned expenditures for the upcoming year.

Central Government Spends to Money on Rupee Goes To

Revenue Generation:

Tax Collection: Taxes collected from citizens are the primary revenue source for the government.
Tax Utilization: The government uses collected taxes to fund various programs and services.

Funding Essential Services:

Water Supply Example: Providing water involves expenses like pumping, distribution, treatment, and waste management.
Cost Recovery: Government covers expenses through taxes and charges citizens for water usage.
Affordable Access: Water price is set to ensure affordability for essential daily usage.

The government budget outlines expenses and revenue sources, with taxes being a significant income stream used to fund essential services such as water supply.

Tax Revenue of Central Government Rupee Come from

Case study: Taking water from farmers

The shortage of water has opened up opportunities for private companies in a big way. Many private companies are providing water to cities by buying it from places around the city. In Chennai, water is taken from nearby towns like Mamandur, Palur, Karungizhi and from villages to the north of the city using a fleet of over 13,000 water tankers. Every month the water dealers pay farmers an advance for the rights to exploit water sources on their land. This water is taken away not just from agriculture but also from the drinking water supplies of the villagers. Groundwater levels have dropped drastically in all these towns and villages as a result.

Taking water from farmers

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