Grassroots Democracy – Part 3: Local Government in Urban Area – Case-based Questions with Answers
CBSE Class 6 — Social Science
Theme D — Governance and Democracy • Chapter 12: Grassroots Democracy — Local Government in Urban Area
Class 6
Subject: Social Science
Topic: Municipalities & Municipal Corporations
CBSE Board Exam Note: 20 Case-Based Questions with clear, NCERT-aligned answers for focused revision and exam practice.
Chapter 12
Local Government in Urban Areas — Municipalities & Corporations
Case-Based Questions (Topic-wise)
Case: A small town faces frequent water cuts and residents are unhappy.
Q1. Which municipal department should address this and what immediate steps can it take?
A1. The Water Supply department should act. Immediate steps: locate and repair leaks, schedule water delivery, inform residents about supply timings, and fix pumps. Longer-term: assess source capacity and upgrade pipelines.
Case: Waste piles up in a busy market area causing dirt and smell.
Q2. How should the municipality handle solid waste in this situation?
A2. Steps: increase frequency of collection, deploy cleaners and vehicles, set temporary bins, conduct cleaning drives, and plan segregation/recycling. Engage market associations and inform vendors about proper disposal.
Case: Citizens complain of potholes and broken streetlights in their ward.
Q3. Who is responsible and how can residents get this fixed quickly?
A3. Ward councillor and engineering/works department are responsible. Residents should report via ward office or online app, attend ward committee meetings, and request urgent repair. Councillor can prioritise funds for the repairs.
Case: A slum area lacks toilets and has sanitation problems.
Q4. What measures can the municipality take to improve sanitation in slums?
A4. Provide community toilets, ensure regular waste collection, run cleanliness and hygiene awareness programmes, improve drainage, and include slum areas in sanitation schemes. Partnering with NGOs for outreach helps.
Case: A new housing project needs permission to build; local residents fear congestion.
Q5. What is the role of town planning and building regulations here?
A5. Town planning evaluates land use and infrastructure capacity. Building regulations check safety and open space requirements. The municipality can approve with conditions (parking, green space) or refuse if it violates norms to prevent congestion.
Case: The municipal council proposes a new park but people want a market instead.
Q6. How should the municipality decide which project to pursue?
A6. Conduct Gram/ward-level consultations, hold public hearings, weigh benefits for community (health, economy), assess costs and long-term impact, and decide transparently with council approval and published plans.
Case: A city struggles to collect property tax and revenues are low.
Q7. What reforms can the municipality introduce to improve revenue collection?
A7. Update property records, simplify payment methods (online), run awareness campaigns, offer incentives for timely payment, enforce penalties for defaulters, and improve billing accuracy to reduce disputes.
Case: A neighbourhood experiences frequent water logging during heavy rains.
Q8. What infrastructure and planning steps can the municipal body take to reduce flooding?
A8. Improve drainage systems, desilt drains and stormwater drains regularly, create flood retention ponds, implement proper road gradients, and prevent construction over natural waterways through strict planning enforcement.
Case: A municipal hospital reports low turnout for immunisation drives.
Q9. How can the municipality increase public participation in health initiatives?
A9. Use awareness campaigns, door-to-door visits, coordinate with local NGOs, set convenient timings, provide incentives or supportive services (e.g., transport), and involve ward councillors to build trust.
Case: Citizens demand transparency about how municipal funds were spent on a road project.
Q10. How should the municipality respond to ensure accountability?
A10. Publish project details, budgets and receipts; hold a public meeting to explain expenditures; provide audit reports; and enable RTI requests and independent inspections if needed to improve trust.
Case: A local market is unlicensed and creates traffic problems.
Q11. What steps can the municipality take to regulate markets and ease traffic?
A11. Regularise market spaces with permits, re-organise stall locations, create designated loading zones, improve signage, enforce parking rules, and engage vendors in designing solutions to reduce traffic congestion.
Case: An old building collapses due to poor maintenance, causing casualties.
Q12. What are the municipal responsibilities before and after such an event?
A12. Before: enforce building safety inspections and issue maintenance notices. After: provide emergency services, clear debris, investigate causes, hold accountable parties responsible, and strengthen enforcement and rehabilitation efforts.
Case: A city wants to reduce air pollution from vehicles.
Q13. Suggest municipal policies to improve air quality.
A13. Promote public transport, improve bus services, create cycle lanes, encourage electric vehicles (EV) charging infrastructure, enforce emission standards, and run awareness campaigns on reducing vehicle use.
Case: Slum dwellers request legal water connections but lack proof of residence.
Q14. How can the municipality include them in basic services?
A14. Use flexible documentation policies, allow community verification, install communal taps with metering, run targeted schemes for informal settlements, and coordinate with NGOs to register residents for services.
Case: A city introduces a mobile app for reporting civic issues but few residents use it.
Q15. How can the municipality increase adoption of this digital tool?
A15. Promote via awareness campaigns, simplify the app UI, provide multilingual support, train ward volunteers, include offline reporting options, and publicise success stories where issues were resolved quickly through the app.
Case: An outbreak of dengue occurs in a locality with many open drains.
Q16. What integrated actions should the municipality take to control the outbreak?
A16. Immediate fogging and larva control, clean drains, community cleanliness drives, awareness on preventing stagnant water, involve health workers for testing and treatment, and monitor hotspots regularly.
Case: Residents want a playground but land is limited and contested.
Q17. How can the municipality find a balanced solution?
A17. Explore rooftop or pocket parks, convert underused plots, negotiate land swaps, consult community for priority, schedule multi-use spaces, and design compact but safe play areas to meet needs.
Case: A major festival will increase waste and crowding in the old city area.
Q18. How should municipal agencies plan for festival management?
A18. Plan temporary toilets, increase waste collection, deploy extra sanitation staff, arrange crowd management and traffic plans, coordinate with police, and run awareness drives on cleanliness during the festival.
Case: Young citizens request more bicycle lanes to commute to school safely.
Q19. What steps can the municipality take to implement safe cycling infrastructure?
A19. Conduct feasibility studies, mark protected cycle lanes, create school-zone speed limits, install signage and bike racks, run safety training, and pilot lanes on low-traffic streets before scaling up.
Case: A municipality wants to replicate a successful rainwater harvesting project from one ward across the city.
Q20. How can best practices be scaled up effectively?
A20. Document the project, hold inter-ward workshops, get technical guidance, budget for expansion, involve community groups and NGOs, and monitor performance to adapt the design for different areas.
These case-based questions and answers are NCERT-aligned and designed for CBSE Class 6 revision and classroom discussion. Use them to practise application-based understanding of urban local governance.