PUBLIC FACILITIES What does this table show? The first column of the table shows that in Kerala, out of children born, died before completing one year of age but in Haryana the proportion of children dying within one year of birth was , which is nearly three times more than that of Kerala. On the other hand, the per capita income of Haryana is more than that of Kerala as shown in Table . .
Just think of how dear you are to your parents, think of how every one is so happy when a child is born. Now, try to think of parents whose children die before they even celebrate their first birthday. How painful it must be to these parents? Next, note the year to which this data pertains.
It is . So we are not talking of old times; it is years after independence when our metro cities are full of high rise buildings and shopping malls! How is it that the average person in Haryana has more income than the average person in Kerala but lags behind in these crucial areas? The reason is — money in your pocket cannot buy all the goods and services that you may need to live well.
So, income by itself is not a completely adequate indicator of material goods and services that citizens are able to use. For example, normally, your money cannot buy you a pollution- free environment or ensure that you get unadulterated medicines, unless you can afford to shift to a community that already has all these things. Money may also not be able to protect you from infectious diseases, unless the whole of your community takes preventive steps. The problem does not end with Infant Mortality Rate.
The last column of table . shows that about half of the children aged - in Bihar are not attending school beyond Class . This means that if you went to school in Bihar nearly half of your elementary class friends would be missing. Those who could have been in school are not there!
If this had happened to you, you would not be able to read what you are reading now. Actually for many of the important things in life the best way, also the cheapest way, is to provide these goods and services collectively. Just think – will it be cheaper to have collective security for the whole locality or for each house to have its own security staff? What if no one, other than you, in your village or locality is interested in studying?
Would you be able to study? Not unless your parents could afford to send you to some private school elsewhere. So you are actually able to study because many other children also want to study and because many people believe that the government should open schools and provide other facilities so that all children have a chance to study. Even now, in many areas, children, particularly girls, are not able to go to high school because the government/society has not provided adequate facilities.
Most babies require basic healthcare