Community participation
Topic: Measuring Development: Income, HDI and Sustainability · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 13 "The Value of Work"
Meaning
Community participation means citizens working together for a common goal. They may clean public places, plant trees or run a school committee. This creates shared benefits for the whole locality without anyone buying or selling. It also helps public facilities like schools and health centres work better, because people demand good service and keep an eye on it.
Example
In a village, residents set up a school committee to make sure teachers turn up and to encourage families to send their girls to school. No one is paid, but every child in the village benefits.
Don't confuse with
- Public facilities: These are services such as schools, health care, security and a clean environment, usually provided by the government collectively. Community participation is the effort citizens themselves put in, and it often makes those facilities work.