District Administration Since Independence

Answer : The collector, the additional deputy commissioner and the sub-divisional officers are important functionaries at the district level and division, sub-division level. Both in the regulatory and development functions they have a very important role to play. They are responsible for the revenue administration, police administration, district administration and as an agent of government.

The collector is basically a coordinator at the district level who represents the state government. He is responsible for all the regulatory and developmental activities in his district. He has to coordinate all the programmes whether of centre’s or state’s. The amount of workload on him is such that he has virtually no time for any innovation or initiative. He himself does not have any time left after discharging his duties.

As district is the basic unit in India for the developmental work all the programmes whether developmental or regulatory are implemented at this level. All the rural development programmes, now schemes for various sectors the programmes for weaker sections, the programmes of social and economic infrastructure, which runs in hundreds are implemented at the district level.

Along with this, the collector has to work on law and order situations, chief authority to inspect and control jails, decide on paroles and arms licenses, chief returning officer, revenue collection and issuing different kind of licenses to industries and other economic activities. Due to all these reasons his office is always flooded with the applications.

He also works as a grievance redressal officer who receives the complaints from citizens. He has to investigate the cases of corruption and misuse of power sometimes. It will be harsh to accuse him of not showing innovations and initiatives because after so much of work, is exhausted both mentally and physically and he has to work like a machine because his work is of routine nature. His office than becomes the office of mere attendance.

Political interference and pressure is another area constricting the work of collectors. His work is also frequently interrupted by the visiting dignitaries like ministers to the district. Protocol requires that the collector must receive and be available to have discussions with the visiting dignitaries. An analysis of the work of collectors in the former Bombay state indicates that collectors spends 54% of his time on correspondences, 26% on tours, and the remaining 20% on meeting the visitors, attending to protocol duties and attending meetings. It was also revealed that the collectors spend on an average 70 hrs. a week for official work. This means 10 hrs. every day including Sunday and holidays.

With this much burden of work it is not possible for him to work as an innovative officers. The deputy commissioner and the sub-divisional officers at divisional and sub divisional level do the some work as the collector at the district level So it is not possible for these two to work as initiative officers. They also have to do routine work. Because of which it is rightly said that these offices have become the offices of attendance only.

Answer : The District Collector who is incharge of district administration, is heavily over loaded with work and also has multifarious responsibilities. The multifarious activities performed by the collector make him almost indispensable but at the same time, also make him an overburdened functionary of the district.

Collector works as the head of revenue administration of the districts. The collector’s next function is magisterial in nature. In the capacity of a District Magistrate, he is responsible for the maintenance of law and order in his district. He also works as coordinator in the district. Several department acts at the district level, like public heath, public works, agriculture, irrigation, education and cooperation. All these are coordinated by the collector. He also works as crisis administrator in the district. Apart from all the above activities, his developmental activities which is being added year by year has led to overburdening of his official capacity of work. The developmental role of the collector is evidenced in his position as the ex-officio chairman of the District Rural Development Agency. There are various state and centre sponsored developmental programmes which are implemented under district collector.

Answer : District Administration since independence has acquired a new dimension. The Republic of India is pledged to the development of human and material resources with a view to eliminating poverty and wants of our teeming millions. These development programmes has to carried out with close cooperation with beneficiaries of the programme.

An important work done at the district level is the implementation of various development programmes in areas like agriculture, animal husbandry, dairying, small industry, cottage industry, handicrafts, rural development etc. Such developmental programmes are closely attached to grassroots people of the district and thus without making them the part of these development programmes, the target of such development programme cannot be achieved.

The development administration in district must devise innovative methods of involving people without flouting the cannons of legality, efficiency and economy. Joint committees of Panchayati Raj Institutions and administration, joint adressal of public meeting, strong and humane grievance redressal machinery can pave the way for ushering in a new era of development through democratic decentralization. Development programmes is positively oriented towards meeting the needs of the specific targets groups, like small and marginal farmers of landless agricultural labourers and rural artisans in India. Many target group centred or beneficiary-group oriented organizations have to be created so as to provide these under privileged sections the requisite goods and services Development programmes in district administration has to have people oriented administration which gives priority to the needs of its beneficiaries by preparing, reviewing and if necessary, changing the programmes, policies and activities aimed at the satisfaction of the needs of people in question. The administration in district is involved in the betterment of the lot of the deprived and the weak. Their upliftment becomes a part of the whole administration at District level.

Answer : After independence also, the District Officer is the highest and the key functionary of the state government at the district level.

As a collector, his duties and functions are-collection of revenue, relief operation, all matters relating to land records, land acquisition work, enforcement of stamp act, management of govt. estates.While performing all such activities in the district he gets opportunity to come close to residents of districts.

As a district officer, he exercises control over field offices through his visits to sub-divisions and tahsil headquarters. Frequent visits to the offices, review of the different programmes by the District bring him in contact with the field staff and gives him personal knowledge of local problems. He is the head of the rationing system in the district and expected to control black-marketing and ensure timely and equitable distribution of essential and controlled commodities. Thus, he is the chief agent and representative of a state, serve as a channel of communication between the government and the common man of districts.

He also acts as the ex-officio chairman of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), which gives him a development role. A large sector of the national plan reaches the people through the machinery of district administration. Moreover it is at the district level that the ideals, objectives and targets take the shape of projects, actions and impact.

National building and rural development have replaced land revenue collection and maintenance of law & order as the primary focus of the district administration. Within the framework of the national plan a blueprint of the district plan has to be drawn. In this process district officers, have to play a crucial role.

Further it is during a crisis that the effectiveness and credibility of the district system is put to test and it is during this period that the collector’s dormant energies are transformed into awakened and vibrant consciousness and his inner potentialities find myriad opportunities to express themselves to the full. During emergencies such as those caused by natural calamities, floods, famines cyclones etc., or man-made crises, it is he who holds an umbrella over the District and thus acts as agent of government.

Thus, the district officer as a chief agent and representative of a state serves as a channel of communication between the government and the residents of the districts.

Answer : The multifarious activities performed by the collector make him almost indispensable but, at the same time, also make him an overburdened functionary of the district. In the wake of functional proliferation, he has been provided with more staff. Yet, his duties are enormous. The office itself is undergoing a lot of strain due to factors some or other factor.District collector has to perform multi-dimension functions. As the head of the revenue administration of the district, his foremost task is the assessment and collection of land revenue. Agricultural loans are distributed by the collector and his staff, relief works have to be taken up on a very extensive scale in case of a famine, camps may have to be opened, seeds distributed, cattle and agricultural implements supplied, land revenue and rents remitted or suspended.

The collector’s next function is magisterial in nature. In the capacity of a District Magistrate, he is responsible for the maintenance of law and order in his district. His position, in this context assumes greater significance looking to the social, political and communal tensions that threaten the law and order situation so frequently.

He also has to function as the coordinator in the district. This is as the problem becomes serious in view of the facts that several departmental agencies, with their own bureaucratic and specialists hierarchies, have been made in charge of development activities. Thus here comes his role as a coordinator, as he is responsible for district planning and implementation. Also during a crisis the effectiveness and credibility of the district system is put to test and it is during this period that the collector’s dormant energies are transformed into awakened and vibrant consciousness and his inner potentialities come to the forefront. Thus the definitely, the role of collector has become multi-dimensional.

Answer : Collector after independence and with the adoption of planning strategy, collector has become a pivotal figure in implementing the development programmes. As the districts are the administrative units of the state and as such these are created to suit administrative convenience. District is the basic unit of state administration. And in this part, collector is the representative of the state government, in the district.

There are several important functions in the state government at district levels like conduct of elections, dealing with calamities, supervising local government institutions, etc., wherein the collector has an important role to play. Suffice it to say that in district administration there is no area where he is not associated and there is no official with whom he does not deal with. He has a very important role of coordination to perform. This is inevitable as district administration is composed of many component parts.

After Independence, the collector has become responsible for the implementation of the development programmes in the district. The advent of Panchayati Raj institutions in India has brought about several changes in the set up of the district administration. This speaks of his representative as of people’s interest.

Thus, Collector is looked upon as an agent of the state government at the district level. He hoists the national flag on Independence and Republic days. He has several protocol functions like meeting the ministers and other VIPs and their visits to the districts. In emergencies like floods and famines, he plays a very important role. In recent years, because of scarcity and rising prices, public distribution system has become an important part of district administration under the district collector.

Answer : The role of the collector at the district level in rural development has to be viewed in terms of his positioning and relationship with the Zila Parishad. On the recommendations of the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee in 1959, Panchayati Raj institutions were setup in almost all the states. The original scheme entails a three-tier administrative hierarchy consisting of the Zila Parishad, Panchayat Samitis and Gram Panchayats. It suggested that the collector be made the chairman of the Zila Parishad. The contention behind this was that the collector, by virtue of his eminent position and authority in the district, could guide and head the Zila Parishads in the task of development. Unfortunately, it did not notice any contradictions that would arise, if the collectors were to head an elective institutional set up.

Critics, who disapprove of the strong position of the collector in the Zila Parishad, give various reasons for keeping him out of the Parishad. Firstly, the Parishad is a non- official and purely elective body. In case of disagreement between the chief of the Parishad and the collector, the former may argue that as an elected representative, he knows the pulse of the people better. Secondly, the collector’s affiliation and involvement with the Zila Parishad would detract from his performance in the field of law and order problems; he becomes suspect in the eyes of the Zila Parishad. Lastly, it will pose an embarrassing dilemma for the collector, if the Zila Parishad and the state government disagreed. He might be in a fix due to divided loyalties.

Answer : The role of the collector at the district level in rural development has to be viewed in terms of his positioning and relationship with the Zila Parishad. On the recommendations of the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee in 1959, Panchayati Raj institutions were setup in almost all the states. The original scheme entails a three-tier administrative hierarchy consisting of the Zila Parishad, Panchayat Samitis and Gram Panchayats. It suggested that the collector be made the chairman of the Zila Parishad. The contention behind this was that the collector, by virtue of his eminent position and authority in the district, could guide and head the Zila Parishads in the task of development. Unfortunately, it did not notice any contradictions that would arise, if the collectors were to head an elective institutional set up.

Critics, who disapprove of the strong position of the collector in the Zila Parishad, give various reasons for keeping him out of the Parishad. Firstly, the Parishad is a non- official and purely elective body. In case of disagreement between the chief of the Parishad and the collector, the former may argue that as an elected representative, he knows the pulse of the people better. Secondly, the collector’s affiliation and involvement with the Zila Parishad would detract from his performance in the field of law and order problems; he becomes suspect in the eyes of the Zila Parishad. Lastly, it will pose an embarrassing dilemma for the collector, if the Zila Parishad and the state government disagreed. He might be in a fix due to divided loyalties.

Answer : The District Collector also functions as district magistrate, and is responsible for the maintenance of law and order in the district. After the separation of judiciary from the executive, the collector is concerned with the preventive sections of the criminal procedure code. As district magistrate, he is the head of police administration of the district. In this function, superintendent of police – the head of police force in the district helps the collector in the discharge of his police functions.

In all important matters, the Superintendent of Police takes orders from the Collector. In recent years, there have been many instances of strained relations between the collectors and the superintendent of police. Lack of understanding between the two has its effect on the entire district administration.

The present Indian Police system is based on the Police Act of 1861. Under this act the police was made subordinate to the executive government. Hence the superintendent has to work under the overall guidance of collector. The basic character and structure as enshrined in the Police Act of 1861 continued to dominate over the police system in the country. Even after the independence the government of India felt that the system is capable of facing new challenges.

The relationship between the Collector and SP although seems to be emanating out of the conflicts of thought over any subject. But if it is actually seen it seems to be the problem of Generalist vs. Specialist debate.

Many a times the police tries to undermine the authority of the collector and do not follow his direction honestly. The police thinks that collector should be devoid of the law and order activity and the police should be given the whole and sole responsibility of law and order. This seems to right as the collector already have so much functions and duties to discharge. This will give him an opportunity to shed off some functions to police and let the police to work on it own discretion.

But at the same time it can not be forget that the collector is responsible for virtually every thing that happens in the district and law and order is one of the most important activity that can change the face of the district. It can also effect other functions and activities of the district. Because of this it becomes imperative for the collector to have some kind of control over the police.

The conflict areas between the SP and the Collector are many. The SP always thinks of doing is work at his own discretion, as he is also a member of All India Service, he feels loss of dignity and undermining of his potential to lead. All this results in the strained relations between the both. Some times SP do not take necessary action to control the law and order situation. Because of this the collector is held responsible, as he is the head of the law and order in the district. This further worsens the situation.

For any district this relationship that is evolving in negative direction can be proved to be detrimental. This can be tackled by giving a little bit of autonomy to the police. Although the collectors never interferes with the day to day administration of police but like the Specialist vs Generalist debate this debate is also endless, which needs a harmonious solution.