Question : “District Collector’s role in the development process has been overemphasized.” Comment on the statement.
(2015)
Answer : District Administration has been a colonial legacy in independent India. Earlier, it limited its role to regulatory functions as it worked as an instrument of POLICE STATE. After independence its role has expanded to include several developmental functions (eg District Rural Development Agency) as India embarked on Welfarist state.
Merit of DA in Development Ad
Question : “District Collector is a legacy of the British Raj and has largely remained insulated from the demands of contemporary professionalism.” Discuss.
(2014)
Answer : Indian Bureaucratic structure was considered as the steel frame of British Empire. After Independence there was a great debate on the future of bureaucratic structure and post of District Collector. Finally in the vision on Sardar Patel they were given the responsibility to develop India.
Though post of district collector was derived from British Raj but it played a major role in developing India.
Question : Reducing the size (geographical area) of the district will provide relief to the overburdened and overworked Collector. Comment.
(2013)
Answer : Broadly, the Collector performs the following functions:
Political interference and pressure is another area affecting the work of the Collectors. Such pressures are generally brought to restrain the District Administration. The visiting dignitaries like the Minister frequently interrupt the Collector’s work. Protocol requires that the Collector must receive and be available to have discussions with the visiting dignitaries. Thus, ....
Question : NGOs demand greater autonomy from the State and are now ‘new actors’ in development. How effective are they as instruments of decentralisation and debureaucratisation? Critically evaluate.
(2012)
Answer : NGOs are groups outside of the government which mediate between government and civil society and help citizens where government cannot reach.
NGOs are working in many areas in contemporary times, at times in areas where government used to work. NGOs have local participation and direct connection with local people. They do understand local problems very well and work for solutions of such problems. They demand more autonomy for this purpose. For this, local institutions must be ....
Question : ‘District Administration is like a small tortoise carrying the load of an elephant’. Discuss.
(2008)
Answer : District is the basic geographical (i.e. territorial) unit of administration in India. A District collector is the head of district administration and the official agent of the state government in the district. A District Collector performs the multifarious activities at district and he is also the overburdened at the district level. District administration is the total management of public affairs within this unit. It is at this level that the common man comes into direct ....
Question : There is constant and continuous collision between bureaucratic values and democratic values which adversely affects development. In the light of this statement examine the role of bureaucracy in development.
(2008)
Answer : Bureaucracy and democracy are often considered antithetical of political systems. Bureaceracy is indispensable in a democracy and bureaucracy and democracy are paradoxial to two diverse themes of thought.
Democracy needs more participation by the people but bureaucracy which is formed by merit selection is elitist in nature. Participation needs direct contact, while bureaucracy follows hierarchy. Bureaucracy is characterized by vertical communication, but in democracy there is a requirement of horizontal communication.
Democracy is always people or citizen ....
Question : “The District Collector, The Additional Deputy Commissioner and Sub- Divisional Officers, have virtually become ‘officers-in-attendance’ and have lost initiative and independence of judgement”. Comment.
(2006)
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 ....
Question : “The District Collector is an overburdened officer due to the expansion and increasing developmental activities”. Comment.
(2005)
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 ....
Question : “The Primary emphasis in District Administration has to be on implementation of development programmes in cooperation with active support of people”. Elucidate.
(2005)
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, ....
Question : “The district officer as a chief agent and representative of a state serves as a channel of communication between the Govt. and the residents of the districts. Explain.
(2004)
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 ....
Question : “District collector has increasingly become multi-dimensional”. Comment.
(2003)
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, ....
Question : “Collector is the representative of the state government in the district and also represents public interest”. Comment.
(2002)
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 ....
Question : “It is a major challenge to balance the role of District Collector with the powers of democratic bodies.”
(2000)
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 ....
Question : “It is a major challenge to balance the role of District Collector with the powers of democratic bodies.”
(2000)
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 ....
Question : Critically review the evolving relationship between the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police in the field of law and order management in a district.
(1995)
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 ....
