Pol Sci Un Notes

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POL SCI UN - notes
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Political Science – III (Public Administration)

Unit – I
1. Public Administration: its meaning, nature, scope & importance, Private & Public
Administration, Politics & Public Administration
The word ‘administer’ is derived from the Latin word administere, which means to care for or to look
after people, to manage affairs. Administration may be defined as “group activity which involves
cooperation and coordination for the purpose of achieving desired goals or objectives”. Broadly speaking,
the term administration appears to bear at least four different meanings or different senses depending
upon the context in which it is used:
(1) As a Discipline: The name of a branch of learning or intellectual discipline as taught and studied in
colleges and universities.
(2) As a Vocation: Type of work/trade or profession/occupation, especially one that involves knowledge
and training in a branch of advance learning.
(3) As a Process: The sum total of activities undertaken to implement Public Policy or policies to produce
some services or goods.
(4) As a Synonym for 'word' Executive or Government: Such other body of persons in supreme charge of
affairs, for example, Manmohan Singh Administration, Bush Administration, etc.
Noted below are definitions by a few famous writers.
E.N. Gladden “Administration is a long and slightly pompous word, but it has a humble meaning, for it
means to care for or look after people, to 2 manage affairs…. is determined action taken in pursuit of
conscious purpose”.
Brooks Adams “Administration is the capacity of coordinating many, and often conflicting, social
energies in a single organism, so adroitly that they shall operate as a unity.
Felix A. Nigro “Administration is the organisation and use of men and materials to accomplish a
purpose”.
J.M. Pfiffner and R. Presthus “Administration is the organisation and direction of human and material
resources to achieve desired ends”.
L.D. White “The art of administration is the direction, co-ordination and control of many persons to
achieve some purpose or objective”.
Luther Gullick “Administration has to do with getting things done, with the accomplishment of defined
objectives”.
F.M. Marx “Administration is determined action taken in pursuit of a conscious purpose. It is the
systematic ordering of affairs and the calculated use of resources, aimed at making those things happen
which one wants to happen and foretelling everything to the country”.
Meaning and Definitions of public administration
L.D. White observes that although public administration varies in form and objects, and although the
administration of public and private affairs differs at many points, there is an underlying similarity, if not
identity. As an integral aspect of such generic concept, public administration could be related to that type
of administration, which operates within a specific ecological setting. It is a means to carry out the policy
decisions made by political executive. To be seen along with it is the ‘Public’ aspect of Public
administration, which attributes a special character and focus to it. ‘Public’ can be looked at formally to
mean ‘government’. So, public administration is government administration, government in action, or a
socio-economic and politico-administrative confluence, the focus being especially on public bureaucracy.
Encyclopaedia Britannica defines public administration as ‘the application of a policy of a state through
its government.’ Public Administration, therefore, refers to that part of administration, which pertains to
the administrative activities of the government.
Now we will try to look into the definitions of Public Administration provided by various scholars.

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Woodrow Wilson Public administration is the detailed and systematic application of law. Every particular
application of law is an act of administration.
L.D. White “Public administration consists of all those operations having for their purpose the fulfilment
or enforcement of public policy”. As per White, this definition covers a multitude of particular operations
in many fields the delivery of a letter, the sale of public land, the negotiation of a treaty, the award of
compensation to an injured workman, the quarantine of a sick child, the removal of litter from a park,
manufacturing uranium 235, and licensing the use of atomic energy. It includes military as well as civil
affairs, much of the work of courts, and all the special fields of government activity-police, education,
health, construction of public works, conservation, social security, and many others. The conduct of
public affairs in advanced civilisations requires the employment of almost every profession and skill-
engineering, law, medicine, and teaching; the crafts, the technical specialties, the office skills, and many
others. 5
Percy Mc Queen Public administration is related to the operations of government whether local or central.
Luther Gulick Public administration is that part of the science of administration, which has to do with the
government; it concerns itself primarily with the executive branch where the work of the government is
done; though there are obviously problems also in connection with the legislative and judicial branches.
J.M Pfiffner “Administration consists of getting the work of government done by coordinating the efforts
of people so that they can work together to accomplish their set tasks”.
M. Ruthanaswami “When administration has to do with the affairs of a state or minor political institutions
like the municipal or country council (district board), it is called public administration. All the acts of the
officials of a government, from the peon in a remote office to the head of a state in the capital, constitute
public administration.”
H.A. Simon, D.W. Smithburg and V.A. Thompson “By Public Administration is meant, in common
usage, the activities of the executive branches of national, state and local governments, government
corporations and certain other agencies of a specialised character. Specifically excluded are judicial and
legislative agencies within the government and non-governmental administration.”
Corson and Harris “Public administration … is the action part of government, the means by which the
purposes and goals of government are realised.”
Dwight Waldo “Public administration is the art and science of management as applied to the affairs of
State.”
M.E. Dimock 6 “Public Administration is concerned with ‘what’ and ‘how’ of the government. The
‘what’ is the subject matter, the technical knowledge of a field, which enables the administrator to
perform his tasks. The ‘how’ is the technique of management, the principles according to which co-
operative programmes are carried through to success. Each is indispensable, together they form the
synthesis called administration”.
Nicholas Henry “Public Administration is a broad-ranging and amorphous combination of theory and
practice; its purpose is to promote a superior understanding of government and its relationship with the
society, it governs, as well as to encourage public policies more responsive to social needs and to institute
managerial practices attuned to effectiveness, efficiency and the deeper human requisites of the
citizenry”. The traditional definitions of Public Administration, which are given above reflect the view
that the Public Administration is only involved in carrying out the policies and programmes of the
government. It reflect that it has no role in policy making and also locates the administration in the
executive branch but today the term public administration is used in a broader sense that it is not only
involved in carrying out the programmes of the government, but it also plays an important role in policy
formulation and covers the three branches of the government. In this context, we may reflected on the
definition offered by
F.A. Nigro and L.G. Nigro. According to them Public Administration: In this context we can reflect the
definition offered by F.A. Nigro and L.G. Nigro. According to them Public Administration: • is co-
operative group effort in a public setting; • covers all three branches-executive, legislative, and judicial,
and their inter-relationships; • has an important role in the formulation of public policy and is thus a part
of the political process; • is different in significant ways from private administration; and • is closely

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associated with numerous private groups and individuals in providing services to the community”. In
sum, public administration: • is the non-political public bureaucracy operating in a political system; •
deals with the ends of the State, the sovereign will, the public interests and laws; 7 • is the business side
of government and as such concerned with policy execution, but it is also concerned with policy-making;
• covers all three branches of government, although it tends to be concentrated in the executive branch; •
provides regulatory and service functions to the people in order to attain good life; • differs significantly
from private administration, especially in its emphasis on the public; and • is interdisciplinary in nature as
it draws upon other social sciences like political science, economics and sociology.
NATURE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
There are two views regarding the Nature of Public Administration, that is, Integral and Managerial.
According to the integral view, ‘administration’ is the sum total of all the activities – manual, clerical,
managerial, etc., which are undertaken to realise the objectives of the organisation. In this view all the
acts of officials of the government from the Attendant to the Secretaries to the government and Head of
the State constitute Public Administration. Henri Fayol and L.D. White are the supporters of this view.
According to the managerial view of administration, the managerial activities of people who are involved
in planning, organising, commanding, coordinating and controlling constitute Public Administration. This
view regards administration as getting things done and not doing things. Luther Gullick, Herbert Simon,
Smithburg and Thompson are the supporters of this view.
The managerial view excludes Public Administration from non-managerial activities such as manual,
clerical and technical activities. The two views differs from each other in many ways. According to Prof.
M.P. Sharma the difference between the two views is fundamental. The integral view includes the
activities of all the persons engaged in administration whereas the managerial view restricts itself only to
the activities of the few persons at the top. The integral view depicts all types of activities from manual to
managerial, from nontechnical to technical whereas the managerial view takes into account only the
managerial activities in an organisation. Furthermore, administration, according to the integral view
would differ from one sphere to another depending upon the subject matter, but whereas that will not be
the case according to the managerial point of view because the managerial view is identified with the
managerial techniques common to all the fields of administration. 8 The difference between the two
views relates to the difference between management and operation or we may say between getting things
done and doing things. The correct meaning of the term administration would however, depend upon the
context in which it is used. Dimock, Dimock and Koening sum up in the following words: “As a study
public administration examines every aspect of government’s efforts to discharge the laws and to give
effect to public policy; as a process, it is all the steps taken between the time an enforcement agency
assumes jurisdiction and the last break is placed (but includes also that agency’s participation, if any, in
the formulation of the programme in the first place); and as a vocation, it is organising and directing the
activities of others in a public agency.”
SCOPE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
By the scope of Public Administration, we mean the major concerns of Public Administration as an
activity and as a discipline.
.1 Scope of Public Administration as an activity Broadly speaking, Public Administration embraces all
the activities of the government. Hence as an activity the scope of public administration is no less than the
scope of state activity. In the modern welfare state people expect many things – a wide variety of services
and protection from the government. In this context public administration provides a number of welfare
and social security services to the people. Besides, it has to manage government owned industries and
regulate private industries. Public administration covers every area and activity within the ambit public
policy. Thus, the scope of public administration is very wide in modern state.
.2 Scope of Public Administration as a Discipline The scope of public administration as a discipline, that
is subject of studies, comprises of the following:
The POSDCoRB view Several writers have defined the scope of public administration in varying terms.
Gullick sums up the scope of the subject by the letters of the word POSDCoRB which denote: Planning,
Organisation, Staffing, Directing, Co-ordinating reporting the Budgeting.

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Planning means the working out in broad outline the things to be done, the methods to be adopted to
accomplish the purpose.
Organisation means the establishment of the formal structure of authority through which the work is sub-
divided, arranged, defined and coordinated.
Staffing means the recruitment and training of the personnel and their conditions of work. Directing
means making decisions and issuing orders and instructions.
. Coordinating means inter-relating the work of various divisions, sections and other parts of the
organisation.
Reporting means informing the superiors within the agency to whom the executive is responsible about
what is going on.
Budgeting means fiscal planning, control and accounting.
According to Gullick the POSDCoRB activities are common to all organisations. They are the common
problems of management which are found in different agencies regardless of the nature of the work they
do. POSDCoRB gives unity, certainty, and definiteness and makes the study more systematic. The critics
pointed out that the POSDCoRB activities were neither the whole of administration, nor even the most
important part of it. The POSDCoRB view over looks the fact that deferent agencies are faced with
different administrative problems, which are peculiar to the nature of the services, they render and the
functions they performed. The POSDCoRB view takes into consideration only the common techniques of
the administration and ignores the study of the ‘subject matter’ with which the agency is concerned. A
major defect is that the POSDCoRB view does not contain any reference to the formulation and
implementation of the policy. Therefore, the scope of administration is defined very narrowly, being too
inward looking and too conscious of the top management.
The Subject Matter View- We all know that public administration deals not only with the processes but
also with the substantive matters of administration, such as Defence, Law and Order, Education, Public
Health, Agriculture, Public Works, Social Security, Justice, Welfare, etc. These services require not only
POSDCoRB techniques but also have important specialised techniques of their own which are not
covered by POSDCoRB techniques. For example, if you take Police Administration it has its own
techniques in crime detection, maintenance of Law and Order, etc., which are much and more vital to 10
efficient police work, than the formal principles of organisation, personnel management, coordination or
finance and it is the same with other services too. Therefore, the study of public administration should
deal with both the processes (that is POSDCoRB techniques and the substantive concerns). We conclude
the scope of public administration with the statement of Lewis Meriam: “Public administration is an
instrument with two blades like a pair of scissors. One blade may be knowledge of the field covered by
POSDCoRB, the other blade is knowledge of the subject matter in which these techniques are applied.
Both blades must be good to make an effective tool”. We may conclude the discussion with the
observation of Herbert Simon who says that Public administration has two important aspects, namely
deciding and doing things. The first provides the basis for the second. One cannot conceive of any
discipline without thinking or deciding. Thus Public administration is a broad-ranging and an amorphous
combination of theory and practice.
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ADMINISTRATION
The major concern of administration is to properly organise men and material for achieving desired ends.
As a co-operative group activity, administration is truly universal and operates in all types of public and
private organisations. In other words, administration occurs in both public and private institutional
settings. Its nature depends upon the nature of the setting and goals with which it is concerned. On the
basis of the nature of the institutional setting, public administration can be roughly distinguished from
private administration. Public administration is governmental administration concerned with achieving
state purposes, determined by the state. Private administration, on the other hand is, concerned with
administration of private business organisation and is distinct from public administration. Let us elaborate
this .
Distinction between public and private administration John Gaus, Ludivig Von Mises, Paul H.
Appleby, Sir Josia Stamp, Herbert A. Simon, Peter Drucker, etc., in their writings, have made distinction

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between public and private administration. According to Simon, the distinction between public and
private administration relates mainly to three points:
• Public administration is bureaucratic whereas private administration is business like;
• Public administration is political where as private administration is non-political; and
• Public administration is characterised by red-tape where as private administration is free from it. Felix
A. Nigro has pointed out that government is also different from private organisation, as no private
company can equal to it in size and diversity of activities.
According to Sir Josiah Stamp, the four principles, which differentiate public from private
administration, are:
• Principle of Uniformity: Common and uniform laws and regulations mostly regulate public
Administration.
• Principle of External Financial Control: the representatives of the people through a legislative body
control Government revenues and heads of expenditure.
• Principle of Ministerial Responsibility: Public administration is accountable to its political masters and
through them to the people
. • Principle of marginal Return: The main objective of a business venture is profit, however small it may
be. However, most of the objectives of public administration can neither be measured in money terms nor
checked by accountancy methods. According to Paul H. Appleby public administration is different from
private administration. He remark, “In broad terms the governmental function and attitude have at least
three complementary aspects that go to differentiate government from all other institutions and activities:
breadth of scope, impact and consideration; public accountability; political character. No non-
governmental institution has the breadth of government. Appleby notes that the political character of
Public Administration differentiates it from private administration. Public Administration is subject to
political direction and control. This is the primary distinction between the two. He further argues,
“Administration is politics since it must be responsive to the public interest. It is necessary to emphasise
the fact that popular political processes, which are the essence of democracy, can only work through
governmental organisation, and that all governmental organisations are not merely administrative entities,
they are and must be political organisms.” 12 Appleby reflects further on the distinction between public
and private administration in the context of public accountability “Government administration differs
from all other administrative work to a degree not even faintly realised outside, by virtue of its public
nature, the way in which it is subject to public scrutiny and outcry. This interest often runs to details of
administrative action that in private business would never be of concern other then inside the
organisation. According to Appleby private administration cannot claim the breadth of scope, impact and
consideration of the public administration. He observes, “The organised government impinges upon and
is affected by practically everything that exists or moves in our society. It involves policies and actions of
immense complexity. Its fullest possible understanding requires the wisdom of many specialists as will as
the key participants in public and private life. The more important distinguishing features of Public
administration may be described under the following sub-heads: Political Direction: Public administration
is political, while private administration is non-political, public administration takes place in a political
context. Absence of profit motive: The absence of profit motive from the Public administration is another
feature, which distinguishes it from the private administration. The primary purpose of governmental
organisation is to provide services to the people and promote social good. Prestige: Public administrators
who serve in the Government enjoy high status and prestige in comparison to their counterparts in private
enterprises especially developing countries. Public Gaze: All the actions of public administration are
exposed to wide public gaze because the public closely watches it. This does not happen in private
administration. Service and Cost: Most governments spend more money than their income or revenues.
That is the reason for finding generally a deficit budget that is, expenditure exceeding income.
Conversely, private administration income often exceeds expenditure without which they cannot survive.
Legal framework: Public administration operates within a legal framework. It is rule oriented. The
responsibilities of public administrators are fixed by a set of constitutional practices, laws and 13
regulations. Government officials are obliged to act within their legal powers and not outside the law.

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Consistency of treatment: A government official is required by law to maintain a high degree of

consistency in his dealings with the public. He has to observe the principle of equality of treatment in
serving the people. It is a legal obligation to not to discriminate against any person. Public accountability:
Public accountability is the hallmark of Public administration in a democracy. Public administration is
responsible to the public, though not directly but indirectly through political executive, legislature,
judiciary, etc. Large-scale administration: Public administration is large-scale administration. It is said
that almost anything under the sun is directly or indirectly under the domain of public administration. It is
by all means larger than any big private concern in terms of size., complexity and diversity of activities.
Monopolistic and Essential Services: In the field of public administration, there is generally a monopoly
of the government and it does not generally allow private parties to compete with it. For example, no
person or bodies of persons are allowed to establish or perform functions related to public services like
national security, foreign relations, law and order, mint and currency, as these are the exclusive fields of
the government and thoroughly important for the community and polity to prosper. Officials remain
Anonymous: In public administration, even the most senior officials remain anonymous and their identity
is not disclosed. This is so because whatever they do, they do in the name of the government and not in
their own name. Financial meticulousness: Public administration has to be very careful in financial
matters because it is working as custodian of people’s money. Lower level of Efficiency: Efficiency is
said to be the cornerstone of any organisation. However, due to varied responsibilities, lack of effective
control, less accountability, involvement of a large number of levels and job security of employees,
efficiency has not been there in public organisations to the effect desired. When compared to private
administration, one finds that the degree of efficiency in public organisations is at a lower level. With
profit as the major motive coupled with excessive control and flexibility in personnel administration the
level of efficiency in private organisations is much higher.
Similarities between Public and Private Administration
Scholars like Henry Fayol, Mary P. Follet and L. Urwick do not make a distinction between public and
private administration. The classical writers held the view that public and private administrations are the
undifferentiated members of the genus administration. Henri Foyal, for example, says that there is only
one administrative science, which can be applied equally well to public and private sectors. In his address
in the Second International Congress of Administrative Science, Fayol remarked, “The meaning which I
have given to the word administration and which has been generally adopted, broadens considerably the
field of administrative sciences. It embraces not only the public service but also enterprises of every size
and description, of every form and every purpose. All undertakings require planning, organisation,
command, co-ordination and control and in order to function properly, all must observe the same general
principles. We are no longer confronted with several administrative sciences but with one which can be
applied equally well to public and to private affairs”. The following similarities between the two types of
administration may be noted:
1. Both public and business administration rely on common skills, techniques and procedures.
2. In modern times the principle of profit motive is not peculiar to private administration, because it is
now accepted as a laudable objective for public sector enterprises also.
3. In personnel management, the private organisations have been influenced greatly by the practices of
public organisations
. 4. The private concerns are also subjected to many legal constraints. Government is exercising much
control over business firms through regulatory legislation such as taxation, monetary and licensing
policies, etc. Consequently, they are not as free as they once used to be.
5. There is a similar type of hierarchy and management systems, both in public and private sectors. Both
have same kind of organisation structure, superior – subordinate relationships, etc.
6. Both Pubic and private administration carries on continuous efforts to improve their internal working
and also for efficient delivery of services to people or customers.
7. Public and private administration serves the people, whether being called clients or customers. Both
have to maintain close contact with people to inform about their services and also to get feedback about
services and product. In both the cases, public relations help them to inform and improve their services to

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the people. The preceding discussion shows that the distinction between public and private administration
is not absolute. In fact, they are becoming more and more alike in many respects. However, it does not
mean that there are no significant differences between these two types of administration. Waldo observes
that Public administration is distinct because it reflects the peculiar characteristics of government activity
and the public setting in which it functions. Given the wide acceptance of the ideas of liberalisation,
privatisation and globalisation, both public and private administrations have to compete in the same area
to provide services to people. Here both are dealing with customers, who pay for their services, in such a
situation it narrows down the differences between the public and private administration. New Public
Management, which has come into prominence, recently, puts emphasis on managerial techniques, which
are to be adopted by public administration for the efficient delivery of public services. But in providing
pubic services in the field of social and welfare areas their exists a difference between public and private
administration With this brief characterisation, it could be stated that both public and private
administration are placed in different environments. But this difference is more apparent than real.
According to Waldo, The generalisation which distinguish public administration from private
administration by special care for equality of treatment, legal authorisation of, and responsibility of
action, public justification of decisions, financial probity and meticulousness, etc. are of very limited
applicability,” In fact public and private administrations are the “two species of the same genus, but they
have special values and techniques of their own which give to each its distinctive character. 1.8
IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
We will be discussing the importance of public administration as a specialised subject of study and later
the role and importance of public administration in the modern society.
1 Importance of Public Administration as Specialised Subject of Study 16 The study of administration
assumed significance, according to Woodrow Wilson, as a consequence to the increasing complexities of
society, growing functions of state and growth of governments on democratic lines. This exhaustive list of
functions made to think as to ‘how’ and in what ‘directions’ these functions should be effectively
performed. To this Wilson suggested that there was a need to reform the government in the administrative
field. As per Wilson, the object of administrative study is to discover what government can properly and
successfully does and how it can do these things with utmost efficiency and the least possible cost either
of money or of energy. The importance of public administration as a specialised subject can be attributed
to the following reasons: • One of the important reasons is the practical concern that the government
today has to work towards the public interest. The first and foremost objective of public administration is
to efficiently deliver public services. In this context, Wilsonian definition of the subject as efficiency
promoting and pragmatic field was the first explicitly articulated statement on the importance of a
separate discipline of public administration. During the first half of the preceding century, a numbers of
countries have appointed committees to look into the problems of administration and recommended
suitable administrative machinery to respond to diverse public needs. The Haldane Committee Report
(1919) in Britain; the President’s Committee on Administrative Management (1937) in the United States;
A.D. Gorwala Committee’s and Paul H. Appleby’s Reports in India are some of the examples of the
efforts by various countries to make changes in public administration. During the last four decades also, a
number of reports, produced by committees/commissions appointed by governments in various countries
or multilateral agencies, and books published by scholars have enriched the discipline and provided new
perspectives to public administration to tune it to the changing needs of the times. They include: Report
of the Committee on the Civil Services (Fulton Committee Report, U.K., 1968); various reports of the
Administrative Reforms Commission (India, 1967-72); Reinventing Government (U.S.A., look by David
Orborne and Ted Gabler, 1992), Governance and sustainable Development (UNDP, 1997) and World
Development Report: Building Institutions for Markets (The World Bank, 2002). • Administration is
looked at, in the social science perspective, as a cooperative and social activity. Hence the concern of
academic inquiry would be to understand the impact of 17 government policies and operations on society.
What kind of society do the policies envisage?; To what extent administrative action is non-
discriminatory?; How is public administration functioning and what are the immediate and long term
effects of governmental action on the social structure, the economy and polity?; etc. are questions

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requiring careful analysis. From the social science perspective, public administration, as a discipline, has
to draw on a variety of sister disciplines such as History, Sociology, Economics, Geography, Philosophy,
Psychology, etc., with the objective to explain and not just to prescribe. • Public administration has a
special status in the developing countries. Many of these countries, after independence from the colonial
rule have stressed upon speedy socio – economic development. Obviously, these countries have to relay
on government for speedy development. The latter requires a public administration to be organised and
effectively operated for increasing productivity quickly. Likewise, social welfare activities have to be
effectively executed. These aspects have given birth to the new sub-discipline of development
administration. The emergence of development administration is indicative of a felt need for a body of
knowledge about how to study the third world administration and at the same time to bring about speedy
socio-economic development with government’s intervention. Development administration has therefore,
emerged as a sub-discipline to serve the cause of development. • Public administration, as witnessed holds
a place of significance in the lives of people. It touches them at every step. For most of their needs, the
citizens depend upon public administration. In view of the important role of public administration in the
lives of people, the citizens of a country cannot ignore. Therefore, its teaching should become a part of
the curriculum of educational institutions. People must get to know about the structure of government, the
activities it undertakes and the manner in which these are actually performed. The study of public
administration will contribute to the realisation of the values of citizenship.
2 Importance of Public Administration as an Activity The contemporary age, which has witnessed the
emergence of ‘Administrative State’, public administration has become an essential part of society and a
dominant factor. The functions it is called upon to perform, have expanded in scope and nature, and what
is more, are continually increasing. Many of them are more positive in nature because they care for the
essential requirements of human life, be it 18 health, education, recreation, sanitation, social security or
others. It is, therefore, a creative factor, with its motto being ‘human welfare’. These functions are over
and above its regulatory functions. The view points of eminent scholars, as referred to below, amply
reflect the significance of public administration. Woodrow Wilson: “Administration is the most obvious
part of government; it is government in action, it is the executive, the operative and the most visible side
of the government. Brooke Adams: “Administration is an important human faculty because its chief
function is to facilitate social change and to cushion the stock of social revolution”. W.B. Donham, ‘If our
civilization fails, it will be mainly because of breakdown of administration’. Paul H. Appleby:
‘Administration is the basis of government. No government can exist without administration. Without
administration government would be a discussion club, if indeed, it could exist at all’. The role of public
administration in various facets is noted below: • Basis of the Government: A Government can exist
without a legislature or an independent judiciary. But no Government can exist without administration. •
An instrument for providing services: Public administration is mainly concerned with the performance of
various activities performed by government in the public interest. Felix A. Nigro aptly remarks, “The real
core of administration is the basic service which is performed for the public”. • An instrument for
implementing policies: Modern governments go a long way in formulating and adopting sound policies
laws and regulations. It should not be forgotten that such policies, laws, etc. are not merely printed
papers. Such paper declarations of intent are translated into reality by public administration thus
converting words into action and form into substance. • A stabilising force in society: Public
administration is a major force for bringing stability in society. It has been observed that though
government often changes, but violent change is seldom experienced by administration. An element of
continuity between the old and the new orders is provided by public administration. It does not hold true
only of constitutional 19 changes of government in democratic countries, but is also reflected when there
are revolutionary changes in the form and character of government. • An instrument of social change and
economic development: Public administration’s role as a change agent is particularly crucial in
developing nations. It is expected of the state at present to work for accelerating socio-economic change
and not to be a passive agency to maintain the status quo. • Technical Character: The present day
government is expected to provide various services to its population. The increase in the number of
functions undertaken by the government require highly specialised, professional and technical, services.

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Modern public administration usually represents a galaxy of all of a nation’s occupations. According
Gerald Caiden public administration has assumed the following crucial roles in contemporary modern
society: • Preservation of polity; • Maintenance of stability and order; • Institutionalisation of Socio-
Economic changes; • Management of large scale commercial services; • Ensuring growth and economic
development; • Protection of the weaker sections of society; • Formation of public opinion; and •
Influencing Public policies. The points mentioned below summarise the reasons for the growing
importance of public administration: • Emergence of Welfare and Democratic state Emergence of welfare
and democratic state has led to an increase in the activities of public administration compared to that of
the laissez-faire state. The state has to now serve all sections of people in the society. This amount to
enhanced responsibilities of public administration. Public administration is also to regulate and control
private economic enterprises to meet the objectives of the state. • Industrial Revolution The industrial
revolution gave rise to socio-economic problems making the government to assume new roles and
responsibilities such as protection and promotion of the rights of workers in industrial establishments, etc.
Consequently, the state has 20 enacted a number of Industrial and Labour laws and it is imperative for
public administration to implement such laws in order to meet the requirements of labour welfare. •
Scientific and Technological Development Scientific and technological developments have brought about
welcome additions in infrastructure such as power, transport and communication system. The invention of
telephone, telegraph and other mechanical devices such as typewriter, tele-printer, and calculators,
photocopying machines, computers, fax and the electronic mail has brought revolutionary changes in
office administration. All these have made possible ‘big government’ and ‘large scale administration’.
Besides changing the ethos and character of public administration, the revolution in information and
communication technologies have contributed to improved delivery of services to people. • Economic
Planning Centralised economic planning has been pursued in many developing countries as a method for
socio-economic development. It requires a large number of experts and elaborate administrative
machinery for plan formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Apart from the reasons
cited the rapid growth of population, modern warfare, increase in natural and manmade disasters, decline
in social harmony, increase in violence due to conflicts, communal riots, ethnic wars, terrorism, etc. have
increased the importance of public administration. It goes without saying that public administration is not
only the operative but also the most obvious part of the government. It is government in action and
occupies a significant place not merely as an instrument of governance but also as an important
mechanism for preserving and promoting the welfare of community. It has substantive impact upon the
life of the people. It is a vital process charged with implementation of pre-determined, welfare oriented,
and developmental objectives.
Politics and Public Administration
This category covers:
 International Studies
 Politics/Comparative Politics
 Public Administration/Management
 Public Affairs
Politics deals with the theory and practice of political systems and political behavior. Public
Administration is concerned with the way government operates. And International Studies focuses on
international relations and international organizational studies.
Political Science
Research works under this subcategory covers Political philosophy and theory, Comparative Politics,
Conflict process, Law and courts, Legislative studies, Political Parties, Representation and electoral
system, Political methodology, Religion and politics, Geopolitics, Urban politics, Political economy,
Political history, Political anthropology, Political sociology, Political psychology, Political
communications, Women and Politics, Sexuality and Politics, Human Rights, Race, Ethnicity and
Politics, Political Communication.
Public Administration and Policy
This subcategory covers research works on Public Administration Theory, Political environment of public

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administration, Inter-governmental relations and federalism, Public accountability and ethics, Public
organization theory, Public organizational behavior, Public Leadership, Comparative Public
Administration, Public performance management, Public strategic management, Public personnel
management, Social justice and equity, Crisis management, Public financial management, Public
budgeting, Public policy theory, Policy analysis and evaluation, Substantial policies.
International Studies
Research works on International studies include Foreign relations, diplomacy, international law,
international relations theory, international organizations, political geography, international security,
international political economy, Treaties, Conflict resolution and negotiation.
Important Questions:-
1. Define Public Administration? Discuss its nature and scope?

2. “Public administration consists of all those operations having for their
purpose the fulfillment or enforcement of public policy”. Explain the
statement?
3. Differentiate between Public and Private Administration?
4. Discuss the scope of Public Administration?
5. Discuss the relationship between Politics and Public Administration?

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UNIT-2
Bureaucracy- Meaning and changing concept of Bureaucracy, Rise & Characteristics of

Bureaucracy; Theory of Bureaucracy – Marxist, Max Weber, Plurist theory and Technocratic
view; Bureaucracy & Democracy.
Bureaucracy refers to both a body of non-elective government officials and an administrative policy-
making group Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments
staffed with non-elected officials Today, bureaucracy is the administrative system governing any large
institution. The public administration in many countries is an example of a bureaucracy.
The term "bureaucracy" is French in origin and combines the French word bureau – desk or office – with
the Greek word κράτος (Kratos) – rule or political power. It was coined in the mid-18th century by the
French economist Jacques Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay and was a satirical pejorative from the
outset.Gournay never wrote the term down but was later quoted at length in a letter from a contemporary:
The late M. de Gournay... sometimes used to say: "We have an illness in France which bids fair to play
havoc with us; this illness is called bureaumania." Sometimes he used to invent a fourth or fifth form of
government under the heading of "bureaucracy."
Definitions:
(1) “Bureaucracy means the civil servants, the administrative functionaries who are professionally trained
for the public service and who enjoy permanency of tenure, promotion within service-partly by seniority
and partly by merit.” -Garner
(2) “In its broad larger sense the term Civil Service is used to describe any personnel system where the
employees are classified in a system of administration composed of a hierarchy, sections, divisions,
bureaus, departments and the like.” -Willoughby
(3) “Civil Service/Bureaucracy is a professional body of officials permanent, paid and skilled.” -Finer
Bureaucracy: Main Features:
1. Permanent Character:
The civil servants hold permanent jobs in government departments. They mostly join their services during
their youths and continue to work as government servants till the age of retirement which is usually 58 to
60 years.
2. Hierarchical Organisation:
Bureaucracy is hierarchically organised in several levels. Each official is placed at a particular level of
hierarchy and he enjoys the privileges and powers which are available to his co-level officials. He is
under his immediate higher level officials and is above his immediately lower level officials. The
principle of rule of the higher over the lower governs the inter-relations between various levels of
bureaucracy.
3. Non-partisan Character:
The members of the Bureaucracy are not directly involved in politics. They cannot join political parties
and participate in political movements. They are not affected by the political changes which keep on
coming in the political executive. Whichever party may come to power and make the government, the

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civil servants remain politically neutral and carry out their assigned departmental roles impartially and
faithfully.
4. Professional, Trained and Expert Class:
The Bureaucracy constitutes the educated and professionally trained class of persons which helps the
political executive in carrying out its functions. The members of civil service are recruited through
competitive examinations for appearing in which they have to possess some minimum educational
qualifications. Before their appointments, they get special trainings. During the course of their service
they attend orientation and refresher courses. They have the knowledge, training and expertise necessary
for carrying out their administrative work.
5. Fixed Salaries:
Each member of the Bureaucracy receives a fixed salary. Right at the time of appointment he is allotted a
scale of pay, which depends upon the nature and level of his job-responsibility. All the civil servants
belonging to a particular class of administrative hierarchy are placed in one scale of pay. Each job also
entitles them to some allowances.
6. Bound by Rules and Regulations:
The Bureaucracy always works in accordance with ‘rules and regulations’. ‘Strict obedience to rules’,
‘Through Proper Channel’, ‘Decision-making after satisfying the rules’, are the principles which always
guide, direct and regulate the working of bureaucracy. Each official works only within the sphere
prescribed for him by the rules of his department.
7. Class Consciousness:
The Civil Servants are highly class conscious. They jealously work to protect and promote the interests of
their class of civil servants. They are called the white-collar class because of their faith in their ‘superior
status’ as government officials.
8. Public Service Spirit as the Ideal:
Modern Bureaucracy identifies itself with public service spirit. It always tries to project itself as the civil
servants devoted to the promotion of public welfare through the satisfaction of public needs. They are
expected to behave as ‘officers’ responsible for public welfare, with service as their motto.
9. Bound by a Code of Conduct:
The civil servants have to follow a code of conduct. They have to act in a disciplined way. Their rights,
duties and privileges stand clearly defined. The procedure of work is definite and settled. They can be
punished for misbehavior, incompetence or negligence or for a violation of their conduct rules. In short,
Bureaucracy is characterised by political neutrality, professional competence, permanent/ stable tenure,
fixed salaries and strict obedience to rules.
The Advantages of Bureaucracy

1. Expectations Are Clear
Communication is the for front of all bureaucratic organizations. This means that all of the demands and
expectations are made extremely clear, from the top down. Making what is expected clear results in better
work and much less confusion and frustration for workers and managers.

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2. Promotes Equal Treatment

A strong structure, and a watchful eye, that comes with bureaucracy, ensures that all employees are
treated as equals. This helps to improve moral, and thus improves the rate and efficiency at which
employees work.
3. The Policies Are Strict
There are no games to be played when dealing with bureaucratic policies. The sole reason that these types
of organizations exist is to ensure that all policies are acknowledged and followed at all times by
everyone involved in the company or organization.
The Disadvantages of Bureaucracy
1. No Wiggle Room
Often times, circumstantial things need to be taken into account. Whether it be the speed and urgency that
something needs to be accomplished or special problems with an employee. Bureaucracy gives no room
for exceptions, even when they are desperately needed.
2. Lots of Red Tape
There is a mind boggling amount of paper work and forms to be processed in bureaucracies. It can take a
ridiculously long amount of time in order to get things done in organizations like this. This halts
production and growth within the company.
3. Very Bad In Unexpected Situations
Unpredictable things happen. It is a part of life and business. Companies and organizations that run on
bureaucracy are not equipped to deal with these emergency or unexpected problems. Whether it be a
market shift or a natural disaster, the paper work must still be done in order for anything to happen.
4. Costs Time and Money
When examining bureaucracy in government, the biggest issue is the sheer amount of time that it takes to
get any sort of goal accomplished. This time translates into money as well. All of the employees that are
involved in completing even just one goal, is monumental. These employees are paid, and they are paid
by the tax payers. This is the fact that comes under the most criticism from opponents of bureaucracy.
5. It’s Just A Facade
The more work that is required to finish something, the busier people appear to be. It is a fact that
bureaucracies grow exponentially every single year. This is because the managers and other high ups
continue to increase the workload to keep the appearance of being efficient and busy.
Role of Bureaucracy: Functions:
Bureaucracy or Civil Service plays a key role in running the Public Administration e by performing the
following functions:
1. Implementation of Governmental Policies and Laws:
It is the responsibility of the bureaucracy to carry out and implement the policies of the government.
Good policies and laws can really serve their objectives only when these are efficiently implemented by
the civil servants.
2. Role in Policy-Formulation:
Policy-making is the function of the political executive. However, the Bureaucracy plays an active role in
this exercise. Civil Servants supply the data needed by the political executive for formulating the policies.
In fact, Civil servants formulate several alternative policies and describe the merits and demerits of each.
The Political Executive then selects and adopts one such policy alternative as the governmental policy.
3. Running of Administration:

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To run the day to day administration in accordance with the policies, laws, rules, regulations and
decisions of the government is also the key responsibility of the Bureaucracy. The political executive
simply exercises guiding, controlling and supervising functions.
4. Advisory Function:
One of the important functions of the Bureaucracy is to advise the political executive. The ministers
receive all the information and advice regarding the functioning of their respective departments from the
civil servants. As amateurs, the ministers have little knowledge about the functions of their departments.
They, therefore, depend upon the advice of bureaucracy. As qualified, experienced and expert civil
servants working in all government departments, they provide expert and professional advice and
information to the ministers.
5. Role in Legislative Work:
The civil servants play an important but indirect role in law-making. They draft the bills which the
ministers submit to the legislature for law-making. The ministers provide all the information asked for by
the legislature by taking the help of the civil servants.
6. Semi-judicial Work:
The emergence of the system of administrative justice, under which several types of the cases and
disputes are decided by the executive, has further been a source of increased semi-judicial work of the
bureaucracy. The disputes involving the grant of permits, licences, tax concessions, quotas etc. are now
settled by the civil servants.
7. Collection of Taxes and Disbursement of Financial Benefits:
The civil servants play a vitally important role in financial administration. They advise the political
executive in respect of all financial planning, tax-structure, tax-administration and the like. They collect
taxes and settle disputes involving recovery of taxes. They play a vital role in preparing the budget and
taxation proposals. They carry out the function of granting of legally sanctioned financial benefits, tax
reliefs, subsidies and other concessions to the people.
8. Record-Keeping:
The Civil Service has the sole responsibility of keeping systematically all government records. They
collect, classify and analyse all data pertaining to all activities of the government. They collect and
maintain vital socioeconomic statistics which are used for the formulation of Public policies and plans.
9. Role in Public Relations:
The era of modern welfare state and democratic politics has made it essential for the government to keep
close relations with the people of the state. The need for maintaining active and full public relations is a
vital necessity of every state. The civil servants play an active role in this sphere.
They are the main agents who establish direct contacts with the people. They serve as a two way link. On
the one hand, they communicate all government decisions to the people, and on the other hand, they
communicate to the government the needs, interests and views of the people. Thus, Bureaucracy plays a
vigorously active and highly important role in the working of the government.

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Control over Bureaucracy:
The rise of modern welfare state and increase in its functions has been a source of big increase in the
powers and role of Bureaucracy. It has, therefore, given rise to an additional need for exercising control
over bureaucracy. An effective control system has become essential both for preventing the civil servants
from abusing their powers as well as for ensuring their active and positive role. In fact, every state
maintains a system of internal and external control over Bureaucracy.
(A) Internal Control:
It means control applied from within the organisation i.e. by the administrative machinery. The
administrative organisation is hierarchical and is divided into wings, divisions, branches and sections.
There are present some internal controls in its every section. The tools of control are budgeting,
accounting, auditing, reports, inspections, efficiency surveys, personnel control, code of conduct, and
discipline and leadership control.
In particular, regular internal inspections, auditing of accounts and evaluation of the performance of each
civil several act as main means of internal control over Bureaucracy Internal control is necessary for
keeping the bureaucracy efficient and productive of desired results.
(B) External Control:
External control is that which flows from outside agencies. These agencies are the people, the legislature,
the executive and the judiciary.
The Advantages of Bureaucracy
1. Expectations Are Clear
Communication is the for front of all bureaucratic organizations. This means that all of the demands and
expectations are made extremely clear, from the top down. Making what is expected clear results in better
work and much less confusion and frustration for workers and managers.
2. Promotes Equal Treatment
A strong structure, and a watchful eye, that comes with bureaucracy, ensures that all employees are
treated as equals. This helps to improve moral, and thus improves the rate and efficiency at which
employees work.
3. The Policies Are Strict
There are no games to be played when dealing with bureaucratic policies. The sole reason that these types
of organizations exist is to ensure that all policies are acknowledged and followed at all times by
everyone involved in the company or organization.
The Disadvantages of Bureaucracy
1. No Wiggle Room
Often times, circumstantial things need to be taken into account. Whether it be the speed and urgency that
something needs to be accomplished or special problems with an employee. Bureaucracy gives no room
for exceptions, even when they are desperately needed.
2. Lots of Red Tape
There is a mind boggling amount of paper work and forms to be processed in bureaucracies. It can take a
ridiculously long amount of time in order to get things done in organizations like this. This halts
production and growth within the company.
3. Very Bad In Unexpected Situations
Unpredictable things happen. It is a part of life and business. Companies and organizations that run on
bureaucracy are not equipped to deal with these emergency or unexpected problems. Whether it be a
market shift or a natural disaster, the paper work must still be done in order for anything to happen.

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4. Costs Time and Money

When examining bureaucracy in government, the biggest issue is the sheer amount of time that it takes to
get any sort of goal accomplished. This time translates into money as well. All of the employees that are
involved in completing even just one goal, is monumental. These employees are paid, and they are paid
by the tax payers. This is the fact that comes under the most criticism from opponents of bureaucracy.
5. It’s Just A Facade
The more work that is required to finish something, the busier people appear to be. It is a fact that
bureaucracies grow exponentially every single year. This is because the managers and other high ups
continue to increase the workload to keep the appearance of being efficient and busy.
Marxist Theory of Bureaucracy
Introductory:- Like Weber, Marx did not build up a comprehensive theory of bureaucracy and, to speak
the truth, he had no intention. His main interest centred around three basic concepts the development of
capitalism, the magnitude or extent of its exploitation of working class and, finally, the emancipation of
working class. In the course of analysis of these three basic issues he has discussed (although in laconic
form) almost all the major issues of economics, politics and sociology. Bureaucracy is one of these issues.
I think that his view on bureaucracy is not a complete theory of bureaucracy.
He studied the development of capitalism in some major capitalist countries of Western Europe and, in
course of his investigation or study, he observed how the capitalist states of Europe were administered.
This approach of Marx finally leads to the exposure of administration of capitalist states. He saw that
bureaucracy, to the capitalists, is not simply a mode of public administration but also an instrument of
exploitation of the working class. This is the gist of Marxist approach to bureaucratic administrative
system. In this section I shall quote three leading observations of Marx and Engels
In the Manifesto of Communist Party (hereafter only Manifesto) Marx and Engels wrote: “The executive
of the modern state is a committee for making the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie” Marx and
Engels here did not directly refer to bureaucracy. Needless to say that in all capitalist states the executive
power is vested in the hands of a group of administrators who are called bureaucrats and these persons
represent the interests of the capitalists.
It is believed that, according to Marx, the rise of bureaucracy is closely associated with the rise of state
and Marx and Engels have thrown light on this issue in their The German Ideology. I quote a lengthy
passage from The German Ideology: “By the mere fact that it is a class and no longer an estate, the
bourgeoisie is forced to organise itself no longer locally, but nationally, and to give a general form to its
average interests. Through the emancipation of private property from the communit
y, the state has become a separate entity, alongside and outside civil society, but it is nothing more than
the form of organisation which the bourgeois are compelled to adopt, both for internal and external
purposes, for the mutual guarantee of their property and interest” —Finally I quote few lines from
Marx’s.
The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte. He says: “The executive power with its enormous
bureaucratic and military organisation, with its ingenious state machinery, embracing wide strata, with a
host of officials numbering half a million, besides an army of another half million, this appalling parasite
body, which enmeshes the body of French society like a net and chokes all its pores, sprang up in the days
of absolute monarchy” From these quotations or observations it is now clear what Marx actually thought
about bureaucracy. He was sure that the rise of bureaucracy and growth of bourgeoisie are inextricably
connected. He also arrived at the conclusion that bureaucracy was not simply a mode of administration
but an instrument of exploitation.

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Origin of Marx’s Thought:
In the last section I have quoted three passages from Marx’s writings which clearly show what Marx
thought about bureaucracy. The Marxists and even non- Marxists have endeavoured to explore the origin
of his conception about bureaucracy. In an article published in A Dictionary of Marxist Thought (Second
Edition) we find the following comment: “Marx formed his theory of bureaucracy on the basis of his
personal experience of the malfunctioning of the state administration . He deduces the notion of
bureaucracy from the bureaucratic relationship existing between the power-holding institutions and the
social groups subordinated to them”.
He observed that in France and several other states of Europe the entire state administration was run by
the bureaucrats and these state officers were dictated by the king or any type of dictator. The bureaucracy
was so common in his time that he very frequently used the phrase bureaucratic phenomenon. This
implies that the entire administration was under the full control of few officers known as bureaucrats.
In the materialist conception of history Marx has endeavoured to show that the idea of bureaucracy has
not fallen from heaven. In primitive and slave societies there was no existence of state and no
bureaucracy. So one can say that the system of bureaucracy was deliberately created by a group of men
who controlled the state. Their sole aim was to ensure the good management of state so that the capitalists
can exploit the working class without any problem. In the German Ideology Marx and Engels have
thrown light on this aspect. In the German Ideology they have said: “the state is the form in which the
individuals of a ruling class assert their common interests”.
We thus find that, according to Marx and Engels, the emergence of state and rise of bureaucracy are, in
fact, inseparable from each other. Marx has said that during feudal period there was a clear existence of
state but it had no separate and powerful existence of bureaucracy. The state was more or less controlled
by various forces and feudal lords were the most prominent. Marx and Engels have said that, in
capitalism, state came to establish its separate existence and capitalists encouraged this phenomenon.
But subsequently the capitalists came to realise that in its attempt to safeguard its objective of profit
motive the help of state was necessary. It also thought that the state must be brought under proper
administration. Bureaucracy was the consequence of this plan. An unholy nexus was created, under the
aegis of the bourgeoisie, between the state and the capitalists. In Marx’s view the rise and growth of
bureaucracy must be viewed in the light of capitalism.
Marx observed that Louis Bonaparte was gradually accumulating more and more power and dictatorial
power was exercised by him. In this attempt (or we may call it a process) he was assisted by bureaucracy
and military. Particularly the former helped to make and execute laws and to strengthen the base of
despotism. The bureaucracy became rather an indispensable part of Bonaparte’s administration and
despotism.
There were legislature and other organs of government but in the face of Bonaparte’s growing power
which may be called dictatorship they were simply puppets. Marx has said: “Bureaucracy must, therefore,
make it its job to render life as material as possible”. In the German Ideology Marx and Engels saw that in
most of the states in Germany bureaucracy was acquiring more and more power and independence.

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Marx on Nature of Bureaucracy:
If we go through Marx’s writings that contain his ideas on bureaucracy we shall find that the concept
failed to receive his accolade:
(1) Rather, he thought bureaucracy, in a capitalist state system, is a party to exploitation and most
probably for this reason he used two words state bureaucracy. Both Marx and Engels treated bureaucracy
as part and parcel of the whole capitalist state structure. Bureaucracy, in Marx’s opinion, helped the
bourgeois state in its activities of exploiting the working class. I believe this is the significance of the
phrase state bureaucracy.
(2) In Marx’s time there existed bureaucracy in both liberal and autocratic state systems. In other words, it
was a very common system of administration of states irrespective of differences in state administration
or structure. The probable reason was that Industrial Revolution completely changed the political,
economic and social structures of society and state bureaucracy established its inevitability everywhere.
Even in parliamentary system there was great need for state bureaucracy.
(3) I have already quoted a passage from Marx’s Vie Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte where it
has been stated that in France there was an enormous bureaucratic and military organisation. The
significance is that the state systems of eighteenth century could not perform their normal and
administrative duties without these two structures—bureaucracy and military.
(4) Marx has said that in France bureaucracy established class rule “under the absolute monarchy, during
the first revolution, under Napoleon, bureaucracy was only the means of preparing the class rule of the
bourgeoisie, under the Restoration, under Louis Philippe, under the parliamentary Republic,’ it was the
instrument of ruling class.” What transpires from the above analysis is that Marx treated bureaucracy as
an instrument of ruling class—the most powerful class of society.
(5) According to Marx the bureaucracy is an “appalling parasitic body”. He also calls it dreadful parasitic
substance. These phrases are not symbols of eulogy. He vehemently opposed the bureaucratic system of
all capitalist structures of his time. He knew that bureaucracy is, no doubt, an efficient instrument of
administration but it is the most powerful instrument of administration that tortures and exploits working
class. Marx and Engels in several of their writings have high-lighted this.
(6) From the study of history Marx arrived at the conclusion that the bureaucratic system that prevailed in
the contemporary states was not neutral at all. I have already noted that it is a powerful instrument of
class rule and class exploitation. Criticising Hegel’s (1770-1830) Philosophy of Right Marx said, “The
bureaucracy has the essence of the state.” What Marx meant by this was that bureaucracy not only
ensures class rule but the capitalist class uses it to establish supremacy in all sections of the state. If so, in
Marx’s opinion, bureaucracy cannot be separated from state system.
(7) Victor M. Perez-Diaz (State Bureaucracy and Civil Society) says that Marx insists that a crucial
chracteristic of the bureaucracy is that of behaving like a private owner vis-a-vis the public resources, it
conserves a substantial degree of control over these resources and uses them for their own purpose …
According to Marx, the bureaucracy is bearer of private interests and a reinforcer of private spirit in the
society as a whole. It is precisely by reinforcing such privatism or particularism of the society that the
bureaucracy may claim a monopoly of the public-spirit—a monopoly of public resources.

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Bureaucracy in Advanced Capitalism:
Ralph Miliband, a noted Marxist thinker, in his The State in Capitalist Society. The Analysis of Western
System of Power (1973) has analysed bureaucracy and its role in advanced capitalism. The Servants of
the State—he has analysed the important aspects of bureaucracy that prevails in capitalist states. He has
said that the political leaders of advanced capitalism have clear party colour, the bureaucrats have no such
colour—they are neutral or are supposed to be neutral.
Even the top leaders of the party, after coming to power, bring their men and give important posts to
them. But they do not work for party —they are politically neutral. “The claim insistently made, not least
by civil servants themselves, that they are politically neutral, in the sense that, their overriding, indeed
their exclusive concern, is to advance the business of the state under the direction of their political
masters”. The so-called fact is that civil servants or bureaucrats in capitalist states such as USA are, in
their administrative functions, neutral.
But Miliband does not accept this general view about bureaucracy in capitalist countries. The neutrality of
bureaucrats in capitalist countries is a myth. Miliband says. …these men do play an important part in the
process of governmental decision—making, and therefore constituting a considerable force in the
configuration of political power in their societies” We therefore, find that the bureaucrats of capitalist
countries are indispensable parts of administration and they also carry political colour with them. In other
words, they are part of politics.
Another aspect of bureaucrats of capitalist countries is that while making policy and implementing it they
claim that they are neutral. We thus find that politically they claim to be neutral and in policy
implementing affairs they are neutral. Political consideration never influences them while executing the
adopted policies. We find Miliband to make the following observation: “As for the manner in which this
power is exercised, the notion of neutrality which is often attached to it is surely in the highest degree
misleading; indeed a moment’s reflection must suggest that it is absurd”. In every advanced capitalist
country individual civil servants (bureaucrats are also called in this name) have occasionally played a
notable part in social, administrative and military functions.
It is not expected that the top civil servants come from the power elite groups or policy making
organisations. They have obtained their education from the most important and top academic institutions.
These persons have built up their own political ideas and inclination and when they become top
administrators their policies will be influenced by their political inclinations and family background. The
consequence is whenever a government decides to introduce “reforms” for the general benefit of public
these civil servants are not supposed to be neutral, rather they oppose the reforms of the government.
Conservatism is another feature of bureaucrats. These officers do not want any change-a change for the
better-“top civil servants in these countries are not simply conservative in general, they are conservative
in the sense that they are the conscious or unconscious allies of existing economic and social elites. They
favour existing social and economic structures of society.”
The civil servants are very often protectors and propagators of private capitalism and this role has
expanded from the eighties of the last century due to the advancement of globalisation. Ralph Miliband
has said that after the World War II a close nexus has developed between top civil servants and corporate
capitalism; and bureaucracy helps the corporate capitalism in the attainment of objectives. Miliband says
that bureaucracy is a great supporter of corporate capitalism and help in various ways. In recent years the
state, being pressurised by public opinion, intervenes with the functioning of economic sector and in this
affair the civil servants play a crucial role. Miliband has studied the American system and then concludes.

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Both bureaucrats and politicians claim that they are the well-wishers and partners of national economic
interests. But politicians do not always find scope or time to discuss policy matters with the magnates of
private capitalism. This job is done by the top bureaucrats. Miliband’s observation is worth noting: “The
world of administration and the world of large scale enterprise are now increasingly linked in terms of an
almost interchanging personnel. More and more businessmen find their way into one part or the other of
the state system at both political and administrative levels”. This type of interchangeability between top
civil servants and important leaders of corporate or private capitalism in US or other mature capitalism is
not new or uncommon: Nobody criticises it. The moot point is in advanced capitalist state bureaucracy is
not busy with public administration alone but with other functions.
What is the relationship between Bureaucracy and democracy?
A government bureaucracy is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for democracy. A hierarchy with
established responsibilities and rules applied equally to all provides accountability for officials.
For example, a fundamental function of government is tax collection. Some governments have
accomplished this without bureaucracy through tax farming. That's a system in which a person is given
the authority to collect the taxes in a given geographic area. The tax farmer gets to keep some portion of
the tax revenue he collects. The regulations are few if any. The government looks to the tax farmer to
provide a particular amount of money each year, and pretty much leaves him or her alone otherwise. This
winds up with the tax farmer squeezing the life out of the population, keeping more than what the
government intends, and ultimately impoverishing the populace and retarding economic growth.
Bureaucracy provides the regulations, based on the tax policy enacted by the democratically elected
legislature. The authority of tax collectors is clearly spelled out in the regulations. If a tax collector
oversteps his authority by trying to overtax people he doesn't like or undertaxing his friends, this can be
audited, and deviations from the regulations identified.
The same reasoning applies to all other functions of government.
This is not an automatic process. Citizens have to be aware of their rights, and challenge government
officials who are thought to be acting contrary to law and regulation. Bureaucracy provides the means to
identify such overreach, and challenge it.
As I said before, bureaucracy is necessary for democracy, but not sufficient. A dictator also wants to hold
his officials accountable, and bureaucracy gives him the means to do that. So it is a tool for assuring that
the dictator's laws, which he enacts to further his own power and wealth, are complied with.
3. (a). Local Government- meaning, Characteristics, importance & Problems. (b). Urban Local
Government and Panchayati Raj (73rd & 74th Amendment of the Constitution). (c). District Level-
Organization, Administration Peronnel & Soures of Revenues.
1. Define Bureaucracy? Discuss its roles.

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Bureaucracy?
3. How Marx define nature of Bureaucracy?
4. What is the relationship between Bureaucracy and democracy?
5. Discuss about Bureaucracy in advanced capitalism?
6. “Civil Service/Bureaucracy is a professional body of officials permanent,
paid and skilled.” Throw some light on the said statement.

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UNIT -3
Local government- Meaning
It is not easy to answer the question “what is local government”? Local Government may
be described as government by popularly elected bodies charged with administrative and
executive duties in matters concerning the inhabitants of a particular district or place and vested
with powers to make bye-laws for their guidance. Local Government has been defined from
various angles.
The term “Local Government” literally means management of the local affairs by the
people of the locality. It is based on the principle that the local problems and needs can be looked
by the people of the locality better than by central or state governments. The administration of
local affair is entrusted to the representatives elected by the people of the locality on regular
intervals. Though local government institutions enjoy autonomy of operations, it does not mean
that there are no legal restrictions upon them. The central and state governments are free to
prescribe the limits within which a local government has to operate and also reserve the right to
issue directions from time to time.
The term “Local Government” or “Local-self government’ means the government by freely
elected local bodies which are endowed with power, discretion and responsibility to be exercised
and discharged by them, without control over their decisions by any other higher authority. Their
actions are, however, subjected to the supremacy of the national government. Defining local self-
government, it has been observed that: Local inhabitants representing local body possessing
autonomy within its limited spheres, raising revenue through local taxation and spending its
income on local services constitute the local-self-government.
An administrative body for a small geographic area, such as a city, town, county, or
state. A local government will typically only have control over their specific geographical
region, and can not pass or enforce laws that will affect a wider area. Local governments
can elect officials, enact taxes, and do many other things that a national government would
do, just on a smaller scale.
India has the distinction of being a unique federal country. Ordinarily, federalism involves a
two tier system – central/union government at the first level and the state/provincial government
at the second level. But the Indian constitution provides for a three tier federal structure as
below: - Union Government at the top State Government in the Middle Local Government i.e.
Panchayats and Municipalities at Grass Root As such, in India, Local Government is the third
stratum of the Government, the first two being the central and state Governments. India is known
to be the world’s largest democracy. In constitutional sense, democracy is the system of
Government, in the administration of which, every adult citizen of the country enjoys some

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direct or indirect share. Keeping in view the real spirit and high ideas of democracy, Local
Government forms an indispensable part of governance and administration in India. The Local
Government’s jurisdiction is limited to a specific area and its functions relate to the provision of
civic amenities to the population being within its jurisdiction. A Local Government functions
within the provisions of the statute which has created it. It is subordinate to the state or provincial
government which exercises control and supervision over it. But the activities of the Local
Government are not less numerous. Local Government has been undertaking new activities
which either regulated the conduct of the citizens or are in the nature of service such as provision
of mass transport, construction of houses for the poor, supply of electricity, health centers, parks,
play grounds etc. In fact, Local Government is today much more important in the daily life of a
citizen than the state or central government. The importance of Local government can hardly be
over emphasized when we consider the range, the character and the impact upon the daily life of
the citizen of the functions which local authorities carry out. Local Government provides public
amenities and services which are necessary for the convenience, healthful living and welfare of
the individual and the community. Breaking down of municipal services means the entire
dislocation of social and economic life of the community. If these services were suddenly to
cease, we should relapse into chaos.
1. The Local Government institutions are based on the principle of division of labour. They
are indispensable because the aggregate duties of government and local authorities can
thus be shared.
2. The administration from without lacks the vitalizing ability to be responsible to public
opinion. It cannot grasp the genius of the place. Local Government is therefore educative
in perhaps a higher degree than any other part of government.
3. The constitution of India aims at the establishment of a welfare state and strengthening of
Local Government may ensure its proper achievement. The welfare services of the
modern state, in view of the flexible technique of administration they required, essentially
municipal in principle and practice.
4. Local Government both in urban and rural areas has thus to shoulder manifold and
complex responsibilities. The central and state governments are conscious of the short-
coming from which local government suffered in the past. They have therefore been
trying to understand them by instituting several enquires and studies.
5. The Central Government, for instance, set up the Local Finance Enquiry Committee
(1951) and the Taxation Enquiry Commission (1954) to examine the problems of
finances of urban local bodies. A central council of Local Self-Government was
established in 1954 to consider and recommend broad lines of policy and draw up a
common programme of action to promote local self-government through out India. The
council set up a committee on Augmentation of Financial Resources of Urban Local
bodies in 1965.
Town and villages are two distinct entities in India. They have different needs and problems.
The main requirements of towns are the provisions of housing, transport, communications, water

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supply, sanitary conditions, community centers, slum clearance and town planning while main
emphasis in the village has to be on improvement of agriculture, irrigation facilities, animal
husbandry, village industries and the like. The personnel of Urban Local Government and
Panchayati Raj institutions would thus require specialized training to cater the specific needs of
urban and rural areas respectively. The study therefore, emphasis’s the need for two distinct set
of personnel requirement for the urban and rural local bodies.
Local government and local self-government are used interchangeably. In fact, the term
‘local self-government’ is a product of colonial rule which has become inappropriate after
achievement of independence and establishment of more or less autonomous government by
local inhabitants through their elected representatives. Local self government is the government
at sub regional level. This government looks after the ‘local’ functions like water supply, local
street, local market, sanitary facilities etc. Though these functions are at the small scale but they
are important functions for the governance of the local area. The adjective ‘local’ stands for a
small geographical area. It also means intimate social relations of the people in a limited
geographical space. The other word ‘government’ stands for a public authority. In a liberal
democratic system, a government may be arranged territorially, where at the central level there
can be a national level government, at the middle level there can be a state or regional level
government and at the sub regional level there are many local governmental units which
exercises authority and discharge a number of important local functions on the basis of statutory
decentralization. So it is considered as a means of enriching and deepening democracy by
extending freedom of action to the local government. As ‘Government’ local government has
three important features;
• It is elected by the people of the local area;
• It has the power to levy taxes and other fees, like any other government; and
• Its functions and activities are clearly laid down in law so that within the scheme of legislation,
local government enjoys a degree of autonomy.
Definition of local government-

For a better understanding of the concept of Local Government and its meaning, scope and
nature, it shall be desirable to study a few important definitions and interpretations from various
sources;
As per the General Clauses Act, 1897 “Local Government shall mean the person authorized by
law to administer executive”.
There are two aspects of local government
(a) the relation of the local bodies to the central/state governments,

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(b) their relation to the local community, which should be determined by the following
principles:-
(i) It is desirable to aim at the smallest possible unit that can perform a particular task efficiently
so as to being local government as nearer as possible to the people,
(ii) If a unit is so large that members of Local Government cannot regularly attend its meetings,
local Government will tend to loose its representative character,
(iii) Wherever possible that unit should be based on natural local loyalties, though this principle
will often have to be sacrificed to efficiency or alternatively we will have to abandon the idea of
progress.
Characteristics of Local Governments-

The discussion regarding meaning of local government makes it clear that there are
certain characteristics on which the systems of local government are based. Some of its
important characteristics are as follows: -
(i) Local Areas: - A Local Government unit as far as its jurisdiction is concerned has a
well defined area which is fixed by the concerned state government. This area can be
termed as a city, a town or a village. The territorial limits of a local body unit are
fixed by the state government subject to changes from time to time through
legislation.
(ii) Local Authority: - The administration of a particular locality is run by an authority or
body of persons who are elected directly by the people residing in that particular area.
The authority which includes the elected representatives of the people is responsible
for management of local affairs in that area.
(iii) Civil Amenities For Local Inhabitants: - The Primary objective of Local Government
is to provide certain civic amenities to the people at their door-steps. The provision of
these civic amenities ensures the healthy living of local community. These services
are specifically meant for those inhabitants who are living in that restricted area for
which the local government unit has been created. It has been rightly pointed out that
all these amenities which make living better, physically, economically, socially and
culturally should be assigned to the local inhabitants.
(iv) Local Finance: - In order to perform its functions effectively, it is necessary that
every local government unit is provided with adequate finances. The services
provided to the local inhabitants are largely financed out of finances raised locally.
The local inhabitants are required to pay taxes imposed by the concerned local
authority. It is the authority of local government. However, unlike other levels of
government that accords it a unique position among corporate bodies, this authority
has legal and constitutional basis. Infect, the local government possesses revenue

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raising and spending authority only to the extent that the state/central government
grants it to them.
(v) Local Autonomy: - Local Autonomy means the freedom of the local government to
decide and act in the sphere of activities and functions allotted to them by the statute
under which they are created. Among other things, it implies the legal right of the
inhabitants of a local area to choose their representatives to govern the locality
concerned, according to the laws framed by the local council and to adopt the budget.
It is however, to be understood that the authorities which have been given the
responsibility to run the local government are neither sovereign nor self-created
entities and they will have to depend upon the higher levels of government for their
creation, rank, powers and functions.
(vi) Local Participation: - The success or failure of developmental plans at the local level
depends upon the active participation of local people for whom these plans are made.
It is a local government which provides an opportunity to the local people to
participate in administration. If the goals of development have to be achieved,
people’s participation is a pre-requisite for it.
(vii) Local Leadership: - The people who come under the purview of local government,
especially those living in rural areas, are generally illiterate, inexperienced, non-
professional and unaware about the functioning of local bodies. Strong leadership
therefore needs to be provided to those people. This leadership is provided to the
people from the local area in the shape of elected representatives and elected office
bearers of the elected councils in regard to the policies and programmes of the
government.
(viii) Local Accountability: - Local Government units which are created to provide civic
amenities to the people are accountable to the local people. The residents of a local
area keep a watch on local authorities to ensure effective performance of their
functions. If a local body becomes inefficient and is not in a position to provide
satisfactory services to the people, it faces severe criticism of local residents.
(ix) Local Development: - Local Government is concerned with the overall development
of the people living within its area. Every activity of local government is therefore
aimed at development.
The essential characteristics of Local Government are;
(i) its statutory status,

(ii) its power to raise finance by taxation in the area under its jurisdiction,
(iii) participation of local community in decision making in specified subjects and their
administration,
(iv) the freedom to act independently of central control.
Thus, analysis or examination of Local Government given above reveals that local
government is a combination of various elements and no single definition includes all of them.

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Theses elements include a local statutory body, local inhabitants electing and controlling that
body, limited autonomy in the sense that state governments in a federation and central
government in unitary system give them a limited freedom to perform their functions prescribed
by law, a recognition of distinction between local and non-local services, and power to levy local
taxes. Thus, a local government has many attributes.
Local Authorities Under ARTICLE - 12

Article 12 of the constitution of India defines the term state for the purpose of fundamental
rights contained in part-III of the constitution which says that local authority includes a state. The
said constitutional provision has been upheld by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case Rashid
Ahmed v. Municipality Board, Khairana and Ajit Singh V. State of Punjab whereby it has been
said that municipality and Gram Panchayats are local authorities respectively against whom
fundamental rights can be enforced. The Supreme Court has further in this context laid down the
distinctive attributes and characteristics of Local Authority in Union of India v. RC Jain.
These are: The authority must have separate legal existence as corporate bodies. It must
function in a defined area and must ordinarily, wholly or partly, directly or indirectly be
elected by the inhabitants of the area. It must enjoy a certain degree of autonomy, with
freedom to decide for itself, questions of policy affecting the area administered by it. It
must be entrusted by statute with such governmental functions and duties as are usually
entrusted to municipal bodies. It must have the power to raise funds for furtherance of
its activities and fulfillment of its projects by levying taxes, rates, charges and fees. Thus,
fundamental rights are available against the local bodies and can be enforced through
court of law.
Importance of Local Government-

The importance of local government lies in sustaining the democracy. If democracy has to
function properly as many citizens as possible should be encouraged and provided with
opportunities to take a continuing interest in its activities and problems. In a democracy, people
have to work with great patience and perseverance. In the long run, we may find that the
progress achieved under such democratic methods is more firm and more solid than under
totalitarian set up. People should have faith in democracy and is like reposing faith in
themselves. Since faith sustains people's patience, people can acquire this faith more easily
through experience of working in democratic institutions. Our first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal
Nehru, while inaugurating the first local self-government Ministers, conference in 1948, had said
that "local self government is and must be the basis of any true systems of democracy. We have
got rather into the habit of thinking democracy at the top may not be success unless you build on
its foundation from below. The importance of local government may be discussed under the
following heads:

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i) School of Democracy The Success of national democracy largely depends upon the
success of democracy at the grass-root level. The proposition that self governing
localities are the citadels and schools of democracy, has been stressed by an advisory
committee of the commission on Inter governmental Relations (U.S.A):- “Local
governments are to total government what basic tissues are to human body without the
government would have no vitality. The countries, cities, towns, villages and boroughs
serve as training schools for the leaders of government, and in the affairs of local
government are tried those who aspire to state and national offices.” Symbolizing
democracy by local government G.D.H. Cole points out: "Democracy is nothing unless it
means, in the last report, letting the people have their own way, not only in the mass, by
means of an aggregate vote in a nation wide scale, but also in their lesser groups and
societies of which the grater societies are made up and through which it is made
articulate in such a way that the less clamorous voices can be heard".
ii) Platform for Political and Popular Education Lord Ripon's Resolution of 1882
emphasized the need of political and popular education through local government. It is
not primarily with a view to improvement in administration that their measure is put
forward and supported. It is chiefly designed as an instrument of political and popular
education. Highlighting the importance of local government as an educational institution.
Prof laski says. “The institution of local government is education in perhaps a higher
degree at least contingently, than any other part of government. And it must be
remembered that there is no other way of bringing the mass of citizens into intimate
contact with persons responsible for decisions.” Local government is a system which
ensures effective participation of citizens in administration and makes them realise about
their responsibilities towards the society.
iii) Promotes Spirit of Liberty And Equality The local assemblies of citizens says De Tocque
Ville, add to the strength of free nations. "Town meetings are to liberty what primary
schools are to science: they bring it within the people's reach, they teach men how to use
and how to enjoy it. A nation may establish a free government but without municipal
institutions, it cannot have the spirit of liberty. The concept of equality has many
meanings but in the context of local government it may enhance equality by providing
access to political office and political activity for wider groups of people than are
accommodated through national politics.
iv) Effective Solution of Local Problems All the problems are not supposed to be solved by
the central and state governments. In fact, there are some problems which occur at the
local level and need to be solved locally in accordance with local needs, atmosphere,
environment and wishes of the people. To be acquainted with all these things, the
government shall have to step down to the local level in order to solve local problems in
an effective manner. According to H.J. Laski "we cannot realize the full benefits of
democratic government, unless we begin by the admission that all problems are not
control problems, and that the results of problems in their incidence require decision at
the place and by the persons, where and by whom the incidence is most deeply felt.

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v) Provides Civil Services Local government institutions perform numerous functions to

provide civil amenities to the inhabitants. The services performed by these bodies
include garbage collection, cleaning of streets, drainage, electricity, water supply, fire
services, health service etc, are very important for good civil life. Moreover R. Argal
opines that from the pre-natal days to even after death, the municipal institutions serve
us, but we may be utterly ignorant of the composition of the town council, we realize
that importance of local institution only when its services the water supply, scavenging
etc. fail.
vi) Reduce the Burden of Work of State/Central Government A large number of functions
are performed by local government which otherwise would have been performed by
central/state government. This, local government not only provides certain essential
services to the people, but also reduces the burden of central/state government as well. If
the central/state government in over loaded with work, it becomes incompetent, in
capable and inefficient to perform its duties. Therefore, local government is necessary
for the development of initiative and interest of local masses in government and
responsibility. Local government is an invaluable socio-political laboratory for trying
and testing on a small scale, various new proposals for government organization and
socio-economic policies. It is a persevere of local colors in the national life.
vii) Check against Bureaucracy the control of bureaucracy over the community increases in
the absence of a strong local government system. A centralized system of administration,
even though democratic, results in control of the community by bureaucracy. The rigid
behavior of bureaucrats largely effects the people's initiative and their confidence in the
government. The transmission of powers from bureaucrats to democratically formed
local government has positively checked the influence of bureaucracy. Venkatarao has
rightly remarked, “one of the virtues of local government is the easy intimacy and ready
access to local government officials.”
viii) Local Government is Economical The performance of any government whether central
or local largely depends upon availability of finances. In performing functions by local
government economy is secured because local functions are performed by local
authorities out of the funds raised locally by levying taxes. When the local people are
entrusted with the management of local affairs, they will manage them at the lowest cost
because they know that it is their money which is spent on local services, therefore, they
remain conscious to make services more economical and avoid wastage. The
Widdicambe committee on the conduct of local Authority Business summaries the case
thus:- The value of local government stems from its three attributes of: a) Pluralism,
through which it contributes to the national political system, b) Participation, through
which it contributes to local democracy, c) Responsiveness, through which it contributes
to the provision of local needs through the delivery of services.
ix) Training Ground for Emerging Leaders Local government is also on invaluable training
ground for emerging leaders, who after acquiring experience in the art of politics and
government at the local level rise as such to the state and national level. In our country

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local governments have produced many leaders of national eminence and stature like
Ferozeshah Mehta Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, Vallabh
Bhai Patel, Lal Lajpat Rai etc, who are shinning examples of sober and healthy local
politics and restored to these local institutions, the authority and dignity they deserved.
These examples justify the maxim that the best school of democracy and the best
guarantee for its success is the practices of local government.
x) Efficient and Effective Management of Local Affairs Local government being concerned
generally with the welfare of the people deals mainly with these functions which
contribute to socio-economic development of the country. It being more conversant and
concerned with the local problems as compared to the government in the capital, can
manage the local affairs more efficiently and effectively.
xi) Channel of Communication between the State Government and the Community Local
government serves as a channel of communication between state government and the
community. The demands made by the local community are on the one hand transmitted
to the state government, the creator of local government and on the other hand, people
living in far flung areas come to know about the government policies and programmes
through local bodies. This, local government, ensures close relationship between the
people and the higher level of governments through the device of communication.
xii) Mitigation of the Evils of Party System Political parties have always influenced the
democracy not only at the state and national level, but at the local level as well because it
is not possible for democracy to functions without the political parties. 80 Local
government in urban areas in England has been operating on party lines. But we in India
advocate the avoidance of participation of political parties in local bodies as they bring
in the management of local affairs, the evils usually attributed to them such as
functionalism, groupism, favoritism and nepotism. The role of political parties as such is
therefore not encouraged in local governments and thus they are expected to remain
immune from the evils of party system.
Problems in local administration-
1. Fund
2. Function
3. Functionaries
Fund: Local government has no source of revenue except the grants form state and central,
which has political base rather than requirement. Local government are allowed to collect taxes
form locals, but due to inadequate man power, Lack of digitization, and awareness they fails to
collect tax and generate revenue.

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Function: Although 73rd and 74th amendment provided comprehensive list for area of function
enumerated in schedule 11 and 12 in constitution of India. Most of these items are overlapping
with the functions of the state list. Therefore they have very less scope to be meaningful.
Functionaries: Due to uncertainty for flow of funds. Local Government are unable to attract best
talent to work with them. (If organization is unable to secure funds for itself they how will they
pay salaries to the employee).
Other Major problem:
* Lack of Awareness, people are not aware about who actually are responsible for particular
lacunae.
* Corruption, Since people are not aware about rights this give opportunity for corruption. It
results in "Trust Deficit", that's why people do not attempt to know. see this brings kind of
vicious cycle.
* Violence and Politicization, this is major issue here. If any minister from Sate Cabinet resort
to violence it will become nation issue in newspaper. But if local goon who wields power in local
governance resorts to violence then there is little hope for justice.
Urban Local Government-
Urban Local Government: Composition, Functions, Problems-

Urban Local government implies the governance of an urban area by the people through their
elected representatives. 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 provided constitutional status
to local urban bodies.
74th Constitutional Amendment-
This act added a new part IX-A to the Constitution entitled as ‘The Municipalities’ and a
new Twelfth Schedule containing 18 functional items for municipalities. The main provisions of
this Act can be grouped under two categories–compulsory and voluntary. Some of the
compulsory provisions which are binding on all States are:
1. Constitution of Nagar panchayats, municipal councils and municipal corporations in transitional

areas (areas in transition from a rural area to urban area), smaller urban areas and larger urban areas
respectively;
2. Reservation of seats in urban local bodies for Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes roughly in
proportion to their population;
3. Reservation of seats for women up to one-third seats;

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4. The State Election Commission, constituted in order to conduct elections in the panchayati raj bodies
(see 73rd Amendment) will also conduct elections to the urban local self- governing bodies;
5. The State Finance Commission, constituted to deal with financial affairs of the Panchayati Raj bodies
will also look into the financial affairs of the local urban self governing bodies;
6. Tenure of urban local self-governing bodies is fixed at five years and in case of earlier dissolution fresh
elections are to be held within six months;
Some of the voluntary provisions which are not binding, but are expected to be observed by the
States are:
1. Giving representation to members of the Union and State Legislatures in these bodies;
2. Providing reservation for backward classes;
3. Giving financial powers in relation to taxes, duties, tolls and fees etc;
4. Making the municipal bodies autonomous and devolution of powers to these bodies to perform some or
all of the functions enumerated in the Twelfth Schedule added to the Constitution through this Act and/or
to prepare plans for economic development.
In accordance with the 74th Amendment, municipal corporations and municipalities

(municipal boards or municipal committees) are now regulated in a fairly uniform manner in all
the States. However, one must remember that local self-government continues to be a subject in
the State List. Thus, the 73rd and 74th amendments provide a framework for the States in respect
of local government. Thus, each State has its own Election Commission which conducts
elections to all local bodies after regular intervals of five years. Each State has its Finance
Commission to regulate finances of the local bodies. Seats are reserved in the corporations and
municipalities for Scheduled Castes and Tribes. One-third seats are reserved for women in all
local bodies – urban and rural.
Composition
The Municipal bodies are constituted of persons chosen by direct election from the territorial
constituencies (known as wards) in the municipal area.
However, the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide for the representation in a
municipal body of persons having special knowledge or experience of municipal administration,
the members of Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha and the members of Legislative Council and Legislative
Assembly of the State, representing constituencies, which comprise wholly or partly the
Municipal Area.The state legislature may also provide the manner of the election of the
Chairpersons of a municipality. The state legislature may also provide the manner of the election
of the Chairpersons of a municipality. Empowerment of weaker sections of society and women
by reserving seats for such groups is one of the important constitutional provisions of the
Constitutional Amendment. The offices of chairperson are also reserved for SC/ST and women.
Thus, at least one year, out of five year duration of Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the office of

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Mayor is reserved for a woman, and for one year is reserved for a Councillor of Scheduled Caste.
It gives a term of five years to the municipalities and if any of them is to be dissolved, it must be
given an opportunity of being heard.
Functions of Urban Local Bodies

It is a common practice to divide the organisation of a corporation or a municipality into two
parts:
(a) deliberative and (b) executive part
The corporation, council or municipal board or council consisting of the elected

representatives of the people constitutes the deliberative part. It acts like a legislature. It
discusses and debates on general municipal policies and performance, passes the budget of the
urban local body, frames broad policies relating to taxation, resources raising, pricing of services
and other aspects of municipal administration. It keeps an eye on municipal administration and
holds the executive accountable for what is done or not done. For instance, if water supply is not
being properly managed, or there is an outbreak of an epidemic, the deliberative wing criticizes
the role of the administration and suggests measures for improvement. The executive part of
municipal administration is looked after by the municipal officers and other permanent
employees. In the corporations, the Municipal Commissioner is the executive head, and all other
departmental officers like engineers, finance officers, health officers etc. function under his/her
control and supervision. In a large corporation, such as Delhi or Mumbai Municipal Corporation,
the Commissioner is usually a senior IAS officer. In municipalities, the executive officer holds a
similar position and looks after the overall administration of a municipality.
 Municipal functions are generally classified into obligatory and discretionary types.
The obligatory (compulsory) functions are those that the municipal body must perform. In
this category fall such functions as water supply; construction and maintenance of roads, streets,
bridges, subways and other public works, street lighting; drainage and sewerage; garbage
collection and disposal; prevention and control of epidemics.
Some other obligatory functions are public vaccination and inoculation; maintenance of
hospitals and dispensaries including maternity and child welfare centres; checking food
adulteration; removal of slums; supply of electricity; maintenance of cremation and burial
grounds; and town planning. In some States some of these functions may be taken over by State
Government.
The discretionary functions are those that a municipal body may take up if funds permit.
These are given less priority. Some of the discretionary functions are construction and

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maintenance of rescue homes and orphanages, housing for low income groups, organising public
receptions, provision of treatment facilities, etc.
Type of urban governments-

There are eight types of urban governments in India.
1. Municipal Corporation: Municipal corporations are created for the administration of big cities
like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and others. A Municipal Corporation has three authorities
namely, the council (legislative wing of the corporation), the standing committee (to facilitate the
working of the council) and the commissioner (chief executive authority of the corporation).The
council consist of councilors directly elected by people and is headed by a Mayor while the
Commissioner is appointed by state government and is generally an IAS officer.
2. Municipality: The municipalities are established for the administration of towns and smaller
cities. They are known by various other names like municipal council, municipal committee,
municipal board, borough municipality, city municipality and others. In composition they are
quite similar to municipal corporations except that head of council is called President /chairman
and in place of commissioner they have a chief executive officer/chief municipal officer.
3. Notified Area Committee: A notified area committee is created for the administration of two
types of areas- a fast developing town due to industrialization, and a town which does not yet
fulfill all the conditions necessary for the constitution of a municipality, but which otherwise is
considered important by the state government. It is called so because it is created by a
notification and unlike the municipality it is an entirely nominated body, i.e. all members,
including the Chairman, are nominated by the state government. Thus, it is neither a statutory
body (created by law) nor an elected body.
4. Town Area Committee: It is set up by a separate act of state legislature for the administration of
a small town. It is a semi-municipal authority entrusted with limited number of civic functions. It
may be wholly elected or wholly nominated or partly elected and partly nominated as provided
by state government.
5. Cantonment Board: It is established for municipal administration for civilian population in the
cantonment areas (area where military forces and troops are permanently stationed). It is set up
under the provisions of the Cantonment Act, 2006 by central government and works under
Defense ministry of central government. It is partly elected and partly nominated body having
the Military officer commanding the station as its ex-officio President. Vice president is elected
amongst by the elected members of board. The executive officer of the cantonment board is
appointed by the President of India.,
6. Township: It is established by large public enterprises to provide civic amenities to its staff and
workers, who live in the housing colonies built near the plant. It is not an elected body and all
members, including the town administrator, is appointed by the enterprise itself.

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7. Port Trust: The port trusts are established in the port areas like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and
so on for two purposes: (a) to manage and protect the ports; (b) to provide civic amenities. It is
created by an Act of Parliament and it consists of both elected and nominated members.
8. Special Purpose Agency: The states have set up certain agencies to undertake designated
activities or specific functions that legitimately belong to the domain of municipal corporations,
municipalities or other local urban governments. In other words, these are function based, not
area based. They are known as ‘single purpose’, ‘uni-purpose’ or ‘special purpose’ or ‘functional
local bodies’ like town improvement trust, housing boards, pollution control boars etc. They are
established as statutory bodies by an act of state legislature or as departments by an executive
resolution. They function as an autonomous body and are not subordinate agencies to local
municipal bodies.
Problem areas of Municipal Bodies
1. Disqualifications of members of Municipal Bodies follow in principle the practice followed in

state legislature disqualifications. But since it is governed by the state legislature who can make
laws regarding the same, it is not consistent in all states and that leads to a lot of disparity and
non – security among members.
2. Election expenses and code of conduct to be better regulated and more powers should be
given to the State election commission to do the same.
3. The Municipal Councils/ Municipalities have restricted local autonomy as compared to the
Municipal Corporations; with more pervasive state control that often climax in dissolution of the
former.
4. Lack of Finance due to reluctance of the state and central legislators not wanting to divest
further taxation and grants powers to them more than what they already have for fear of loss of
power. And the municipal bodies fear increasing tax or asking for new tax collection options for
loss of popularity among people.
5. Local bodies are created by state governments and therefore can be dissolved by them as
well if not dancing as per their tunes.
6. In addition to the above is the drawing of rural people and other city people to a place where
there is rapid urbanization through industrialization. Law and order becomes difficult to
maintain, slums develop etc. leading to additional problems for these already stressed out urban
local governance bodies.
7. In spite of many central and state committees sitting and recommending better financial and
administrative autonomy for the Municipal bodies, there has been no concrete effort from the
legislator’s side to implement the same.
8. The power now seems to have shifted from the state governments to the financial
institutions, international donors and credit rating agencies. Finally, the capacity of the
government to generate employment directly through anti-poverty programs would remain
limited. Thus anti-poverty programs should primarily be focused on provision of basic amenities.

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9. Lack of consistent and coherent urban development policy, faulty and improper urban
planning coupled with poor implementation and regulation are big challenges for municipalities.
10. Lack of proper monitoring system in place results in inefficient and improper functioning of
Local Urban Bodies.
Role of urban local government-

The urban local government primarily acts as a service agency. It has been aptly elaborated
by the Encyclopedia of the social sciences where it read “Municipal Government has risen to a
place of high importance in modern political society not only because urban dwellers now form
so large an element in the population but because city administration has developed by its
complexity into a problem of great inherent difficulty. The rural district requires very little
government; its people are habituated to do things for themselves. But when great bodies of
people massed closely together they inevitably become more interdependent. To promote their
safety, health and convenience they gradually devolve more responsibility upon the public
authorities and larger the community the greater is this tendency’ (ESS 1953). Describing the
place of local bodies in the government structure in India, the Rural-Urban Relationship
Committee, 1966 observed that the local bodies are important units to help achieve the
decentralization of political power and promotion of democratic values. This committee
envisaged the following functions for the urban government:
A) to function as local units of self government;

B) to provide local public services and conveniences for healthy living, work and play;
C) to ensure planned and regulated development of urban areas;
D) to mobilize local resources and utilize them to the maximum good of the community; and
E) to promote social, economic and cultural development in an integrated manner
(MHFP,1966).
According to M.A .Muttalib and Mohd.Akbar AliKhan, the local government is expected to
perform fourfold development functions. They are:
a) promotion of popular participation,

b) spurring of economic development,
c) social transformation, and
d) Equitable distribution of the fruits of development.
Main Characteristics of Urban Local Governments-

Type of Municipality Rationale for Constitution and Brief Characteristics Before 1992 After 1992
Municipal Corporation
 Established in metropolitan areas or big cities

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 Wider functions and larger powers than councils, enjoy more autonomy and have larger revenue
resources
 Separation of deliberative from executive functions and vesting of all executive powers in an
appointed authority who is independent of the elected body
 Constituted in “large urban areas”* Municipal Committee/Council
 Most popular form of local government in urban areas
 Set up in cities and large towns
 Extent of State control is relatively larger than corporations
 Constituted in “small urban areas”* Nagar Panchayat Constituted after 1992
 Constituted in “areas in transition from rural to urban”* Notified Area Committee
 Set up by State government in medium and small towns
 Created for areas which do not fulfil conditions for constitution of councils but are otherwise
important
 Also created for newly developing towns or areas where industries are being established
 All members including chairman are nominated by State government and not elected Abolished
Town Area Committee
 Semi-municipal authority constituted for small towns
 Members are either wholly nominated or wholly elected, or partly nominated and partly elected
Abolished
Powers, Authority and Responsibilities of Municipalities (Article 243 – W) Subject to the provisions of
this Constitution, the Legislature of a State may, by law, endow –
(a) the Municipalities with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as
institutions of self-government and such law may contain provisions for the devolution of powers and
responsibilities upon Municipalities, subject to such conditions as may be specified therein, with respect
to:
 the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice;

 the performance of functions and the implementation of schemes as may be entrusted to them
including those in relation to the matters listed in the Twelfth Schedule;
(b) the Committees with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to carry out the
responsibilities conferred upon them including those in relation to the matters listed in the Twelfth
Schedule. Twelfth Schedule
 Urban planning, including town planning;

 Regulation of land-use and construction of buildings;
 Planning for economic and social development;
 Roads and bridges;
 Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes;
 Public health, sanitation, conservancy and solid waste management;
 Fire services;
 Urban forestry, protection of the environment and promotion of ecological aspects;
 Safeguarding the interests of weaker sections of society, including the handicapped &
mentally retarded;

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 Slum improvement and up gradation;

 Urban poverty alleviation;
 Provision of urban amenities and facilities, such as parks, gardens, playgrounds;
 Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects;
 Burials and burial grounds; cremations, cremation grounds and electric crematoriums;
 Cattle pounds; prevention of cruelty to animals;
 Vital statistics, including registration of births and deaths;
 Public amenities, including street lighting, parking lots, bus stops and public
conveniences; and
 Regulation of slaughterhouses and tanneries.
Forms of Urban Local Government-

The number of urban Local Government has been increasing as a result of increase in urban
and suburban population. The various forms of urban government;
1. Municipal Corporations
2. Municipal Councils
3. Notified Area Committees
4. Town Area Committees
5. Cantonment Boards
6. Townships.
Constitutional Amendment and Local Urban Government:

The innovative idea of adding a third tier to the Indian federal setup was something
unprecedented in the world history. It is all the more significant as it has added an extra
decentralized dimension of governance to a highly centralized polity. The introduction of
panchayati raj system and urban local bodies along with the district administration headed by the
collector is an unique experiment wherein the administrative bureaucracy and the popular
democracy of elected representatives are working out a new model of democratic governance,
somewhat uniform yet highly diversified in different states of the country .Unlike the USA and
Germany ,the federal model of Indian polity is engaged in evolving a cooperative federalism of
centralized variety. The conferring of a constitutional status to panchayati raj and urban local
bodies has added newer tensions which put the state and district administrations under
conflicting pressures from above as well as from below .Although the local urban and rural
government were in practice, before the Amendment to the Constitution moved in 1992, but they
were largely controlled and dependent on the central and state governments. Thus the newly
conferred constitutional status has not only enhanced their dignity and responsibility but also
strengthened the aspiration and expectation as of the common people from ‘their’ government.

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The Nagarpalika Bill’ passed by Parliament in December, 1992, aimed at rectifying the defects,
deficiencies and inadequacies in the structure and organization of urban local bodies and to
revitalize and strengthen them. The main points are:
i) setting up of three types of nagarpalikas- the Nagarpanchayats for transitional areas,

Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporation for urban areas. The Nagar
Panchayats will be constituted for such an area which is basically rural in character
but which over a time, is likely to develop urban characteristics. Hence, this urban
local body would have to perform both rural and urban functions;
ii) Creation of ward committees and zonal committees to enable the local bodies to
prove to be the training ground for democratic institutions in the country and to
provide for the citizens ready access to their elected representatives;
iii) giving power to the people and placing responsibility on them at various levels so that
a new leadership emerges;
iv) empowering Election Commission to conduct local bodies’ elections so that these
may be held periodically in a fair and impartial way;
v) reserving thirty three percent of the seats for women. The scheduled caste and
scheduled tribes have been given representation in proportion to their population in
the area concerned;
vi) appointing Finance Commission to look into the fiscal needs of the local bodies and
empowering the Comptroller and Auditor General to audit the accounts and
vii) granting the Constitutional status to the urban local bodies by amending Article 40 of
the Constitution.
Panchayati Raj (73rd and 74th Amandment)-
The Panchayat raj is a South Asian political system found mainly

in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, and Nepal. It is the oldest
system of local government in South Asia, and historical mentions date to the c. 250 AD period.
The word raj means "rule" and panchayat means "assembly" (ayat) of five (panch).
Traditionally panchayats consisted of wise and respected elders chosen and accepted by the local
community. However, there were varying forms of such assemblies. Traditionally, these
assemblies settled disputes between individuals and between villages.
The leader of the panchayat was often called the mukhiya or sarpanch, an elected or
generally acknowledged position. The modern panchayati raj of India and its gram
panchayats are not to be confused with either the traditional system nor with the extra-
constitutional khap panchayats (or caste panchayats) found in parts of northern India.
Mahatma Gandhi advocated panchayat raj as the foundation of India's political system. It
would have been a decentralized form of government where each village would be responsible
for its own affair. The term for such a vision was Gram Swaraj ("village self-governance").

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Instead India developed a highly centralized form of government. However, this has been
moderated by the decentralization of several administrative functions to the local level,
empowering elected gram panchayats. There are significant differences between the traditional
panchayati raj system, that envisioned by Gandhi, and the system formalized in India in 1992.
History of Panchayati Raj-

In the time of the RigVeda (1700 BC), evidences suggest that self-governing village bodies
called 'sabhas' existed. With the passage of time, these bodies became panchayats (council of
five persons). Panchayat were functional institutions of grassroots governance in almost every
village. The Village Panchayat or elected council had large powers, both executive and judicial.
Land was distributed by this panchayat which also collected taxes out of the produce and paid
the government's share on behalf of the village. Above a number of these village councils there
was a larger panchayat or council to supervise and interfere if necessary. Casteism and
feudalistic system of governance under Mughal rule in the medieval period slowly eroded the
self-government in villages. A new class of feudal chiefs and revenue collectors (zamindars)
emerged between the ruler and the people. And, so began the stagnation and decline of self-
government in villages.
During the British rule, the autonomy of panchayats gradually declined with the
establishment of local civil and criminal courts, revenue and police organizations, the increase in
communications, the growth of individualism and the operation of the individual Ryotwari
'(landholder-wise) system as against the Mahalwari or village tenure system.
During British rule-
The British were not generally concerned with local administration, but left that to the local
rulers, and thus didn't interfere with existing panchayati systems, nor induce the rulers to
consider more democratic institutions at the local level. The rulers were interested in the creation
of 'controlled' local bodies, which could help them in their trading interests by collecting taxes
for them. When the colonial administration came under severe financial pressure after the 1857
uprising, the sought was decentralization in terms of transferring responsibility for road and
public works to local bodies. However, the thrust of this 'compelled' decentralization was with
respect to municipal administration.
"The panchayat was destroyed by the East India Company when it was granted the office of
Diwan in 1765 in Bengal by the Mughal Emperor as part of reparation after his defeat at Buxar.
As Diwan the Company took two decisions. The first was that it abolished the village land record
office and created a company official called Patwari. The Patwari became the official record
keeper for a number of villages. The second was the creation of the office of magistrate and the
abolition of village police. The magistrate carried out policing functions through

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the Darogha who had always been a state functionary under the Faujdar. The primary purpose of
these measures was the collection of land revenue by fiat. The depredations of the Patwari and
the Darogha are part of our folklore and it led to the worst famine in Bengal. The effects of the
famine lingered right to the end of the 18th century. These two measures completely
disempowered the village community and destroyed the panchayat. After 1857 the British tried
to restore the panchayat by giving it powers to try minor offences and to resolve village disputes.
But these measures never restored the lost powers of the village community."
From 1870 that Viceroy Lord Mayo’s Resolution (for decentralization of power to bring
about administrative efficiency in meeting people's demand and to add to the finances of colonial
regime) gave the needed impetus to the development of local institutions. It was a landmark in
the evolution of colonial policy towards local government. The real bench marking of the
government policy on decentralization can, however, be attributed to Lord Ripon who, in his
famous resolution on local self-government on May 18, 1882, recognized the twin considerations
of local government: (i) administrative efficiency and (ii) political education. The Ripon
Resolution, which focused on towns, provided for local bodies consisting of a large majority of
elected non-official members and presided over by a non-official chairperson. This resolution
met with resistance from colonial administrators. The progress of local self-government was
tardy with only half- hearted steps taken in setting up municipal bodies.
Rural decentralization remained a neglected area of administrative reform.
The Royal Commission on Decentralization (1907) under the chairmanship of C.E.H.
Hobhouse recognized the importance of panchayats at the village level. The commission
recommended that "it is most desirable, alike in the interests of decentralization and in order to
associate the people with the local tasks of administration, that an attempt should be made to
constitute and develop village panchayats for the administration of local village affairs".
But, the Montague-Chemsford reforms (1919) brought local self-government as a
provincial transferred subject, under the domain of Indian ministers in the provinces. Due to
organisational and fiscal constraints, the reform was unable to make panchayat institutions truly
democratic and vibrant. However, the most significant development of this period was the
'establishment of village panchayats in a number of provinces, that were no longer mere ad hoc
judicial tribunal, but representative institutions symbolizing the corporate character of the village
and having a wide jurisdiction in respect of civic matters'. By 1925, eight provinces had passed
panchayat acts and by 1926, six native states had also passed panchayat laws.
The provincial autonomy under the Government of India Act, 1935, marked the evolution of
panchayats in India. Popularly elected governments in provinces enacted legislations to further
democratize institutions of local self-government. But the system of responsible government at
the grassroots level was least responsible. D.P. Mishra, the then minister for local self-
government under the Government of India Act of 1935 in Central Provinces was of the view
that 'the working of our local bodies... in our province and perhaps in the whole country presents
a tragic picture... 'Inefficiency' and 'local body' have become synonymous terms....'.

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In spite of various committees such as the Royal Commission on Decentralization (1907), the
report of Montague and Chemsford on constitutional reform (1919), the Government of India
Resolution (1919), etc., a hierarchical administrative structure based on supervision and control
evolved. The administrator became the focal point of rural governance. The British were not
concerned with decentralized democracy but were aiming for colonial objectives.
The Indian National Congress from the 1920s to 1947, emphasized the issue of all-India Swaraj,
and organized movements for Independence under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. The task
of preparing any sort of blueprint for the local level was neglected as a result. There was no
consensus among the top leaders regarding the status and role to be assigned to the institution of
rural local self-government; rather there were divergent views on the subject. On the one
end Gandhi favoured Village Swaraj and strengthening the village panchayat to the fullest extent
and on the other end, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar opposed this idea. He believed that the village
represented regressive India, a source of oppression. The model state hence had to build
safeguards against such social oppression and the only way it could be done was through the
adoption of the parliamentary model of politics. During the drafting of the Constitution of India,
Panchayati Raj Institutions were placed in the non-justifiable part of the Constitution, the
Directive Principles of State Policy, as Article 40. The Article read 'the State shall take steps to
organize village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be
necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government'. However, no worthwhile
legislation was enacted either at the national or state level to implement it.
In the four decades since the adoption of the Constitution, panchayat raj institutions have
travelled from the non-justiciable part of the Constitution to one where, through a separate
amendment, a whole new status has been added to their history.
Post-Independence period-
Panchayat raj had to go through various stages. The First Five Year Plan failed to bring
about active participation and involvement of the people in the Plan processes, which included
Plan formulation implementation and monitoring. The Second Five Year Plan attempted to cover
the entire countryside with National Extensive Service Blocks through the institutions of Block
Development Officers, Assistant Development Officers, Village Level Workers, in addition to
nominated representatives of village panchayats of that area and some other popular
organizations like co-operative societies. But the plan failed to satisfactorily accomplish
decentralization. Hence, committees were constituted by various authorities to advise the Centre
on different aspects of decentralization.
At least in part to provide the Gandhian goal of direct political participation of people at
the grass root level, in 1956, the National Development Council appointed a committee
under Balwant Rai Mehta, which submitted its report in 1957 in which it recommended 》A 3-
tier structure consisting of Zila Parishad at the District level, Panchayat Samiti at the Block level
and GramPanchayat at the village level. The next major change in the panchayat system of India
came in the form of the passage of the Panchayati Raj Act (73rd Amendment) in 1992. A key

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motivation of this act was the belief that local governments may be better placed than centrally
appointed bureaucrats to identify and respond to the needs of the village. Hence, this act was an
important part of India’s move towards decentralization.
The main features of this act are:
(a) a 3-tier system of Panchayati Raj for all States having population of over 20 lakh;
(b) Panchayat elections regularly every 5 years;
(c) reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women (not less than one-
third of seats);
(d) appointment of State Finance Commission to make recommendations as regards the financial
powers of the Panchayats. Hence, in theory, panchayats have been given sufficient authority to
function as institutions of self-governance and aid social justice.
There were several positive effects of this amendment, some of which have been listed
above. However, there is also evidence of deeply ingrained vote-trading structures maintained
through extra-political means. This can potentially be blamed on the fact that Gram Sabhas have
not been sufficiently empowered and strengthened to ensure greater people’s participation and
transparency in functioning of Panchayats as envisaged in the Panchayat Act.
Panchayati Raj System in Independent India 73rd and 74th-

Constitutional Amendments 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments were passed by
Parliament in December, 1992. Through these amendments local self-governance was introduced
in rural and urban India. The Acts came into force as the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act,
1992 on April 24, 1993 and the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992 on June 1, 1993.
These amendments added two new parts to the Constitution, namely, 73rd Amendment added
Part IX titled “The Panchayats” and 74th Amendment added Part IXA titled “The
Municipalities”. The Local bodies–‘Panchayats’ and ‘Municipalities’ came under Part IX and
IXA of the Constitution after 43 years of India becoming a republic. Salient Features of the 73rd
and 74th Constitution Amendment Acts Panchayats and Municipalities will be “institutions of
self-government”.
1. Basic units of democratic system-Gram Sabhas (villages) and Ward Committees

(Municipalities) comprising all the adult members registered as voters.
2. Three-tier system of panchayats at village, intermediate block/taluk/mandal and district levels

except in States with population is below 20 lakhs (Article 243B).
3. Seats at all levels to be filled by direct elections [Article 243C (2)].

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4. Seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and chairpersons of the
Panchayats at all levels also shall be reserved for SCs and STs in proportion to their population.
5. One-third of the total number of seats to be reserved for women. Onethird of the seats reserved
for SCs and STs also reserved for women. One-third offices of chairpersons at all levels reserved
for women (Article 243D).
6. Uniform five year term and elections to constitute new bodies to be completed before the
expiry of the term. In the event of dissolution, elections compulsorily within six months (Article
243E).
7. Independent Election Commission in each State for superintendence, direction and control of
the electoral rolls (Article 243K)
8. Panchayats to prepare plans for economic development and social justice in respect of subjects
as devolved by law to the various levels of Panchayats including the subjects as illustrated in
Eleventh Schedule (Article 243G).
9. 74th Amendment provides for a District Planning Committee to consolidate the plans prepared
by Panchayats and Municipalities (Article 243ZD).
10. Funds: Budgetary allocation from State Governments, share of revenue of certain taxes,
collection and retention of the revenue it raises, Central Government programmes and grants,
Union Finance Commission grants (Article 243H).
11. Establish a Finance Commission in each State to determine the principles on the basis of
which adequate financial resources would be ensured for panchayats and municipalities (Article
243I).
Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP)

Devolution of powers i.e. funds, functions and functionaries (3 Fs) to the PRIs and revision
of CSS guidelines for providing roles and responsibilities to the PRIs for planning, monitoring
and implementation are the important aspects of Decentralized planning. Article 243G of the
Indian Constitution mandates preparation of plans for economic development and social justice
by Panchayats and through this process Panchayats are expected to evolve into institutions of
local self-governance. For optimum utilization of resources for the benefit of their citizens,
preparation of integrated development plans by GPs has become a necessity. GP development
plan should ideally match peoples’ needs and priorities with available resources and additionally
mobilise local resources through a fair, inclusive, transparent and participatory process. The
focus should be on local development issues, local perception of need and priority, local analysis
of problems and solutions, local resources management all within a collective local vision. A
typical GPDP consists of following steps –
1. Identification of Resources (Financial and Human) in the GP

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2. Generation of Environment for Participatory Planning through Mass Media / local interactions
etc.
3. Situational Analysis by assessing infrastructure, civic amenities, human, economic and social
development, natural resources and Participatory Planning
4. Projectisation by prioritizing activities and assigning the appropriate persons, timeline,

performance indicators and expected outcome
5. Finalisation of Development Plan of GP for both annual and five years
6. Technical and Administrative approval
7. Institutional Support including MIS.
8. Capacity Building for Participatory Planning.
73rd And 74th Constitution Amendments and Reservation for Women-

Article 40 of the Indian constitution directs the government to establish panchayats to serve
as institutions of local self-government. Most states implemented this directive principle along
the lines of the recommendations of the Balwantarai Mehta Commission Report.
The commission recommended a ‘three-tier’ system of Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs),

viz. the popularly elected village council (gram panchayat) as the village level basic unit. Block
(block is the larger sub unit of a district) council (or panchayat samithi) at the Block level, and
the district council (or the Zilla Parishad) at the district level. Introduction of PRIs was hailed as
one of the most important political initiatives in India.
Main Problems:
The panchayat raj system has been experiencing ups and downs over the years. The activities of
these institutions are broad based but its resource base is very weak. In view of this, the PRIs
constituted in various states could not live up to the expectations of the people. Deficient in
funds and authority, the panchayats in most states were largely inactive until late 1970s.
Some of the major problems and shortcomings that adversely affected the functioning of
these institutions are:
i. Elections not being held regularly;
ii. Lack of adequate transfer of powers and resources;
iii. Lack of power to generate their own resource; and
iv. Non-representation of women and weaker sections in the elected bodies.

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In 1989, the Government of India took two major initiatives to enhance the role of
panchayats. First, it initiated the Jawahar Employment Plan (Jawahar Rozgar Yojana) which
provided funding directly to village councils to create jobs for unemployed through public
works.
Second, it also proposed the 64 th Constitution Amendment Bill to make it mandatory for all
states to establish a three tiered (village, block and district) system of Panchayats in which
representatives would be directly elected for five year terms. Panchayats were to be given
expanded authority and funding over local development efforts. Despite the popular appeal of
transferring power to panchayats, the 64th amendment bill was rejected by Rajya sabha.
73rd and 74th Constitution Amendments:

Given its far-reaching consequences, the 73 rd Amendment (together with the 74th) is rightly
called ‘a silent revolution’ for various reasons. First of all, the PRIs no longer operate at the
whim of state governments and their laws. They are now a part of the Constitution and enjoy the
status of institutions of self-government, as parliament at the federal level and legislative
assemblies at the state level.
The amendment prescribes regular elections every five years and election within six
months of the dissolution of any PRI. To ensure free, fair, and timely elections there is a
provision for the setting up of state election commission. The most revolutionary provision is the
reservation of one-third of the seats for women in local bodies, along with reservation of seats
for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in proportion to their regional populations.
The amendment lays down functions to be entrusted to the PRIs. To maintain a democratic
ethos, popular accountability, and transparency, the amendment emphases the need for periodic
meetings of the gram sabha, composed of all adults in each village. These meetings will approve
ongoing programmes and financial allocations. In brief, the amendment visualizes the allocation
of funds, functions, and functionaries to these bodies to ensure genuine and effective democratic
decentralization.
The Constitutional Amendment Bill came into effect from April 24, 1994. Principally, it
gave:
i. The panchayats constitutional status (previously panchayat matters were considered as state
subjects);
ii. An institionalised three tier system at village, block and district levels;
iii. The amendment stipulated that all panchayat members be elected for five year term in the
elections supervised by the state election commission.
Profile of women’s participation in local governance:

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There were already some women in local government prior to the passing of the 73 rd and
74thAmendments. But they were few and far between. In most cases the state laws prescribed at
least one or two seats for women in the old-style PRIs. Very often these seats were filled though
nomination. The nominees, invariably, were members of elite families belonging to higher castes
and owning substantial land, thus enjoying high status in terms of family, cast, and class. These
women were usually related to established political leaders. As symbols of tokenism, they rarely
took active interest in the functioning of the PRIs. The new system of reservation and
competitive elections based on adult franchise changed this situation radically. When the
provisions for reservations of seats for women were being debated in parliament, several
members were doubtful that such large numbers of women would come forward to contest these
seats. But these doubts proved to be wrong. In total, for over one million seats reserved for
women in all the local bodies, more than five million women candidates contested. Thus, on an
average, there were five women candidates contesting each seat. Moreover, some women
condition won unreserved or general seats, defeating their male rivals. Of course, such cases
were not many, but they were no less significant. It needs to be mentioned that the reservation of
seats for women (and for SCs and STs) concerns not only members but also office-bearers. Thus,
not only one-third of elected members but one-third of sarpanches or chairpersons have also to
be women.
In the country as a whole, there are 231,630 gram panchayats (village councils). Over
77,210 of them now have women as sarpanches. At the intermediate level, there are 5,912 taluka
(or block/mandal) panchayat samitis. More than 1,970 of them have women sabhapatis or heads
and of the 594 zilla parishads” (district councils) 200 have women presidents. Thus, in the
country as a whole, about one million women now occupy positions as members or heads in
rural and urban local government bodies. This may be unique in the world.
There are variations among states in the magnitude of Women’s representation. While most
states manage to meet the constitutional target of 33 per cent seats for women, in some this
proportion has been exceeded. For example, in Karnataka, women occupy 43.6 per cent seats in
local bodies. This means a large number of women have managed to win general (unreserved)
seats, defeating rival male and female candidates. This suggests a highly significant trend for the
future.
This statutory reservation for women has provided an opportunity for the formal
involvement of women in the development through political process at the grass roots level
thereby enabling them to influence the decisions in the local governments.
Further, the state legislature may:

i. Authorize a panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate such taxes, duties, tolls and fees in
accordance with laid down procedures and limits;

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ii. Assign to a panchayat such taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied and selected by the state
government to be used for specific purposes subject to specified conditions and limits; and
iii. Provide grants-in-aid to the panchayats from the consolidated fund of the state.
District Level- Organization, Administrative, Personnel-
Districts
States and territories (or divisions) are further subdivided into districts (zilla), of which
there are 696 (as of 2016). Each District is headed by an IAS officer called District
Magistrate.
Tehsils, talukas, mandals, sub-divisions, CD Blocks, headed by a Tehsildar or Talukdar or

MRO or Block Development Officer, comprise several villages or village clusters. The
governmental/ elected bodies at the Tehsil level are called the panchayat samiti.
Structure of District Administration-

The general structure of the administration in the district is in a series of tiers, usually three,
sometimes four tiers. There will be one level which comprehends the whole district within its
jurisdiction. It may be the Collector, the District Magistrate, or the Superintendent of Police or
the district agricultural officer; it may be the chairman of the Zilla Parishad, or the district
education officer, or the health officer and so on. Secondly, there is usually an intermediate
territorial level. Sometimes there are two intermediate levels in the large districts. The
intermediate level can be the tahsil, or a sub-division, or a block, or a Panchayat Samiti, a circle
inspector of agriculture and so on. Then at the ground level, in the so-called grass-roots level, the
village provides a convenient territorial jurisdiction. Here we have the village panchayat, the
nyaya panchayat, the village headman, the village chaukidar, the village patwari, the village level
worker – each an important element in the administration of the district. Now one observes a
certain common pattern of departmental and functional jurisdiction, normally at three and
sometimes at four levels of the District Administration. After having a brief account of the
structure, now we move to the detailed discussion of the structure of District Administration.
District-
Each district in India has an officer-in-charge who represents the state governments in that
area in the capacity of Collector, District Magistrate and District Officer. He is the head of the
administration in the district and for the 104 performance of his functions he has a well-knit
hierarchy in the district which will be dealt in the succeeding pages. The function of the
Collector are well known; their keynote is „Quantity, not Quality‟; Whatever cannot be assigned

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to a well-defined or technical department is given to the Collector, but which ever serves as a
source of strength to him like the control over the police is assigned to an outsider.
Revenue Division / Sub-Division-

The district is geographically divided into a number of units known as subdivisions in Uttar
Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, revenue division in Tamil Nadu, and prants in Maharashtra.
1 Each sub-division is placed under the charge of an officer of IAS rank or State Civil Service
Class I officer. The official-in-charge of this unit bears a variety of names; he is called Sub-
Divisional Officer (SDO) or Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in Uttar Pradesh, Revenue
Divisional Officer or Sub-Collector in Tamil Nadu. Prant Officer (Deputy Collector or Assistant
Collector) in Maharashtra. This unit helps to further decentralize authority as well as provide
field training to recruits to the IAS. The sub-division is a principal unit of land revenue
administration between the district and the village in the States of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar
and Orissa.
2 The Sub-Divisional Officer is a colleague of the Collector, occupying a position in his sub-
division which the Collector does in the district but carrying out the orders of the Collector
faithfully. Like the Collector, he is a generalist area administrator and is in touch with other
government departments in his subdivision and acts as the head of the extension team. The
Government expects him to have the same general knowledge of his sub-division as the
Collector has of the district. The Collector holds him responsible for the honest and proper
discharge of duties by the subordinate revenue staff including those of the village and for
keeping him informed about all things and men in the sub-division including matters relating to
law and order and the general well-being of the people. He is link between the District Collector
and the tashsildar in revenue matters and the District Magistrate and the Station Officer (Police)
in matters relating to law and order.
According to Prof. S.R. Maheshwari, the sub-divisions may be classified into two broad
types – an „office‟ type sub-division, and the „touring‟ type subdivision. In the former, the SDO
maintains an office just as a Collector or a Tehsildar does. Here, the headquarters of the sub-
division is usually located within the sub-division itself. This type came into existence during the
earliest phase of British rule in India and has since continued. The States which represent this
type are Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Assam and Rajasthan. There is also a touring type subdivision in which the SDO does not
maintain any office. He is a touring officer, gathering information, transmitting it to his district
chief, contacting people, supervising subordinate officials and finally, looking after the execution
of the governmental activities in his sub-division. The SDO is “primarily”... an inspecting,
testing and supervising officer, hearing appeals and trying cases. He moves about the villages
and ascertains the villagers‟ grievances and wants and gains experiences.

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3 The SDO is thus a valuable field aide to the District Collector and is an integral part of the
District Administration. Besides law and order duties, he is responsible to the Collector for the
maintenance of maps and records of his subdivision, assessment and collection of land revenue.
Appointments and transfers of lekhpals are made by him and the responsibility for their
disciplined working rests on him. Inspection of the office of the registrar Kanungo in the tehsil is
an annual feature in which special attention is paid to mutations in land records, timely and
correct preparation of statistical returns regarding crops, and area, holdings, land revenue, and
rentals, crop failures and remission of land revenue, etc.
4 Tehsil
5 Each sub-division is divided into two or more administrative areas called Tahsils in Andhra
Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, and called taluks
(talukas) in Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Maharashtra and Mysore. Tahsil is the
basic unit for purposes of general administration, treasury, land revenue, land records and other
items of work. It has the closest and widest contact with the rural population. Each tehsil usually
comprises between 200-600 villages. A village in India is a specific area of land generally, but
not necessarily, inhabited. In inhabited villages, several village officers, such as accountants,
watchmen and others, are posted or recognized. The size of village communities varies
significantly from State to State; on average, approximately 68 per cent of the total rural
population live in very small villages (less than 500 persons), 19 per cent in small villages
(between 500 and 1000 persons), 9 per cent in medium-sized villages (between 1000 and 2000
persons), three per cent in large villages (between 2000 and 5000 persons) and one per cent in
very large villages (over 5000 persons).
6 The officer-in-charge of the tehsil is the Tehsildar who belongs to the State Civil Services. He
is the principal official in the district administration responsible for actual revenue collector. His
performance, also, is judged by his efficiency as a Collector of revenues. He is the sub-treasury
officer, thus accepting the payment of the revenue. “But a Tehsildar who merely sits in a tehsil
waiting for the land revenue to come in would not get very far.”
7 The Tehsildar is often assisted by the Naib Tehsildars, is Kanungos, and Patwaris or Lekhpals.
His main duties includesupervision of : timely collection of land revenue and other dues such as
recovery of taccavi dues, etc. and maintenance of land records and agriculture data; maintenance
of records pertaining to crop damage due to floods and other natural calamities and distribution
of government funds meant for this purpose; assistance to Deputy Commissioner and the SDO in
the exercise of their power and duties; to decide the revenue cases; and to provide services to the
State and the Central Governments wherever required. The Tehsildar may delegate his power to
the Naib-Tehsildars. In this absence, one of the Naib-Tehsildars holds charge of the tahsil. In
Uttar Pradesh State, in Naib-Tehsildar exercises first class powers in the maintenance of law and
order. He acts as Deputy Collector and assists the Tehsildar in his revenue works. He also looks
after all important visitors. He gets a number of reports prepared from the officials under him
and submits them periodically. He keeps in touch with the people in his tehsil or sub-tehsil, to

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hear their grievances, and tries to redress them. Floods and other calamities, cases of land
acquisition, watch on the maintenance of stock supplies etc., are some other matters which
occasionally cast a heavy burden on him. He also extends co-operation and help in development
work.
8 The Tehsildar is a the chief agent of government at the taluka level, especially when the sub-
division officer is not resident in taluka headquarters. In these cases the Tehsildar is a miniature
Collector, with the Inspector of Police (or Station Officer), Assistant (or Sub-Assistant),
Surgeon, Overseer (or Assistant Engineer), Veterinary Officer, Agriculture Inspector, and such
other departmental officials, in company; he too co-ordinates their services and receives their
cooperation in his own general administration. The Government look to him for the execution of
their orders, sent through the Collector who may add his own directions while communicating to
the Tahsildar by virtue of his position as supervisor of taluka administration. These directions are
necessary ondevelopmental matters which involve expenditure of public funds or use of tact or
abuse of power by minor revenue officials. Conversely, Tehsildar owes a duty to his collector in
regard to distribution of patronage, grant of muafi lands, appointments of minor revenue officials
and general position under law and order. Less directly, he has to satisfy the collector about his
plans for communal harmony (if threatened), public hygiene and sanitation, bandobust and
material help for visiting ministers, secretaries and high officials or parties of high officials,
arrange their programme in the taluka and keep a katchful eye and general check upon supply
position in the talula and general overall position in the taluka administration. He should not only
be personally energetic and alert but also drive the government machinery with speed and
efficiency and report any breakdown in it to the collector after taking necessary action to a
temporary repairing. The outlines sketched above give a picture of the normal conditions
generally all over India. But there are a few states where this normal type does not exist and
where the system is slightly different. In Bengal there are no Tehsildars. There is a cadre of Sub-
Deputy Collectors which corresponds to that of Tehsildars. There are neither Inspectors
Accountants. There is an official by name Kanungo who is really Surveyor and does not have
any resemblance to his namesake in other States. In Assam the Tahsildar is in the same position
(more or less) as in other States. In Punjab the position of the Tehsildar is the strongest; there is
no place for a Sub-Division Officer in the State. The few who exist are of the resident type. This
helps to make the Tehsildar the Chief Executive of his taluka and the most influential of all
government servants in it. He has usually the powers of a firstclass Assistant Collector and
Magistrate. Thus, there are four categories of tehsildars in India in the following ascending
order : (1) non-existent (as in West Bengal), (2) weak (where the subdivision officer is resident),
(3) stronger (where the sub-division officer is not 109 resident), and (4) strongest (where there
are no sub-division officers at all, as in the Punjab).
PARGANA-
The next lower rung of the revenue administration is called a Circle in Punjab and
Maharashtra, Pargana in Uttar Pradesh and Firka in Tamil Nadu. The circle is headed by a

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Kanungo in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, a Circle Inspector in Maharashtra and a Revenue
Inspector in Tamil Nadu. He is entrusted with supervision and a compilation of land records
maintained by the Patwaris under his control. He is the first line supervisor in the chain of
revenue administration in the States.
10 Revenue Inspector is more a clerk than an authority, more an inspector than a worker and a
more link in the chain than any independent self. There is nothing difficult or extraordinary about
his powers and duties. As the name indicates he is an inspector in all matters relating to revenue,
from the beginning to the end. He works under the orders and subject to disciplinary control of
the Collector, the sub-division officer and Tehsildar. He is usually an individual trained and
tested for his post. His duties are, generally, supervision of the Accountants, scrutiny of village
maps, testing of the accountant‟s books and statistics, detection of agricultural deterioration,
holding enquiries, attestation of documents and functioning as Tehsildar‟s immediate executive
Assistant in the firka or circle. He has to tour a lot and to move but slowly from place to place. In
Madras there are two other kinds of Revenue Inspectors, known as Registrar Kanungo and Sadar
Kanungo. The Registrar Kanungo remains at the teshil office and does not tour. He may have six
to eight assistants. On the other hand, the Sadar Kanungo is placed at the Collector ‟s
headquarters and has to do his work both by staying at headquarters and by touring. He is
superior in status to his namesakes in the Tehsils and firkas or circles. The duties of the registrar
Kanungo are receipt by registers and papers from the accountants, compiling taluka statistics for
submission to the Collector, verifying the entries in the records and returns received from below,
being in charge of the taluka record room, keeping the pay rolls and details of the accountants,
holding stock forms and registers for distribution, maintaining the records and registers dealing
with the land system, especially statement relating to emergency measures, reading the cases
presented for correction in the accountants records and keeping the registers showing the correct
and upto date lists of government property. On the other hand, the duties of the Sadar Kanungo
are consolidation of Registrar Kanungo‟s statements for district purposes, taking action on
Tehsildar‟s reports and papers of land system and preparing cases for remissions and
suspensions of land-revenue. In other words, this Kanungo is really a general adviser to the
Collector on land records administration. He checks just those which are already checked by the
Sub-Division Officer and Tehsildar. But he is that of an expert, an experienced revenue inspector
and a man who has a broader point of view. His business is to indicate broadly the general
features, facts and requirements on which the Collector might issue general orders.
VILLAGE-
From Pargana we move to the village level, which is the lowest unit for all administrative
and fiscal purposes in all the States in India. Whereas the Collector is regarded as the pivot of the
District Administration, the Patwari has been referred to, and rightly, as the king-pin of the
revenue administration in the district. “Anyone who either comes from a village or has lived in
village, or has had anything to do with a village, especially concerning the land or agriculture,
will appreciate what is meant when we say that the patwari is the king-pin of the revenue

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administration in the district.” The designation of this official varies in the different States. He is
called a Karamchari in Bihar, Patel and Talati in Maharashtra, Village Headman and Karnam in
Tamil Nadu, Village Munsif or Accountant in Orissa and Lekhpal and Chowkidar in Uttar
Pradesh. He is the most powerful government representative, connected with land records at the
village level and has in his charge one or more villages. He performs multifarious duties
including maintenance of land records and statistical data, land measurement, helping other
departments such as the public health department in undertaking preventive and curative measure
at the time of any epidemic. In Uttar Pradesh he has to report to the representative of the animal
husbandry department whenever there is any outbreak of cattle diseases, and to a Magistrate or to
an officer of the excise department or to the police the moment he notices that any excisable
article not licensed under the Excise Act is being manufactured or any unlawful cultivation of
any such drug is being carried out.
In some States, domicile certificates and certificates of Backward Class, Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribe are usually issued by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, on the basis of his
reporting. It is the Patwari who make entries of rights of tenants and landlords and connected
matters. He prepares and files the following at the taluka office for consolidation and submission
to the district: Papers regarding crop, rent and cultivation areas, Papers mentioning the mode of
irrigation, rotation of crops, yield per acre etc. All these will be sent by the Collector to the State
which in turn will send all the similar ones in a consolidated form to the Government of India.
These constitute the source of agricultural and land statistics studied by experts who advise the
Central Government on policy matters. But they are most useful to the revenue officers at the
district and taluka levels. They reveal details of agricultural conditions from year to year or for a
period of years, changes in methods of cultivation and irrigation, substitution of crops, etc.,
which are all vital to levy and collection of land-revenue. The remaining duties of a Patwari are
those of a general administrator. Irrigation, public health, excise, co-operative enterprise,
agriculture, police and even a few matters under Court of Wards Act came substantially within
his perview. Fresh duties have been assigned in recent times, such as identifying voters at
elections, census work, help in the procurement of food grains, cooperation in the opening of
primary schools, advice on the constitution of Panchayat etc. The introduction of Community
Projects and National Extension Schemes has increased the burden of the village officials,
especially the Patwari. Time alone will show how far his office will undergo modification in
status and character. The only force able change would bee the prescription of higher salary etc.
But he must continue to reside in the village and to keep aloof from local money market.
BLOCK-
Rural areas in districts are divided, for purposes of rural development into blocks, the area
of which may or may not coincide with a tahsil (taluk). Each block is in charge of a Block
Development Officer, whose immediate superior is the Collector (in some States, the Sub-
Divisional Officer). Blocks are further divided into ten circles, each of which is supposed to

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cover ten villages but, in fact, this is rarely the case. Each circle is in charge of a Village Level
Worker (called a Gram Sevak).
PANCHAYATS-
Finally, there are village panchayats in rural areas of districts. A panchayat is an elective,
statutory body representing one or several villages. The average number of villages per
panchayat varies significantly from State to State. The average population per Panchayat also
varies. It is on the basis of this framework that the main components of the District
Administration organize their work. The law, order and land revenue components are organized
in the main on a district – sub-division-tahsil-village basis; the community development and
Panchayati Raj components are organized on a district-block-panchayat basis. Thus, it can be
said that the general structure of administration in the district is in a series of tiers, usually three,
sometimes four tiers. There will be one level which comprehends the whole district within its
jurisdiction. Secondly, there is usually an intermediate territorial level. Sometimes there are two
intermediate levels in the larger district. Then at the ground level, in the so-called grass roots
level, the village provides a convenient territorial jurisdiction. Thus one observes a certain
common pattern of departmental and functional jurisdictions, normally at three and sometimes at
four levels of the District Administration.
District Level Personnel-

Hierarchy at District Administration is given below.
DC
ADC
SDM/DRO
Tehsildar
Kanungo
Patwari
DC/DM is the senior most official in the district. Known as Deputy Commissioner in states like
Punjab and Haryana and as District Collector in Southern States and District Magistrate in UP
and Bihar. He belongs to IAS cadre.
Below him there is ADC to assist him. He is also an IAS or senior level state PCS officer.
Then comes SDM (Sub Divisional Magistrate) who is posted at Sub Division and is from State
PCS. He looks after general administration. For revenue administration there is DRO(District
Revenue Officer).

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Tehsildar is a revenue official who looks after tehsil for both revenue and general
administration.
Kanungo is the one who maintains land record account of a district.
Patwari, also know as Lekhpal in some states is a field official who visits village and maintain
land record of a particular village.
Source and Revenue of District Level-

 Sales and Gross Receipts Taxes-
 Property Taxes-
 Personal Income Taxes-

 Corporate Income Taxes-
Work and Functions of District Magistrate- The Functions and Role of the District
Magistrate in India are discussed below:
As collector: This is the traditional function of the district magistrate. As the head revenue
officer his foremost task is the assessment and collection of land revenue.
In addition to these taxes of different types, such as irrigation dues, income tax dues,
agricultural dues, canal dues, sales tax, arrears, court fees, excise duties on various commodities,
stamp duties, etc. are collected by his office. The collector assesses the amount of relief required
in case of calamities. He also takes the relief work. Land may be acquisioned for housing
schemes, development projects, etc. Land acquision is another function of the collector.
Preparation and maintenance of land records is an important function of the collector. The
district treasury comes under his control and officers attached to district treasury functions under
his supervision.
As District Magistrate: Maintenance of law and order and safety in the district is the primary
function of the district magistrate. He pays continuous attention to the problems arising out of
social and political tensions, communal disharmony, caste problem, terrorism, smuggling and
economic offences which may threaten peace and order in the district and safety of its people.
The function and role of a District Magistrate can be discussed in the following three areas
—police, judiciary and jail.

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1. Although the actual administration of the police is discharged by the district

superintendent of police under the responsibility of D.G. of police, yet the police force, in
general, work under the order and supervision of the district magistrate.
2. There has been erosion in the authority of the district magistrate as judicial magistrate.
Due to the separation of judiciary from the executive the civil and criminal powers are
now the responsibility of the judiciary under the control of the High Courts.
3. The district jails are under the general control of the district magistrate.
As coordinator: The District Magistrate is the overall in charge of every important official
activity in the district. He coordinates the activities of all the government departments which
function in the district. The names of few such departments are public health, agriculture, public
works, irrigation, education and cooperation.
The district magistrate is regarded as a commander who is to co-ordinate their activities. He

holds meeting of the officers posted as the head of the various departments at the district level at
periodic intervals to take the stock of the work done. The district magistrate gives them
suggestions, removes bottlenecks, raises confidence. He guides the district functionaries.
As Development officer: The role of the district magistrate in the development has assumed
greatest importance after the initiation of the development planning and the Panchayat Raj
system. Several projects and programs of the rural development have been undertaken for the
benefit of the cross section of the people and especially for the under privileged and
downtrodden people.
Several schemes of development related to health, education, employment, housing,

agriculture, marketing of agricultural products etc and some special programs for rural women,
children and the youth are in full operation under the supervision of the District Magistrate.
These programs aim at eradicating poverty and improving the living standards of the poor and
helpless people. Besides, a number of projects, like DDP, DPAP, TDP, CAD, IRDP and many
other important projects are undertaken. The district magistrate is responsible for the
implementation of all these schemes. In fact, he is the captain, commander and leader of the
developmental work of the entire district.
Role in Panchayat Raj: With the advent of Panchayat Raj the role of the district magistrate is to
be viewed in terms of his position and relationship with the Panchayat system. He is not only the
Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Parishad. He also looks after the functioning of the other
two-tiers of the Panchayat body by providing necessary assistance and technical help and
supervises to ensure that the priorities fixed in the plans are being adhered to. He also ensures
that no conflict develops between the district administrative staff and the elected representatives
of the Panchayats bodies and between themselves.

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As Crisis Manager: The effectiveness of the office of the District Magistrates is put to test
during crisis. Here he is to act as crisis manager and savior. During emergencies caused by
natural calamities in the nature of flood, famines, droughts, cyclones etc or man-made crisis,
such as riots, fires, loot, murder etc. he has to arrange relief measures, organize rescue
operations, check epidemics, ensure medical treatment, prevent panic and perform a host of other
crucial functions. At the time of such crisis the DM and his staff appear to be the savior to the
down trodden people.
Miscellaneous Functions: The activities of the District Magistrate cannot remain confined
within the written boundaries of his functions. As District Magistrate he is to act in various roles
and perform various miscellaneous functions. A few important functions of such nature are
mentioned below:
1. He plays the role of Chief Returning officer and coordinates the entire election
proceedings at the district level.
2. He functions as the District Census officer.
3. He works as the official government representative in the ceremonial functions in the
district.
4. He handles the protocol work in the district.
5. He looks after the working of the municipal bodies in the district.
6. He ensures the regular supply of essential commodities at reasonable prices.
7. He arranges training for government servants.
8. He deals with the personnel matters of the huge number of staff posted in the district.
9. He undertakes regular tours and in the district to know about the performance of the
government work and also to listen to the grievances of the people about the government.
10. He complies and submits various reports related to the district to t he appropriate
authorities.
The existence of plurality of departments at the district level, and the multidimensional
functions of various natures assigned to them, make the District Magistrate almost indispensable
but overburdened. There is unparallel uniqueness about the office of the district magistrate—he
acts as a leader, motivator, developer, doer, and savior and, above everything, a top
administrator. This makes his role overloaded, overburdened and overstrained. In fact, he is the
chief actor in the district administration.
So the responsibilities assigned to a District Magistrate vary from state to state, but generally, District
Collectors are entrusted with a wide range of duties in the jurisdiction of the district.
While the actual extent of the responsibilities varies from State to State, they generally involve-
As District Magistrate:

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 Conducts criminal court of executive magistrate.

 Maintenance of law and order.
 Supervision of the police and jails.
 Supervision of subordinate Executive magistracy and conduct magisterial inquiries.
 Hearing cases under the preventive section of the Criminal Procedure Code.
 Supervision of jails and certification of execution of capital sentences.
 Arbitrator of land acquisition.
 Disaster management during natural calamities such as floods, famines or epidemics.
 Crisis management during riots or external aggression.
As Collector:
 Conducts revenue court.

 Land assessment
 Land acquisition
 Collection
 Collection of income tax dues, excise duties, irrigation dues etc.
 Distribution of agricultural loans
 Chairman of the District Bankers Coordination Committee
 Head of the District Industries Centre
As Deputy Commissioner/District Commissioner:
 Reports to Divisional Commissioner on all matters.

As District Election Officer:
 Conducts Elections in the district, be it General, Assembly or Municipal.

 Acts as the Returning Officer for the Lok Sabha constituency in the district.
A District Magistrate is assisted by some IAS and PCS for carrying out day-to-day work in various fields:--
1. Chief Development Officer (CDO)/District Development Officer (DDO)

2. Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)/District Revenue Officer (DRO)
3. Additional District Magistrate(s) (ADM) (North, West, East, South, E (Executive), F/R (Finance and
Revenue), City, Judicial).
4. City Magistrate (CM) and Additionally City Magistrate (ACM) (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X).
5. Sub-Divisional Magistrate(s) (SDM) or Deputy Collector(s) (DC) and other Executive Magistrates.
Forms of District Magistrate-
As a Collector the District Magistrate is responsible for the collection of revenue from the
district.

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 It is also his responsibility to hear the appeals in revenue cases against the decisions
taken by the Tahasildars and other subordinate revenue collectors in the district. Thus,
as a revenue collector, he is to look after the collection of land revenue, maintenance of
land records, land reforms, consolidation of holdings etc. Actually the revenue
collection function of the collector includes revenue, excise and the government.
 treasury. It covers the separate items. The first is the assessment and collection of land
revenue. “The district apparatus for this purpose in the normal way consists of the
Collector (D.M.), the sub-divisional officers (deputy collectors), the Tahasildars, and
the naib-Tahasildars and at the village level the patwaries.”
 The irrigation departments consists the second group. Here the irrigation department
generally makes out the “demand lists of irrigation dues” each season and sends it to
the Collector or to the Tahasildars. Then the Collector with his revenue staff collects it.
 The third element is the income tax. Here also the assessment is made by the income
tax officials who in fact are under the central government. They collect the income tax
directly but they certify the arrears collection of income tax to the District Collector for
recovery.
 The fourth element is agricultural income tax which is also collected under the order of
the District Collector.
 The fifth element, the sales tax is also collected under the authority and responsibility
of the District Collector especially for the collection of the arrears.
 The sixth element included—the court fees payable in connection with various judicial
proceedings, such as the presentation of plaints, the issue of writs and other processes
documents and the certified copies of proceedings. It also includes taxes leviable in the
shape of revenue stamp on documents. The District Collector has good say in these
activities.
 The seventh element of these revenue annals is the excise duties of different kinds. In
the district, an officer of the district officer’s staff is designated as the district officer’s
staff. He supervises and controls the works of the excise inspectors. A number of other
taxes like the taxes on motor vehicles, entertainment taxes etc. are also there which are
collected under the supervision of the Collector.
As a District Magistrate, the task of the D.M. is quite heavy. He is an executive magistrate. He is
the head of all magistrates (except Additional District Magistrates) within the district. It may be
noted that though a District Magistrate is an official of the Executive branch and not of the
judicial branch. However, the District magistrate may be granted judicial powers by the State
Government in certain circumstances.
 It is his duty to main peace and order in the district.

 He supervises the activities of other magistrates under him in the district.
 It is his duty to maintain law and order within the district and also to take all the
necessary actions under the preventive section of the criminal procedure code. This

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concerns the question of public safety, the protection of the citizens and all of his rights
within the district.
 In certain cases, he may hear and decide the criminal cases, if so empowered by the
State Government. Thus, the administration of criminal and civil justice may also also
fall under his jurisdiction.
 The District Magistrate controls the police department of the district that is under him
and supervises the activities of the subordinate executive magistrates.
 He submits the annual criminal report to the government.
 He supervises the district Police Stations at least once in a year and recommends the
cases for passport and visa and takes care of the movement of the foreigners within the
district.
 He looks after all the election works within the district, appoints the public prosecutor
of the district, gives or issues certificates to the persons belong to the Schedule Caste,
Schedule Tribes and other backward communities and to the freedom fighters, appoint
the village Chowkidar and punishes him for breach of discipline etc.
 As the Chief Executive Officer of the district it is the duty of the District Magistrate to
implement the posting transfer and to grant the leaves of different gazetted officers
within the district to implement various government orders, to submit the budget of the
district to the government.
The District Magistrate acts as the Chief Protocol Officer of the district. He also conducts the
census work, presides over the local institutions or remains the member there, looks after the
supply and proper distribution of daily necessity goods, hears and takes adequate steps to redress
the grievances of the local people, supervises the activities of the young government officers in
the district and arrange for their training etc.
Apart from all these works the District Magistrate also is the chief development officer of the
district. In such a capacity it is his duty to conduct all the development plans and projects of the
district, make them successful and remove all the hindrances on its way, to put into effect the
policy of democratic decentralization, to act as the chief liaison officer of the state government
within the district and maintains close link with all the inhabitants of his district.
Problems and Challenges of District Magistrate-

District administration has a very important place in the hierarchy .of Indian administration. It is
this tier of administration that touches the people more directly and more strikingly. An ignorant Indian
villager may not know anything of the structure of state government, but the collector is a living reality to
him. Almost all the departments of state government have their fitld agencies in the district which come
to close to the people. The citizen, therefore, finds in the district administration, the actual working of the
state administration. The responsibility for the people's comfort and satisfaction of their needs lies
primarily on the district administration. The people approach the district for redress of their varied
grievances. Thus, for an average citizen, the district administration is the government. The District

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Collector also known as Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate is the head of the district
administration. He performs multifarious functions, hence the District officer is called the pivot of the
entire district administration." His principal task today, as it has always been, maintenance of law
and order in the district. In the post-independence India direction and fulfillment of tasks relating to the
socio-economic development has been added to his functions. Besides these three main functions, he also
performsnumerous other fund ions which make him the pivot of district administration.'^ The district
officer is no longer a "Mai baap". That image has vanished. Anew role is developing for the district
officer. Certainly, the collector of today is not the same officer as in the fifties, the sixties and even the
early seventies.'^ Now, the collector is being loaded with extra responsibilities as the "eyes and ears" of
the government. He inquires, at the behest of government into a number of thorny incidents and issues of
public importance. He is also the chief guardian of the people when they are beset by earthquakes,
cyclones and floods or droughts. He provides security to them and relief during and after the calamity.
The District Collector today is a much over burdened officer comparing the present position of the
District Collector with that of his predecessors in the British days. It has been observed that in those days,
district work was essentially autocratic, involving very little consultation. But today, the expansion of his
responsibilities, the change in emphasis and quality - from the regulatory to the development and the
altogether different context of work in a free and democratic system combine to make him one of the
most harassed and hardpressed of all government employees. He is under heavy pressures and has
sometimes to do acts favouring the ruling party. The local political leaders pressurise him to seek favours
for themselves and their supporters.
1. What is Local Government? Describe its features?

2. What are the aspects and features of Local Government?
3. What problems are being faced by the Local Administration?
4. Discuss Urban Local Government with its Composition, Functions and
Problems?
5. Discuss some constitutional provisions enumerated under 73rd & 74th
Constitutional Amendment?
6. Throw some light on the Role of urban local government & its forms?
7. Discuss about Gram Panchayat Development Plan?
8. How do you define District Level Organisation with its formation of
personnel in terms of Local Government?

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Unit-4
Financial Administration-
Finance is the lifeblood of very business. As personnel and materials which are necessary for
the functioning of any office, industry, enterprise can be made available through money. Hence,
finance plays an important role in the business. Socio-economic forces unleashed by industrial
revolution have given a new meaning and dynamic content to financial administration.
Meaning of Financial Administration-
The term Financial Administration consists of two words. 'Finance' and 'Administration'.
The word 'administration' refers to organization and management of collective human efforts in
the pursuit of a conscious objective. The word 'finance' refers to monetary resource. Financial
administration refers to a set of activities which are related to making available money to the
various branches of an organization to enable it to carry out its objects. Whether it is a family,
business or a government department, its day to day activities depend on the availability of funds
with which financial administration is concerned.
Definitions of Financial Administration-
According to L. D. White "Fiscal Management includes those operations designed to make funds
available to officials and to ensure their lawful and efficient use."
According to Jaze Gaston "Financial Administration is that part of government organization

which deals with the collection, preservation and distribution of public funds, with the
coordination of public revenue and expenditure, with the management of credit operations on
behalf of the State and with the general control of the financial affairs of public household".
Even though these definitions covers some important aspects of fiscal management, it fails to
project a comprehensive scope of financial administration. G. S. Lall states that financial
administration is concerned with all the aspects of financial management of the State. Since
public administration is more and more concerned with public affairs and public interest, the
frontiers of financial administration are expanding and therefore there is a need for a
comprehensive definition of financial administration. As an attempt towards this direction, the
following definition is presented:
"Financial Administration includes all the activities which generate, regulate and distribute

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monetary resources needed for the sustenance and growth of the members of a political
community."
Importance of Financial Administration-
The importance of Financial Administration was not considered till the industrial revolution.
When social life became more complex as a result of industrial revolution, the role of the
government increased manifold. Further, the welfare state has caused phenomenal increase in
state activity. The governments have entered into new areas which were kept out of the preview
of the State. In this changed context, financial administration has gained greater significance for
exploring ways and means to generate resources to meet the ever-increasing public expenditure.
Budget-
A budget is a financial plan for a defined period of time, usually a year. It may also include
planned sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities, costs and expenses, assets, liabilities
and cash flows. Companies, governments, families and other organizations use it to express
strategic plans of activities or events in measurable terms.
A budget is the sum of money allocated for a particular purpose and the summary of intended
expenditures along with proposals for how to meet them. It may include a budget surplus,
providing money for use at a future time, or a deficit in which expenses exceed income.
The first budget of India was submitted on 18 February 1869 by James Wilson. James
Wilson is known as the father of Indian budget. Finance Minister is the head of the budget
making committee. The budget is prepared by the Budget Division Department of Economic
Affairs of the Ministry of Finance annually. This includes supplementary excess grants and when
a proclamation by the President as to failure of Constitutional machinery is in operation in
relation to a State or a Union Territory, preparation of the Budget of such State. The present
Indian Finance minister is Arun Jaitley.
An estimate of costs, revenues, and resources over a specified period, reflecting a reading of
future financial conditions and goals.
One of the most important administrative tools, a budget serves also as a (1) plan of action for
achieving quantified objectives, (2) standard for measuring performance, and (3) device for
coping with foreseeable adverse situations.
The mission of the Office of Budget (CF-30) is to plan for, formulate, execute, analyze, and
defend the Department of Energy's budget; to manage the corporate funds control process; and to
serve as the external liaison for the Department of Energy on matters related to its budget.

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Functions:
 Coordinate and manage the Department's budget formulation, presentation, and execution
processes.
 Provide central administration of Departmental appropriations, allotments, and financial
controls.
 Formulate procedures for budgetary allocations and controls, reprogrammings, deferrals,
and other financial actions.
 Develop budget tables, histories, statistics, and other data required for budget planning
and control.
 Provide support to and liaison with OMB and Congressional Appropriations Committees
on all budget formulation and budget execution matters.
 Provide independent analytical support to senior Departmental management on budget
matters, including hearing preparation, and support Departmental decision making.
The budget process in India, like in most other countries, comprises four distinct phases.
 Budget formulation: the preparation of estimates of expenditure and receipts for the
ensuing financial year;
 Budget enactment: approval of the proposed Budget by the Legislature through the
enactment of Finance Bill and Appropriation Bill;
 Budget execution: enforcement of the provisions in the Finance Act and Appropriation Act
by the government—collection of receipts and making disbursements for various services
as approved by the Legislature; and
 Legislative review of budget implementation: audits of government’s financial operations
on behalf of the Legislature.
Process starts August-September-
In the Union government, there is a budget division in the department of economic affairs under
the Ministry of Finance. This division starts the process of formulation of the next financial year’s
Union budget in the months of August–September every year. To start the process, the budget
division issues an annual budget circular around the last week of August or the first fortnight of
September every year. This annual budget circular contains detailed instructions for the Union
government ministries/departments relating to the form and content of the statement of budget
estimates to be prepared by them.
Estimates, revised estimates and actual-
It must be noted that the ministries are required to provide three different kinds of figures

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relating to their expenditures and receipts during this process of budget preparation. These are:
budget estimates, revised estimates and actual. Let us consider, for instance, the case of budget
preparation in the second half of the calendar year 2011. The Union government would prepare the
budget for 2012-13 during the time period of September 2011 to February 2012. In this case, the
approval of Parliament would be sought for the estimated receipts/expenditures for 2012-13, which
would be called budget estimates.
At the same time, the Union government, in its budget for 2012-13, would also present revised
estimates for the ongoing financial year 2011-12. We may note here that the government would not
seek approval from Parliament of revised estimates of 2011-12; but, these revised estimates would
allow the government to reallocate its funds among various ministries based on the implementation
of the budget for 2011-12 during the first six months of financial year 2011-12.
Finally, ministries would also be reporting their actual receipts and expenditures for the previous
financial year 2010-11. Hence, the Union budget for 2012-13 would consist of budget estimates for
2012-13, revised estimates for 2011-12, and actual expenditures and receipts of 2010-11.
Planning Commission's role
The ministries would provide budget estimates for plan expenditure for budget estimates for
the next financial year, only after they have discussed their respective plan schemes with the Central
Planning Commission. The Planning Commission depends on the finance ministry to first arrive at
the size of the gross budgetary support, which would be provided in the budget for the next annual
plan of the Union government. In principle, the size of each annual plan should be derived from the
approved size of the overall Five-Year Plan (12th Five-Year Plan, 2012-13 to 2016-17, in the present
instance). However, in practice, the size of the gross budgetary support for an annual plan also
depends on the expected availability of funds with the finance ministry for the next financial year.
Call to reduce deficit
In the past few years, the finance ministry has been vociferously arguing for reduction of fiscal
deficit and revenue deficit of the Union government, citing the targets set by the Fiscal Responsibility
and Budget Management Act and its rules. Hence, presently, the aspirations of the Planning
Commission and Union government ministries with regard to spending face the legal hurdle of this
Act, which has made it mandatory for the Union government to show the revenue deficit as nil (total
revenue expenditure not exceeding total revenue receipts by even a single rupee) and the fiscal deficit
as less than 3 per cent of GDP. This means new borrowing of the government in a financial year
cannot exceed 3 per cent of the country’s GDP for that year.
Final stages

lOMoARcPSD|39910079
Also, during the final stage of budget preparation, the revenue-earning ministries of the Union
government provide the estimates for their revenue receipts in the current fiscal year (revised
estimates) and next fiscal year (budget estimates) to the finance ministry. Subsequently, usually in
the month of January, more attention is paid to finalisation of the estimated receipts. With an idea
about the total requirement of resources to meet expenditures in the next fiscal year, the finance
ministry focuses on the revenue receipts for the next fiscal.
In the final stage of budget preparation, the finance minister examines the budget proposals prepared
by the ministry and makes changes in them, if required. The finance minister consults the prime
minister, and also briefs the Union Cabinet, about the budget at this stage. If there is any conflict
between any ministry and the finance ministry with regard to the budget, the matter is supposed to be
resolved by the Cabinet.
In the final stage, the budget division in the finance ministry consolidates all figures to be presented
in the budget and prepares the final budget documents. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) helps
the budget division in the process of consolidation of the budget data, which has been fully
computerised. At the end of this process, the finance minister takes the permission of the president of
India for presenting the Union budget to Parliament.
As per the Constitution, the Union budget is to be presented in the Lok Sabha on such a day as the
president may direct. By convention, Union budget has been presented in Lok Sabha by the finance
minister on the last working day of the month of February every year.
The finance minister, by convention, makes a speech while introducing the budget. The annual
financial statement is laid on the table of Rajya Sabha only after the finance minister concludes his
budget speech in Lok Sabha. The budget documents are made available to the members of
Parliament after the finance bill has been introduced in Lok Sabha, and the House has been
adjourned for the day.
It may be noted that the budget process in India lacks transparency in one aspect: while enactment of
the Budget by the legislature and the review of its implementation are reasonably transparent, the
process of budget preparation by the government is carried out behind closed doors.
Types of Budget-
 Sales budget – an estimate of future sales, often broken down into both units. It is used to
create company and sales goals.
 Production budget - an estimate of the number of units that must be manufactured to meet
the sales goals. The production budget also estimates the various costs involved with
manufacturing those units, including labor and material. Created by product oriented
companies.

lOMoARcPSD|39910079
 Capital budget - used to determine whether an organization's long-term investments such as

new machinery, replacement machinery, new plants, new products, and research
development projects are worth pursuing.
 Cash flow/cash budget – a prediction of future cash receipts and expenditures for a
particular time period. It usually covers a period in the short-term future. The cash flow
budget helps the business to determine when income will be sufficient to cover expenses and
when the company will need to seek outside financing.
 Marketing budget – an estimate of the funds needed for promotion, advertising, and public
relations in order to market the product or service.
 Project budget – a prediction of the costs associated with a particular company project.
These costs include labour, materials, and other related expenses. The project budget is often
broken down into specific tasks, with task budgets assigned to each. A cost estimate is used
to establish a project budget.
 Revenue budget – consists of revenue receipts of government and the expenditure met from
these revenues. Tax revenues are made up of taxes and other duties that the government
levies.
 Expenditure budget – includes spending data items..
 Flexibility budget - it is established for fixed cost and variable rate is determined per
activity measure for variable cost.
 Appropriation budget - a maximum amount is established for certain expenditure based on
management judgment.
 Performance budget - it is mostly used by organization and ministries involved in the
development activities. This process of budget takes into account the end results.
 Zero based budget - A budget type where every item added to the budget needs approval
and no items are carried forward from the prior years budget. This type of budget has a clear
advantage when the limited resources are to be allocated carefully and objectively. Zero
based budgeting takes more time to create as all pieces of the budget need to be reviewed by
management.
The budget process in India-
 Budget formulation: the preparation of estimates of expenditure and receipts for the
ensuing financial year;
 Budget enactment: approval of the proposed Budget by the Legislature through the
enactment of Finance Bill and Appropriation Bill;
 Budget execution: enforcement of the provisions in the Finance Act and Appropriation
Act by the government—collection of receipts and making disbursements for various
services as approved by the Legislature; and
 Legislative review of budget implementation: audits of government’s financial operations
on behalf of the Legislature.

lOMoARcPSD|39910079
Process starts August-September-
In the Union government, there is a budget division in the department of economic affairs
under the Ministry of Finance. This division starts the process of formulation of the next
financial year’s Union budget in the months of August–September every year.
To start the process, the budget division issues an annual budget circular around the last week of
August or the first fortnight of September every year. This annual budget circular contains
detailed instructions for the Union government ministries/departments relating to the form and
content of the statement of budget estimates to be prepared by them.
Estimates, revised estimates and actual-
It must be noted that the ministries are required to provide three different kinds of figures
relating to their expenditures and receipts during this process of budget preparation. These are:
budget estimates, revised estimates and actuals. Let us consider, for instance, the case of budget
preparation in the second half of the calendar year 2011. The Union government would prepare
the budget for 2012-13 during the time period of September 2011 to February 2012. In this case,
the approval of Parliament would be sought for the estimated receipts/expenditures for 2012-13,
which would be called budget estimates.
At the same time, the Union government, in its budget for 2012-13, would also present
revised estimates for the ongoing financial year 2011-12. We may note here that the government
would not seek approval from Parliament of revised estimates of 2011-12; but, these revised
estimates would allow the government to reallocate its funds among various ministries based on
the implementation of the budget for 2011-12 during the first six months of financial year 2011-
12.
Finally, ministries would also be reporting their actual receipts and expenditures for the
previous financial year 2010-11. Hence, the Union budget for 2012-13 would consist of budget
estimates for 2012-13, revised estimates for 2011-12, and actual expenditures and receipts of
2010-11.
Planning Commission's role-
The ministries would provide budget estimates for plan expenditure for budget estimates for
the next financial year, only after they have discussed their respective plan schemes with the
Central Planning Commission. The Planning Commission depends on the finance ministry to
first arrive at the size of the gross budgetary support, which would be provided in the budget for
the next annual plan of the Union government. In principle, the size of each annual plan should

lOMoARcPSD|39910079
be derived from the approved size of the overall Five-Year Plan (12th Five-Year Plan, 2012-13
to 2016-17, in the present instance). However, in practice, the size of the gross budgetary support
for an annual plan also depends on the expected availability of funds with the finance ministry
for the next financial year.
Call to reduce deficit-
In the past few years, the finance ministry has been vociferously arguing for reduction of
fiscal deficit and revenue deficit of the Union government, citing the targets set by the Fiscal
Responsibility and Budget Management Act and its rules. Hence, presently, the aspirations of the
Planning Commission and Union government ministries with regard to spending face the legal
hurdle of this Act, which has made it mandatory for the Union government to show the revenue
deficit as nil (total revenue expenditure not exceeding total revenue receipts by even a single
rupee) and the fiscal deficit as less than 3 per cent of GDP. This means new borrowing of the
government in a financial year cannot exceed 3 per cent of the country’s GDP for that year.
Final stages-
Also, during the final stage of budget preparation, the revenue-earning ministries of the
Union government provide the estimates for their revenue receipts in the current fiscal year
(revised estimates) and next fiscal year (budget estimates) to the finance ministry. Subsequently,
usually in the month of January, more attention is paid to finalization of the estimated receipts.
With an idea about the total requirement of resources to meet expenditures in the next fiscal year,
the finance ministry focuses on the revenue receipts for the next fiscal.
In the final stage of budget preparation, the finance minister examines the budget proposals
prepared by the ministry and makes changes in them, if required. The finance minister consults
the prime minister, and also briefs the Union Cabinet, about the budget at this stage. If there is
any conflict between any ministry and the finance ministry with regard to the budget, the matter
is supposed to be resolved by the Cabinet.
In the final stage, the budget division in the finance ministry consolidates all figures to be
presented in the budget and prepares the final budget documents. The National Informatics
Centre (NIC) helps the budget division in the process of consolidation of the budget data, which
has been fully computerized. At the end of this process, the finance minister takes the permission
of the president of India for presenting the Union budget to Parliament.
As per the Constitution, the Union budget is to be presented in the Lok Sabha on such a day
as the president may direct. By convention, Union budget has been presented in Lok Sabha by
the finance minister on the last working day of the month of February every year.

lOMoARcPSD|39910079
The finance minister, by convention, makes a speech while introducing the budget. The
annual financial statement is laid on the table of Rajya Sabha only after the finance minister
concludes his budget speech in Lok Sabha. The budget documents are made available to the
members of Parliament after the finance bill has been introduced in Lok Sabha, and the House
has been adjourned for the day. It may be noted that the budget process in India lacks
transparency in one aspect: while enactment of the Budget by the legislature and the review of its
implementation are reasonably transparent, the process of budget preparation by the government
is carried out behind closed doors.
Budget Execution-
After the government enacts the budget, there is an ongoing role for civil society
organizations (CSOs) in analyzing and assessing how funds are actually spent to implement the
policies, programs, and projects outlined in the budget. The budget execution process generally
follows five steps:
 Monies are released to various line ministries (or departments/agencies) as per the approved
budget
 Agencies initiate expenditures directly or by procuring goods and services
 Payments are made for these expenditures
 Expenditure transactions are recorded in accounting books
 Execution reports (In-Year and Mid-Year) are produced throughout the year, culminating in the
closure of the accounting books and the production of Year-End Reports (the final execution
report of a given budget year)
In practice, budgets are rarely implemented exactly as approved. This can be for legitimate
reasons, such as adjustments in policies in response to changes in economic conditions, or for
negative reasons, including mismanagement, unauthorized expenditures, inefficiency, or fraud.
CSOs can use analysis during and after budgets are implemented to identify problems in
execution and use this information to strengthen their advocacy efforts to increase accountability,
improve programs, and inform future budget debates. There are various tools and methods to
assess budget execution.
Control over parliamentary committees-

Parliament is a huge body with sovereign powers. Hence, it has to operate through its
committee and the review of their reports from time to time. In the realm of these, parliamentary
committees are specific and are vested with responsibilities of scrutiny of public expenditure,
economy in public spending and controlling the irregularities and waste in the management of
public enterprises.

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These committees are:

(1) The Public Accounts Committee-
(2) The Estimates Committee-
1. The Public Accounts Committee:

The Public Accounts Committee in India was first created in 1923 at the Centre under
Montford Reforms (1919). The departments of the central government were for the first time
asked to justify their expenditure in details. Though, this body was not a real parliamentary
committee, the finance minister was its chairman and the department of finance provided the
secretariat of the committee.
The Constitution makes no mention of the PAC but the Parliament derives its power to
constitute such committees from Article 118 (i) of the Constitution. Originally, it consisted of 15
members, all from the Lok Sabha, but in 1953, the number was increased to 22 to provide
representation to the Rajya Sabha.
This inclusion marks a departure from the British practice. Pandit Nehru justified it by
saying that “the association of the nominees of the Rajya Sabha with PAC was necessary
because the Committee was purely investigatory and since under Article 151 (i) of the
Constitution, public accounts and audit reports were to be presented to both Houses; it was open
to the Rajya Sabha to appoint its own committee, but instead of two, it would be desirable if only
one committee was appointed.”
The members of the committee are elected by the Parliament every year from amongst its
members according to the principle of proportional representation by means of single
transferable vote. Like Britain, a distinguished member of the opposition is invariably elected as
Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. Though the committee is elected annually, there is
convention that there should be two-year term of membership to ensure continuity.
Though the chairman of the committee is appointed by the speaker, the rules provide that
where the deputy speaker himself is a member of the committee, he will act as its chairman. The
quorum for a meeting is four members and the chairman has a casting vote in case of a tie. The
Lok Sabha rules also prohibit a minister from being chosen as a member of the PAC.
Each major party is represented on the committee in proportion to its strength in the Lok
Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. All shades of opinion are brought to bear on the working of the
committee. Yet, no party affiliations are brought into the discussions and scrutiny of the
transactions of the government are considered objectively.
The one year tenure of the committee is found to short and it is suggested that this term
should be coextensive with the term of the Lok Sabha and one-third of the members should retire

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annually. This suggestion has not been accepted but as a matter of convention, most of the
members of the PAC are re-elected for a second term. This ensures continuity in its composition
and approach.
The function of the Committee as embodied in the rules of procedure and conduct of
business is to satisfy itself that the money shown in the accounts books as having been disbursed
were legally available for and applicable to the service or purpose to which they have applied or
charged. The expenditure conforms to the authority which governs it. That every re-
appropriation has been made in accordance with the provision made in this behalf under rules
framed by competent authority.
The basic functions and duties of PAC are:
(1) To examine, in the light of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General, the statement
of accounts showing the income and expenditure of state corporations, trading and manufac-
turing schemes and projects;
(2) To examine the statement of accounts showing the income and expenditure of autonomous
bodies the audit of which may be conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India,
either under the directions of the President or by a statute of parliament; and
(3) To consider the report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General, in case, where the President
may have required him to conduct an audit of a receipt or to examine the accounts of stores and
stocks.
The report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General constitutes the basis to ascertain whether
the money granted by the Parliament has been spent by the government within the scope of the
demands. The examination of the committee extends beyond the formalities of the expenditure.
Legality, veracity and economy constitute the base on which the report of the Comptroller and
Auditor-General of India is drawn out.
The report is taken up ministry-wise. The secretaries are obliged to appear as witnesses to
explain the points raised in the audit. The C&AG remains the guiding spirit and he suggests the
lines on which the committee should conduct its examination. He identifies the questions which
need clarification from the official witnesses.
The relation between him and the committee is close and intimate because he is the “acting
hand of the committee, its guide, philosopher and friend”. The effectiveness of the committee is
largely determined by the thoroughness with which the audit examination has been conducted;
likewise the value of audit criticism depends on the support it receives from the committee.

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Not only are the functions of these two authorities interrelated but there is a measure even
of interdependence in their relations. This is emphasized by the fact that, by far, the bulk of the
committee’s inquiries are concerned with points which the Auditor-General raises.
The committee examines the report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General to find out that
the money voted by Parliament has been utilized by the government ‘within the scope of the
demand’. It means the public expenditure has not exceeded the appropriations and the grant has
been utilized for the purpose for which it was sanctioned by Parliament. The nature of items of
expenditure compiled against a demand justify their being so compiled.
The committee also reviews the form and details in which the estimates are composed and
goes into the technical accounting procedure, to find its adequacy to control departmental
extravagance. The committee may send for persons, papers, and records. The conclusions of the
committee are submitted to Parliament in the form of a report. To enable intensive examination,
the committee may take resort to the practices of consulting study groups, such as obtained in
defense, railway departments.
The Comptroller and Auditor-General submits interim reports to this committee. A

convention has evolved that the recommendations of the committee are accepted by the
government. Most of the issues are settled through mutual discussion and PAC probe relates to
transactions completed and to damage done. It conducts a post-mortem examination of the public
accounts yet its findings are of value as guidance and warning.
The guidelines prepared by UK PAC are followed by the Indian PAC in its working. The
committee must take up the question whether the money spent for a particular purpose has been
fruitfully spent or not. The Committee should understand the intention and mind of the
Parliament and express their judgments and discretion.
It has to ensure that principles of economy have been followed and must maintain a high
standard of public morality in financial matters. The committee members can argue, discuss and
dissent but the moment consensus is reached, every member must support it.
The notes explaining the various excesses or savings mentioned under each head are sent
within a period of two months. The committee selects a few important items for detailed exami-
nation for which a ‘Key of the Audit Report’ is circulated to the members and to concerned
ministries by the Lok Sabha secretariat.
The official representatives appear before the committee as witnesses to explain their
position. The secretaries in India represent the administration and place the administrative point
of view. The meetings of PAC are private and the government representatives come to give
evidence.

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The examination of witnesses is initiated by the chairman, who stands briefed by the
C&AG. The PAC is not concerned with the internal administration of the ministries or
departments. Much time during the examination of witnesses is spent by the members in
obtaining information on the organization of departments.
The committee does not function as a reprimanding authority because it does not name the
delinquent and is not allowed to be mentioned. The committee tries to know whether adequate
action was taken and on that basis it pronounces judgment regarding the adequacy of an action.
To get information witnesses may be pushed in tight corner. But these meetings of the PAC are
not held in a camera.
A record of the proceedings is maintained, but not published. Documents of secret nature
are submitted only to the chairman, and he has to preserve the secrecy. The report is prepared by
the Lok Sabha secretariat under the guidance of the chairman and the advice of the C&AG. The
C&AG make factual verification and after his approval, it is presented to the Lok Sabha. Here
ends the cycle of annual financial activity.
The report of the Public Accounts Committee contains the committee’s view and findings
on the accounts of different departments. It only points out the misuse of public funds and offers
remedies for preventing misuse in future. The sub-committees of the PAC can assist the PAC, if
detailed investigation becomes necessary.
Each sub-committee consists of four to six members, including the chairman. The C&AG
assists these sub-committees and all the reports are considered as a whole in the final report. The
interim report of the C&AG to PAC is submitted to avoid the charge that the scrutiny has
become old and out of date.
The reports of PAC are published and scandals and irregularities reach the MPs, who
discuss them when the reports are put before the Parliament. The reports are accepted and their
recommendations are implemented. The committee may reconsider its advice in the light of the
reasons given by the government.
The contentions matters are sorted out through discussions between the PAC and the
relevant department. Responsibility for taking action is the duty of the concerned ministry which
keeps an eye on the implementation of recommendations. The ministry sends a response to the
PAC on action taken in due course of time.
This action-taken report of the PAC presents highlights of the original report and the
recommendations which have been accepted by the Government. The action-taken report
contains recommendations which the committee does not wish to pursue and also those
recommendations which the committee does not accept and makes a reiteration.

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Recommendations/observations in respect of which the government has furnished interim replies

also form part of conclusions and recommendations.
The findings of the committee and its periodical reports are compiled by the C&AG into
Abstracts which serve as case laws in respect of financial matters as a guide to the departments.
The examination of accounts is treated as a matter of national interest and not of party politics.
The association of the members of the opposition assures MPs, that the government spending
is going to be scrutinized with no special tenderness. The PAC has been suggesting reforms in
the governmental procedures and has stressed adhering to the norms of economy and efficiency.
It has been suggesting the separation of accounts from audit and introduction of a proper scheme
of accounting and financial control.
The Public Accounts Committee has a quasi-judicial role to play and questions those who
have been responsible for undesirable deals. Its warnings cannot be ignored easily. The
administration does pay attention to its recommendations and it trains the official and politician
in responsiveness to public opinion and constructive criticism.
The PAC creates a sense of fear in the civil servant which has a deterrent effect on his
activities. The reports may not extensively debated in the Parliament but they are useful to those
who like to use them. The PAC reports can shake a department out of its complacency or may
administer a rude shock. The committee ensures discipline and acts as a check against slackness,
negligence, arbitrariness and other defaults on the part of executive.
The Public Accounts Committee does not interfere in the internal administration of depart-
ments. It does not concern itself with matters of policy. There is no obligation on the part of the
executive to adopt the reports of the committee. Questions may be reserved for reconsideration
by the committee in the next session.
If an inquiry is to be carried out, it is done at the instance and demand of the C&AG. The
C&AG is a source of strength and helps the committee in its deliberations. He may be a source
of weakness too, for the weakness of his audit. The PAC is sometimes accused that the delayed
presentation of reports reduce their utility. Ad hoc enquiries and reports can enhance the value of
the committee’s work.
The irregularities and losses to the public exchequer come to the notice of the Parliament
late. There is scope for expediting the reports of the C&AG and also the reports made by the
committee. There is very little discussion on the reports in the House. Besides focusing attention
on the shortcomings in the working of government departments, the acceptance of the PAC
recommendations by the Central government represents the strength of Indian political system.
The fear of scrutiny is a great check on negligence and wasteful public expenditure.

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2. The Estimates Committee:

The expenditure has to be within the grants passed by the Parliament for the purpose. But, a
detailed examination of the estimates should also secure possible economy in the execution of
public accounts. This is done by the Estimates Committee of the Parliament. Joh Mathai
suggested the creation of Estimates Committee as a standing committee in 1953, and it is set-up
every year from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha by a system of proportional
representation and single transferable vote.
It consists of 30 members, all belonging to the Lok Sabha. The chairman is appointed by the
speaker and if deputy speaker happens to be a member of the committee he automatically
becomes the chairman. No minister can be appointed in the Estimates Committee. The
committee is renewed every year but one-third of its members retire every year.
Conventionally they are re-elected year after year. The Estimates Committee suggests
‘economies’ in expenditure, and is called a ‘Continuous Economy Committee’. The Estimates
Committee ensures that minimum expenditure is incurred within rules.
The functions of the committee are-

(1) To examine whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy implied in the
estimates;
(2) To report what economies, improvements, efficiency or reforms, underlay the estimates
prepared in policy planning;
(3) To suggest the form of estimates for presentation to the parliament; and
(4) To suggest alternative policies to bring efficiency and economy in administration.
The Estimates Committee suggests possible economies and if it finds that a particular policy
is not leading to the expected results or is leading to waste, it brings to the notice of the Lok
Sabha about the change. It prepares its plan of work for the year and may constitute sub-
committees to examine matters.
The reports of these sub-committees are deemed to be the reports of the whole committee.
The committee may send for papers, persons, and records and its study-groups can undertake on-
the-spot study of the projects under examination. A copy of the report is sent to the ministry in
advance for verifications, and then it is submitted to the Lok Sabha.
There is no formal debate on the reports of the Estimates Committee which usually contain
recommendations for improving the presentation of the estimates. The committee has suggested

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valuable administrative and financial reforms besides acting as a ‘Standing Economy

Committee’.
The Estimates Committee in India is not organized on party lines and can present a better
picture of economy and efficiency in administration. The control exercised by the committee has
advantages. It is judicial in approach which combines the people’s approach and prevents the
executive from being apprehensive.
The Estimates Committee offers a training ground for the legislators to influence policies and
thereby it serves as a link between the people and the government. The Committee has justified
its existence by discharging its functions successfully. “The Committee’s emphasis on review of
the policies of government and of the structure of the departmental organization has substantially
altered the character and purpose of the committee. Instead of a fact-finding body, it is
converting itself into fault-finding mechanism. With its floating membership it can hardly be
sufficiently familiar with the details of administrative processes and problems to be able to
suggest fruitful lines of administrative reform. The Committee is arrogating to itself a role which
constitutionally belongs to the House of the People. The recommendations of the Committee on
matters of administrative reorganization, reconstitution of departments and redistribution of
functions have hardly any practical utility.”
The Standing Finance Committee of 1921 constituted under the Government of India Act,
1919 still determines its operations. It is the House in miniature as it represents the parties and
groups in the Lok Sabha more or less in proportion to their representation in the House.
Considering its importance, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha takes due interest in its working.
The estimates of public undertakings are outside its purview. It follows a selective approach
and makes a selection of a few ministries, and a few subjects in some ministries to be examined
during the year. The committee concentrates on a few ministries and also on only a few selected
subjects within a ministry or a group of ministries.
The committee reviews the estimates only after they have been presented to the House. It
keeps reporting to the House as the work proceeds. It has no role in the framing of estimates and
in the voting of demands in the Parliament. It cannot disallow any expenditure. As an advisory
body, it examines estimates after they are passed and suggests economies.
The estimates committee examines the classification and form of accounts presented to the
Lok Sabha. The secretariat of the committee examines the estimates and ensures that the classifi-
cation of the items under ‘charged and voted’ is proper. The rules prescribe the form m which the
ministries furnish material under nine headings.
The information pertains to the organization volume of work, schemes or projects

undertaken, expenditure incurred, reasons for variations, and report by the ministry concerned.

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The questions are framed by the Estimate Committee on the basis of the information and
responses of the questionnaires issued by the committee.
A detailed scrutiny is undertaken on-the-spot, witnesses are examined as in the Public

Accounts Committee. The officials and non-officials experts participate in the proceedings and
help each other to understand their respective problems. The oral and written evidences result in
tentative guideline on the basis of which, the secretariat prepares the report.
The report is sent to the concerned ministry for confidential verification of factual details.
Each report contains recommendations for improving the organization, for securing economy,
and for providing guidance in the presentation of the estimates. The minister gathers support on
general proposition on political grounds and the recommendations are given acceptance by the
government.
The committee sees whether the recommendations are adhered to or not, and the ministry has
to send replies from time to time. The estimates committee also prepares a follow-up report
showing the implementation status of the recommendations. Members of the Lok Sabha may
question the government about non-compliance of the recommendations.
The committee suggestions act as guidelines for regulating expenditure. The committee not
only suggests economy, but initiates reforms in the overall budgetary practices. The reports
create awareness and have educational value. In addition to regular reports, ad hoc reports,
horizontal reports, survey reports of the committee deal with procedural matters in financial
administration.
The Estimates Committee is an expert body of non-experts. The C&AG does not participate
in its deliberations. Due to the vast expansion of governmental activity, the committee has to
selects three to five ministries and only a few selected areas in a session.
The impact of the Committee on the thinking of the government is substantial and “If the
House is not free to use it as it wishes, it deprives itself of the most natural means of obtaining
information and advice”. It functions in a quasi-judicial atmosphere, and yet, the final effect is
not that of pronouncing a verdict.
It also has a positive impact on civil servants and the fear of public exposure keeps them alert.
It is a training ground for the members of the House. The reports educate the public on the
functioning and performance of the government. The committee serves as a moral check on the
activities of all departments and ensures that the tax-payer’s money is spent efficiently.

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1. What do you understand by Financial Administration? Discuss its

importance?
2. Define Budget? What are the types of Budget?
3. How a budget is executed?
4. Discuss about the Public Accounts Committee and Estimates Committee?
Define its powers and functions?

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Unit-5
Public policy has a clear and unique purpose Policy is a broad concept that embodies several
different dimensions. The challenge is to articulate in a comprehensible and cogent way the
meaning of this term. In a nutshell, public policy seeks to achieve a desired goal that is
considered to be in the best interest of all members of society. Examples include clean air, clean
water, good health, high employment, an innovative economy, active trade, high educational
attainment, decent and affordable housing, minimal levels of poverty, improved literacy, low
crime and a socially cohesive society, to name a few. These examples of broad societal goals are
not intended to imply that all public policies are directed toward the entire population.
Sometimes policies deemed to promote the public interest target only a certain group. Crime
prevention policies are in place, for instance, to control the behaviour of repeat offenders. Public
health policies may require the forced treatment of individuals with active tuberculosis. The
intent of these public policies is to protect all members of society by focusing upon a select few.
A public policy is a deliberate and (usually) careful decision that provides guidance for
addressing selected public concerns. Policy development can be seen, then, as a decision making
process that helps address identified goals, problems or concerns. At its core, policy development
entails the selection of a destination or desired objective. The actual formulation of policy
involves the identification and analysis of a range of actions that respond to these concerns. Each
possible solution is assessed against a number of factors such as probable effectiveness, potential
cost, resources required for implementation, political context and community support. In short,
any given policy represents the end result of a decision as to how best to achieve a specific
objective. Most people actually apply a similar process in the decisions they make in their
everyday lives – even around fairly inconsequential choices.
Definition of policy-
The word "policy" is not a tightly defined concept but a highly flexible one, used in different
ways on different occasions. Webster's dictionary has a number of closely related definitions.
They are:
 A definite course or method of action selected (by government, institution, group or

individual) from among alternatives and in the light of given conditions to guide and, usually, to
determine present and future decisions.
 A specific decision or set of decisions designed to carry out such a course of action.
 Such a specific decision or set of decisions together with the related actions designed to
implement them.
 A projected program consisting of desired objectives and the means to achieve them.

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In English usage, policies are "made" and "implemented" in the same way that decisions are
made and implemented. Yet it is possible to have policies that are not or cannot be implemented,
so that, conceptually, actions that implement policies need not necessarily be part of policy itself.
Although a policy is like a decision, it is not just a "vie-off", independent decision. A policy is a
set of coherent decisions with a common long-term purpose(s). When decisions are one-off,
incoherent or opportunistic, complaints are made that a government or minister "does not have a
policy". Government policies are often supported by special legislation.
The terms "policy", "plan", "program" and "project" are progressively more specific in time
and place. Policies are usually national policies (not district or provincial) and are not normally
limited in time: one does not usually speak in terms of "2-year policies" as one does of "2-year
programs" or "5-year plans".
For the purposes of this manual, livestock policy will be defined as:
A coherent set of decisions with a common long-term objective (or objectives) affecting or
relevant to the livestock subsector.
Policy-Making in India-
One of the essential functions of government is policy-formation. In the words of
Dr.Appleby, the essence of public administration is policy making. Without policy, government
and administration are rudderless. Policy is prior to every action. It is pre-requisite to all
management. It is the policy which sets the task for administration. It provides the framework
within which all actions for the accomplishment of an objective are to be activated. Policy is in
fact planning for action; it is getting reading for setting the sails to reach the desired destination.
Ever since Wilson wrote his essay on “The Study of Administration” published in 1887, politics-
administration dichotomy school of thought tended to regard policy as outside the scope of
administration.
In the words of Wilson: “The field of administration is a field of business. It is removed

from the hurry and strife of politics.” Wilson was followed by Good now and as late as 1926,
L.D. White drew a distinction between administration and politics.
It is now being increasingly realized that politics-administration dichotomy cannot work

and that administration cannot be completely divorced from policy-making. Luther Gulick was
one of the first advocates of this view.
To quote Dr. Appleby-

“Administrators are continually laying down rules for the future, and administrators are
continually determining what the law is, what it means in terms of action, what the rights of

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parties are with respect both to transactions in process and transactions in prospect……..
Administrators also participate in another way in the making of policy for the future; they
formulate recommendations for legislation, and this is a part of the function of policy-making.”
Public officials are associated with policy-formation in three important ways:
First, they have to supply facts, data, and criticism as to the workability of policy to the
ministers or to the legislature if the initiative for policy-making comes from them. The members
of the legislature or the ministers are amateurs who have risen to positions because of the popular
will and not because of administrative talent and as such, they have to give due weight to the
suggestions of the officials.
Second, in many cases the initiative for policy or legislation emanates from the
administration. This is because of the fact that it is the administration which is in constant touch
with the general public and is in a better position to understand the difficulties that arise in the
execution of legislation.
It has, therefore, to make suggestions and formulate proposals for removing those difficulties
and in the process, it may have to, if need be, ask for amendments in the existing law or even for
more laws. In such cases policy proposals emanate from the administration and legislature only
puts its seal of approval on them.
Third, on account of lack of time and knowledge, the legislature passes skeleton Acts and
leaves the details to the administration. It is here that administration is most supreme in policy-
making.
In order to execute these Acts, the administration frames rules, regulations and bye-laws
which is a major contribution to policy-making. It may, therefore, he said that there are two main
types of policy-political policy and administrative policy.
Political policy is the policy made by the government. It is the general policy set out by the
Parliament and political executive in pursuance of the promises made at the time of election by
the party in power. Administrative policy is the form in which the minister, administrator or
Board carries the will of the government into effect.
In the words of Dr. M.P. Sharma “…administrative policy is largely concerned with the
determination and establishment of appropriate machinery and procedure for the implementation
of legislative policies, setting the time-table or work programme of activities for guidance of its
own staff through rules, regulations or orders, and taking precedent-making decisions on specific
novel issues which may arise in the course of day-to-day administration.”

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Basis of Policy-Making-
Policy, from whatever source-legislature or administration-it may emanate, must be based on

factual data and accurate information. to the legislature, it is the administration which supplies
the necessary information but wherefrom the administration obtains that information? Broadly
speaking, there are four ways through which administration collects the necessary
information:
1. Internal Sources:
Every department is a centre to which flow periodic reports, returns, statements, accounts and
various other materials from various field establishments. These reports and other material are
recorded by the department for future use whenever the need arises.
Some departments employ special agencies for the collection of data in certain special fields.
Several Ministries in India have made special arrangements and established special machinery
for the collection of statistics and data helpful for policy-making.
The Central Statistical Organization, the National Sample Survey, the Bureau of Public
Enterprises, Directorate of Industrial Statistics and various other organizations are working for
the collection of information and statistics. The data so collected is properly processed,
organized and interpreted to reveal certain facts essential for policy-making.
2. External Sources:
To supplement the internal data which may be insufficient, the administration takes to
collecting information from external sources. It establishes contacts with private bodies, unions,
associations, chambers, etc., in order to get a true picture of facts.
Internal information is likely to be biased and hence inaccurate and unreliable because it
travels through the official channels and the agency reporting it may not like to reveal all that is
fact. In our country, the government does consult and tries to know the essence of public opinion
through various labour unions, chambers of commerce, and other professional associations.
Before the Five Year Plan is actually approved, the draft outline is thrown open for discussion to
various bodies all over the country. The suggestions received are duly considered and incorpo-
rated, where approved, in working out the final Plan.
3. Special Investigations:
Special investigations may be conducted by the appointment of Commissions and
Committees of enquiry for finding facts in respect of a particular matter of field. Such

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investigations are very useful for policy-making as they provide the maximum thought in a
particular field. Examples of such Commissions/Committees are numerous both in our country
and abroad.
The Royal Commissions appointed from time to time in England, the Hoover Commission, in
U.S.A., the Central Pay Commissions, the Universities Radhakrishnan Commission, the Local
Finance Enquiry Commission, the Secondary Education Commission, the Press Commission, the
Taxation Commission, the Monopolies Commission, the Administrative Reforms Commission,
etc., in India are the examples of special investigating bodies.
These Commissions have specific terms of reference; they examine witnesses, both official
and non-official and obtain facts and views which they convey to the government in the form of
recommendations. These recommendations serve as the basis for policy-making and effecting
reforms.
4. Research and Study:

Research and studies may be organized by the Government and non-official agencies to
discover certain facts and views. Administrative research may be conducted by such bodies like
Division of Administrative Management in the Bureau of Budget in U.S.A., O & M in the British
Treasury and in various other departments.
Organization and Methods Division in the Cabinet Secretariat with its cells in other
departments in India. Similarly, non-official bodies like Brookings Institution, the Public
Administration Clearing House in U.S.A., the British Institute of Public Administration and the
Indian Institute of Public Administration also conduct researches and provide facts for policy
formulations set up for the purpose.
The Geological, Botanical, Zoological Surveys of India, the Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research, various laboratories devoted to research in building techniques, drugs, food,
technology, electro-chemicals, metallurgy, mining, salt, etc., the Atomic Energy Commission,
the Oil and Natural Gas Commission, etc., are some of the examples of institutions engaged in
research.
Every modern government, anxious as it is to make improvements, has to depend on these

research bodies for the mine of information and facts they supply. Every new policy must take
cognizance of the new research and material provided by these bodies.

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External Influences on Policy Making-

Policies are not made in a ‘vacuum’, that is to say that policy-makers must take cognizance
of various factors in formulating policies. They cannot act arbitrarily, more so in a democratic
country.
First, every policy must be in consonance with the provisions of the Constitution as interpreted
by the law courts and the laws made by the legislature.
Second, every policy must take into account the prevailing customs, traditions and conventions
of the people. That is to say that a policy must not be against established ways of life of the
people unless it is extremely desirable to frame one for banning a social evil.
Third, a policy must consider the international law and the world opinion for no country can live
an isolated life. International law is constantly becoming important and every member living in
the family of nations must play the game according to rules.
Fourth, if a policy of a department affects the policy of some other department or organization,
the department framing the policy must have prior consultations with the department affected.
Such a clearance is very important for the homogeneity of administration.
Finally, a policy must be framed after due consultation with the persons or groups of persons,
their unions and associations and other interests likely to be affected by policy for this helps the
policy-maker to analyze the difficulties likely to be faced in the execution of the policy.
Thus policies have to take into consideration several factors. In the words of Seckler- Hudson
“Policies are arrived at, then, in all sorts of ways, conditioned by all sorts of matters.”
The various organizations that participate indirectly or directly in policy-formulation are the
legislature, the executive, the judiciary through interpretations and judge-made-laws, top admin-
istrators, political parties, pressure groups, people, etc. Policy-making is a continuous process.
There must be periodical review of the usefulness of a policy. A policy is useful only under
certain circumstances. These circumstances change with time and a policy once very useful may
become obsolete. The policy may be changed accordingly or a new policy must be developed.
Nehruvian socialism is now being liberalized under the changed economic scenario of the coun-
try.
Although policy may seem to be a decision of a particular body or department, in practice,

however, the process is widespread all through the organization and the particular body an-
nouncing it is the last link “of a long chain of previous history of the matter.” It is, therefore, a
collective activity, a cooperative endeavour and an effort in which many people participate.

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Gladden’ distinguishes four different levels in policy-making:

(a) Political or general policy framed by the Parliament;
(b) Executive policy framed by the Cabinet,
(c) Administrative policy, that is, the form in which the administrator works out the will of the
government, and
(d) Technical policy, that is, the day-to-day policy adopted by the officials in carrying out the ad-
ministrative policy.
The process of policy formulation consists of the following steps:

(i) Understanding and analyzing of the present environment, both external and internal;
(ii) Identification of policy alternatives to achieve the goals in the anticipated environment;
(iii) Examination of the alternatives;
(iv) Elaboration of the consequences of various alternatives;
(v) Effect of alternatives and consequences on preferred values and norms;
(vi) Selection of policies.
Herein, it may also be mentioned that some American writers like David Easton, Lasswall
and Drox have pleaded for the evolution of ‘policy science as a separate discipline which will
accelerate the development of policy knowledge and contribute to better policy-making. This
idea, however, it still in infancy stage.
Organs that Participate in Policy-Making-

Policy-making is a collective activity in which many organs participate.
In our country, some of the important organs are:

1. Constitution:
Constitution is the supreme law of the land and every policy that is framed must be in
consonance with constitutional framework. Being a very comprehensive document, it clearly
lays down how the machinery of the government shall work, what shall be its objectives and
what shall be its limitations.
The Preamble to the Constitution declares the objectives while Directive Principles lay down the
principles according to which the machinery of the state shall frame policies.

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2. Legislature:
Legislative assemblies enact laws to give effect to the policies laid down in the Constitution.
Legislation is the declared will of the sovereign state and an expression of the popular opinion of
the people.
The role of legislature is primarily that of vetoing and controlling policies because it itself rarely
takes the initiative in sponsoring legislation. It influences and moulds policies through general
discussions, adjournment motions, interpellations and resolutions, etc.
3. The Cabinet:
The cabinet is the chief source of policies in our country. It is the most important body and its
meetings make every one await its decisions. It is the overall directing and controlling body
headed by the Prime Minister. All important policies are approved by it. It works through several
subject-matter sub-committees which report to it on specific matters.
4. Planning Commission:
Although it is a staff agency and hence an advisory organ to the Government of India, it
exercises important influence over the formulation of policies relating to the entire field of
administration.
5. National Development Council:

National Development Council, consisting of the Prime Minister, a few Central Ministers and
Chief Ministers of all States, is also the supreme policy-making organ. It is said to have acquired
a role of ‘supra-cabinet’.
6. Public Services:
Public Services, though mainly concerned with the execution of policies, participate in policy
making in so far as they advise and supply the necessary data to the Ministers for policy-making,
give legislative form to the policies and lay down administrative rules and regulations for giving
effect to the approved policies.
7. Judiciary:
Through its power of judicial review and advisory power, the Supreme Court exercises influence
on public policies.
8. Professional Associations:
Professional Associations, like the Bar Association, All India Medical Council, and Teachers’
Association also play a prominent role in formulation of policy in India.
9. Political Parties:

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Through election manifestoes the political parties display their respective policies and make an
effort to win the elections for implementing these policies. Besides the above organs, there are
several other bodies which influence policy-making.
Mention may be made of the Advisory bodies such as Standing Labour Committee, Indian
Labour Conference, Import and Export Advisory Committee, Central Advisory Board of Educa-
tion, University Grants Commission, Pressure groups such as trade unions and chambers of
commerce.
All these bodies advise, suggest and sometimes protest and demand correctives in regard to a
particular policy. Under the impact of information technology, mass media is playing an
important role in building pressure on policy-making.
Contact Us
Planning: Meaning, Types and Advantages-

Meaning of Planning:
Planning is very important for successfulness and the effective performance of an
organization not only for organizations but also for individuals. It is the most basic of all the
managerial functions. It involves selecting missions and objectives and the actions to achieve
them. Therefore every organization gives a greater emphasis on planning.
Planning as a process involves the determination of future course of action, that is why an
action, what action, how to take action, and when to take action. These are related with different
aspects of planning process.
Thus, Terry has defined planning in terms of future course of action i.e., “planning is the
selection and relating of facts and making and using of assumptions regarding the future in the
visualisation and formalisation of proposed activities believed necessary to achieve desired
result.”
McFarland has defined Planning as “a concept of executive action that embodies the skills of
anticipating, influencing and controlling the nature and direction of change.”
Peter Drucker defined as “planning is the continuous process of making present entrepreneurial
decisions systematically and with best possible knowledge their futurity, organizing
systematically the efforts needed to carry out these decisions and measuring the results of these
decisions against the expectation through organised systematic feedback.”

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In the words of Koontz and O’Donnell, “planning is deciding in advance what to do, how to
do it, when to do it, and who is to do it. Planning bridges the gap from where we are to here
we want to go.”
According to Theo Haimann, “planning is the function that determines in advance what should
be done. It consists of selecting the enterprise objectives polices, programmes, procedures and
other means of achieving these objectives.”
Types of Planning-
The process of planning may be classified into different categories on the following basis:
(i) Nature of Planning:
a. Formal planning.
b. Informal planning.
(ii) Duration of planning:

a. Short term planning.
b. Long term planning.
(iii) Levels of Management:

a. Strategic planning.
b. Intermediate planning.
c. Operational planning.
(iv) Use:
a. Standing plans
b. Single-use plans.
(i) Nature of Planning:

a. Formal Planning:
Planning is formal when it is reduced to writing. When the numbers of actions are large it is
good to have a formal plan since it will help adequate control.

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The term formal means official and recognised. Any planning can be done officially to be
followed or implemented. Formal planning is aims to determine and objectives of planning. It is
the action that determine in advance what should be done.
Advantages:
1. Proper Cooperation among employees,
2. Unity of Action,
3. Economy,
4. Proper coordination and control,
5. Choosing the right objectives, and
6. Future plan.
b. Informal Planning:
An informal plan is one, which is not in writing, but it is conceived in the mind of the manager.
Informal planning will be effective when the number of actions is less and actions have to be
taken in short period.
(ii) Duration of Planning:

a. Short term Planning:
Short term planning is the planning which covers less than two years. It must be formulated in a
manner consistent with long-term plans. It is considered as tactical planning. Short-term plans
are concerned with immediate future; it takes into account the available resources only and is
concerned with the current operations of the business.
These may include plans concerning inventory planning and control, employee training, work
methods etc.
Advantages:
1. It can be easily adjustable.
2. Changes can be made and incorporated.
3. Easy to Gauge.
4. Only little resources required.
Disadvantages:

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1. Very short period-left over things will be more.
2. Difficult to mobiles the resources.
3. Communication cycle will not be completed.
b. Long-Term Planning:
Long-term planning usually converse a period of more than five years, mostly between five and
fifteen years. It deals with broader technological and competitive aspects of the organisation as
well as allocation of resources over a relatively long time period. Long-term planning is
considered as strategic planning.
Short-term planning covers the period of one year while long term planning covers 5-15 years. In
between there may be medium-term plans. Usually, medium term plans are focusing on between
two and five years. These may include plan for purchase of materials, production, labour,
overhead expenses and so on.
Advantages:
1. Sufficient time to plan and implement.
2. Effective control.
3. Adjustment and changes may be made gradually.
4. Periodic evaluation is possible.
5. Thrust areas can be identified easily.
6. Weakness can be spotted and rectified then and there.
Disadvantages:
1. Prediction is difficult.
2. Full of uncertainties.
3. Objectives and Targets may not be achieved in full.
4. More resources required.
(iii) Levels of Management:

a. Strategic Planning:

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The strategic planning is the process of determining overall objectives of the organisation and the
policies and strategies adopted to achieve those objective. It is conducted by the top
management, which include chief executive officer, president, vice-presidents, General Manger
etc. It is a long range planning and may cover a time period of up to 10 years.
It basically deals with the total assessment of the organisation’s capabilities, its strengths and its
weaknesses and an objective evaluation of the dynamic environment. The planning also
determines the direction the company will be taking in achieving these goals.
b. Intermediate Planning:
Intermediate planning cover time frames of about 6 months to 2 years and is contemplated by
middle management, which includes functional managers, department heads and product line
mangers. They also have the task of polishing the top managements strategic plans.
The middle management will have a critical look at the resources available and they will
determine the most effective and efficient mix of human, financial and material factors. They
refine the broad strategic plans into more workable and realistic plans.
c. Operational Planning:
Operational planning deals with only current activities. It keeps the business running. These
plans are the responsibility of the lower management and are conducted by unit supervisors,
foremen etc. These are short-range plans covering a time span from one week to one year.
These are more specific and they determine how a specific job is to be completed in the best
possible way. Most operational plans .ire divided into functional areas such as production,
finance, marketing, personnel etc.
Thus even though planning at all levels is important, since all levels are integrated into one, the
strategic planning requires closer observation since it establishes the direction of the
organisation.
(iv) Use:
a. Standing Plan:
Standing plan is one, which is designed to be used over and over again. Objectives, policies
procedures, methods, rules and strategies are included in standing plans. Its nature is mechanical.
It helps executives to reduce their workload. Standing plan is also called routine plan. Standing
or routine plan is generally long range.
b. Single Use Plan:

Single use plan is one, which sets a course of action for a particular set of circumstances and is
used up once the particular goal is achieved. They may include programme, budgets, projects
and schedules. It is also called specific planning. Single use plan is short range.

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Components of Planning/Planning Techniques-

Planning consists of several individual plans or components of planning, which are usually
bound together.
(i) Forecasting. (ii) Objectives. (iii) Policies. (iv) Programmes. (v) Strategies. (vi) Schedules.
(vii) Procedures. (viii) Rules, and (ix) Budgets.
i. Forecasting:
Forecasting becomes an integral part of the planning process. It is a prediction of future events
and conditions. It, therefore, includes both the assessment of the future and the provision for it. It
helps to reduce the uncertainties that surround management, decision making.
ii. Objectives:
Objectives are the ends toward which activity is aimed— they are the results to be achieved.
They represent not only the end point of planning but also the end toward which organising,
staffing, leading and controlling are aimed.
Organisation can grow without any difficulty if it has well-defined objectives. These objectives
should be clearly defined and communicated throughout the organisation. Such objectives must
be realistic.
iii. Policies:
Koonte and O’Donnell defines “policies are general statements or undertakings which guide
or channel thinking in decision-making of subordinates.” So, policies act as guides to
thinking and action of subordinates in the organisations. It should be clearly prescribed and
understandable by all.
iv. Programmes:
It refers to the course of action of work to be carried out in proper sequence for the purpose of
achieving specific objectives.
v. Strategies:
Konnoz and Heinz Weihrich defined strategies as “a general programme of action and
deployment of resources to attain comprehensive objectives” or ” the determination of the
basic long-term objectives of an enterprise “and the adoption of courses of action and allocation
of resources necessary to achieve these goals. It is specific type of plan for achieving
organisational goals.
vi. Schedules:
Fixing a time sequence for every operation is known as schedules. Normally it forms part of
programming a part of action plan.
vii. Procedures:

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Procedures are plans that establish a required method of handling future activities. They are
guides to action, rather than to thinking and they detail the exact manner in which certain
activities must be accomplished. They are chronological sequences of required actions.
viii. Rules:
Rules spell out specific required actions or non-actions, following no direction. They are usually
the simplest type of plan.
ix. Budgets:
A budget is a statement of expected results expressed in numerical term. It may be referred to as
a numberised programme. A budget may be expressed either in financial terms or in terms of
labour-hours, units of product, machine hours, or any other numerically measurable term. It
helps the organisation to control the action by comparing budgetary and actual results.
Advantages of Planning:
1. Primacy of Planning:
Even though there are other managerial functions such as organising, staffing, directing and
controlling which helps to achieve the organisational goals, planning precedes all other
managerial functions. It establishes objectives necessary for all group effort.
2. Helping to Management:
Since the planning is a future course of action, mangers are able to define their objectives and get
direction. Also it creates a unity of purpose.
3. Effective Utilisation of Resources:

Proper planning helps to proper and effective utilisation of resources. Resources are identified
for optimum utility through planning. So waste or minimum waste of resources will not result
and thereby idle time for workers and downtime for machines will be reduced. This will lead to
result in minimum cost of operations.
4. Minimum Cost:
Planning helps to minimise cost by providing greater utilisation of the available resources. All
kinds of wastage of men, materials, money and machines are prevented with the help of
planning.
5. To help in Motivation:
All employees of the organisation can feel that we have taken this plan, if the plans are
communicated to them. In this case the sense of belonging of employees increases and therefore
they will be highly motivated.
6. To Offset Uncertainty and Change:

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There may be continuous change in the environment and organisation has to work in accelerating
change. This change is reflected in both tangible and intangible forms. Tangible changes are in
the form of changes in technology, market forces, and government regulations.
Intangible changes reflect in changes in attitudes, values, cultures etc. In order to cope up with
the requirements of such changes, organisation must role ahead for its future course of action,
which is basically provided by planning process. Planning does not stop changes in the
environment, but gears the organisation to take suitable actions so that it is successful in
achieving its objectives.
7. Help in Coordination:
Proper planning is made by unifying all areas on departments of the organisation. It wills leads to
coordinate and harmony among the departments is achieved.
8. Facilities Control:
Planning provides performance standards and standards for measuring the progress of the
organisations. Therefore management can compare the actual performance with the standards.
Manager can control action by looking at different if any deviation.
9. Facilitates Decision-making:
Planning provides a framework for decision-making. Since the planning provides for feedback,
periodic evaluation, and indication for any deviation, corrective action can be taken which leads
to better decision-making.
10. Encourage Innovation and Creativity:

It brings about rationality in managerial approach and improvement in executive thinking. D. F.
Hussey said that, “A good planning process will provide avenues for individual participation
will throw up more ideas about the company and its environment, will encourage an
atmosphere of frankness and corporate self-criticism and will stimulate managers to
achieve more.”
11. Improves Competitive Strength:
Since the operations are planned in advance, company can take its action concretely. It improves
the competitive strength of the organisation.
Limitations of Planning:
1. Corporate Planning is not Integrated into the Total Management System:
The top management fails to identify and associate properly the formal planning with the central
concept of the organisation’s mission.
2. There is a Lack of Understanding of the Different Steps of the Planning Process:

The management may not be knowledgeable or skilled in understanding all steps of the planning
requirements.

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3. Non-Availability of Correct Information and Data:

Planning is made by having information and data available. Generally correct information and
data not available.
4. Management at Different Levels in the Organisation has not Properly Contributed to

Planning Activities:
Generally all strategic planning are made and conducted at top management. So sometimes
middle level and lower level of management, which are closer to the operation, may not
understand all aspects of planning. This will affect their fullest contribution.
5. Costly or Uneconomical:
Planning is expensive. The cost of planning should not be in excess of its contribution and
managerial judgement is necessary to balance the expenses of preparing the plans against the
benefits derived from them.
6. The management is not always willing to cancel or modify your plans.
7. In starting formal planning, too much is attempted at once.
8. Resistance to change by organisational members.
9. Lack of contingency plans
Ad
1. What is Public Policy?
2. A coherent set of decisions with a common long-term objective (or

objectives) affecting or relevant to the livestock subsector. Discuss?
3. What are the ways in which public officials are associated with policy-
formation?
4. Discuss about the organs which participate in Policy-Making?
5. What is the meaning of Planning? Define its types and advantages?
6. What are the components of Planning Techniques?

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POL SCI UN - notes

ballb laws of land (Vidyodaya Law College, Tumkur)

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Political Science – III (Public Administration)

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Consistency of treatment: A government official is required by law to maintain a high degree of

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1. Define Public Administration? Discuss its nature and scope?

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Bureaucracy- Meaning and changing concept of Bureaucracy, Rise & Characteristics of

Bureaucracy: Main Features:

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4. Professional, Trained and Expert Class:

6. Bound by Rules and Regulations:

8. Public Service Spirit as the Ideal:

9. Bound by a Code of Conduct:

The Advantages of Bureaucracy

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2. Promotes Equal Treatment

Role of Bureaucracy: Functions:

1. Implementation of Governmental Policies and Laws:

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5. Role in Legislative Work:

7. Collection of Taxes and Disbursement of Financial Benefits:

9. Role in Public Relations:

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Control over Bureaucracy:

(A) Internal Control:

(B) External Control:

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4. Costs Time and Money

Marxist Theory of Bureaucracy

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Origin of Marx’s Thought:

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Marx on Nature of Bureaucracy:

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Bureaucracy in Advanced Capitalism:

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What is the relationship between Bureaucracy and democracy?

1. Define Bureaucracy? Discuss its roles.

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• It is elected by the people of the local area;

Definition of local government-

There are two aspects of local government

(a) the relation of the local bodies to the central/state governments,

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