UNIT 16 FIELD ADMINISTRATION Structure
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UNIT 16 FIELD ADMINISTRATION Structure Objectives Introduction Regional Administration Divisional Administration Evolution of District Administration Territorial Sub-divisions Collector and District Administration Component Parts of District Administration Administrative Organisation Problem Areas in Field Administration Let Us Sum Up Key Words References and Further Readings Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises After studying this Unit, you sho~~ldbe able to: Describe importance of field administration in India; ' Understand meaning and rationale behind the Field Administration and Regional Administration; Explain nature of Divisional Administration in India and the 'role of Divisional Commissioner; Trace the evolution of District Administration in India; Describe the coniponent parts of District Administration and Administrative Organisation at the District level; and Analyse the problem areas in Field Administration. I 1 16.1 INTRODUCTION Field administration is a decentralised State administration. The purpose of field (r ! administration is basically to bring the regulatory and service functioqs of the State 'nearer to the people. There is also a demand for greater citizen participation in Policy formulation and execution. For this purpose, a vast politico-administrative apparatus has been established. The State Government officers cannot transact their business from the Headquarters due to the long distance, magnitude af the work, administrative cost, and time taken to communicate. Therefore, the field offices are the necessity for the efficient functioning of administration. The policiff are translated into reality and programmes are implemented at the field level. In India, the State level Departmepts Bnd Ministries. establishing a large number of field offices and delegating their power and functions to the field officers to implement I the development programmes. The Divisional offices, wherever they exist, District Offices, and Local Self-Government institutions broadly constitute the component I parts of the Field Administration. The offices of Field Administration are organised on the basis of historical traditions, political considerations, administrative I convenience, technical requirements, development imperatives and the need for greater interaction between the administration and the community. At the field level, majority of people come into closer contact with the Government. .It is also here that I the people judge the quality and efficiency of the Government. The Field administration undertakes a wide range of activities associated with the life of community. Technol.ogical advances specially in the field of transport and , communication have played an important role in the expansion of field Field and Local administration. Most of the State Deparfments such as Public Works, Irrigation. Administration Health, Education, ~ancha~atsetc. are having their offices in the District, Sub- Divisions, and Blocks. In this Unit, we will study different aspects of Regional Administration, Divisional Administration, and District Administration. In addition, we will analyse the problem areas in the Field Administration. Other important aspects of Field Administration like office of the Collector, Police Administration, Municipal Administration and Panchayati Raj will be discussed in the following Units. 16.2 REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION As the Directorates are concerned with policy execution, and execution of policy takes place in the field Mistrict, block and village level), therefore the need arises for them (Directorates) to create intermediate level administrative agencies to coordinate and supervise the field operations. This intermediate level administrative set-up between the State Headquarters (the Directorate) and the District is referred as 'Regional Administration'. Each region is comprised of a number of districts; thus a region is a real unit below the State and above the District level. Significance The Regional Administration permits more delegation and speedier disposal of business. It lightens the workload of the Head of Department; permits him to concentrate on general policy issues affecting the State, and allows a detailed examination of the problems, which are of particular relevance to specific region. It also facilitates better coordination and supervision of the programmes being executed at the district level. ARC Study Team Report on District Administration (1 967) explains the significance of the regional administrative set-up for a State. "Most States in India are comparatively large, both in area and population. The six largest States together cover approximately 61 per cent of the area of the country. In such large States, there are wide variations in the socio-economic and geographical charismatic of each region. This underlines the need for a regional level in the administrative set-up. On the one hand, polFy formulation and coordination call be better achieved at a level intermediate beqden the District and the State Government; on the other, the State Government being comparatively remote form the locale of policy implementation, cannot assess local problems in their proper perspective. It is in these circumstances that the services of senidr and experienced administrators are needed at an intermediate level, between the policy formulation level at the State Headquarters and the implementing level in the district". Meaning and Patterns The phrase 'Regional Adminjstration' thus refers to the network of organisations that function below the State level but above the district. Most Departments in a State maintain Regional Headquarters in these intermediate geographical territories. These territorie; do not bear a common name, and are not geographically coterminous in respect of the various Departments at the State level. They often crisscross each other for different purposes (revenue collection, law and order maintenance, forest management and so on). Each Department creates its sub-state - formations to suit its particular requirement. Majority of States are divided, (for purposes of revenue and general administration) into real units called 'divisions'. A Divisional Commissioner who coordinates and supervises the work of the District Collectors under his jurisdiction Heads each division. Similarly, the Police Department at the State Headquarters has Deputy Inspector General at the intermediate level. These territorial divisions in respect of the Police Departnlent are called 'ranges'. This 'range' may be coterminous with the Commissioner'\ Division. Where the workload of a Department does not warrant this; the intermediate territorial unit may not be coterminous with the Commissioner's Division. Thus, the Forest Department divides the State into Field Administration intermediate geographical territories (also) called 'ranges' in deciding th6: geographical area of range. To take one more example, the State level Irrigation Department has Superintending Engineer at the regional level, who is in charge of the Executive Engineers of his region. Briefly, whether a particular Department will have a Regional Administrative set-up or not will depend on (i) size of the State, and (ii) volume and nature of work handled by it. Obviously, the particular historical circumstances in which a Department was created and grew, and the personalities involved in its evolution will also affect- such a decision. Role The foremost function of the regional level officer is supervision and coordination of the work of district level functionaries of his Department. The important functions of the Regional Officer are mentioned below: The Regional Officer also pdrforms the important function of setting norms and standards for the comparatively young district level officers and he ensures that these norms and standards are kept through an elaborate system of inspections, reports and returns, directives and periodic meetings with the district level functionaries. The Regional Officer keeps himself and the State Headquarters informed about difficulties or problems, which the functionaries at the lower geo&aphical formation may face through on the spot inspection. He also initiates measure for their rectification. Also, he is responsible to ensure that the targets are achieved. He maintains an active touch with the Panchayati Raj Institutions under his jurisdiction. Assessment The existence of the intermediate administrative set-up between the State Headquarters (policy formulation level) and the districts (policy implementation level) has been criticised on the basis that it has no substantive role to perform. In fact, it is redundant level of administration, which only contributes delay in the administrative process. 16.3 DIVISIONAL ADMINISTRATION Administrative organisation at the sub-state level in the country is not uniform. Broadly, there are two different systems. Firstly, the State is divided into a few divisions, each division consisting of a few districts. In this system, the Divisional Co~nmissioneris the Head of the Division and acts as a link between the District Administration and the State Government. In the second system, where there are no divisions, the District Administration directly deals with the State Government without any intermediary in between. The Field Administration in the country falls in between these two systems. An important feature of the State administration is that several executive departments have regional offices in the State. The 'range' offices of the Police Department