Development Dynamics: Concept of development; Changing profile of development administration; ‘Antidevelopment thesis’; Bureaucracy and development; Strong state versus the market debate; Impact of liberalisation on administration in developing countries;Women and development - the self-help group movement.

A word of gratitude to all the readers doing the noble deed of effectively recommending this blog on various platforms in their capacities,thus, helping others who are in need to come closer to the subject and gain a clear understanding of it. Your continuous trust,support and views/comments are immensely valued,useful and looked forward to.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Click on ' JOIN THIS SITE ' to get instant updates on new posts on this blog. And also for 'INTERACTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS' regarding this blog's posts 'JOIN ITS FACEBOOK COMMUNITY/GROUP' that is mentioned on the right hand side of this page.
_______________________________________________________________________________


DEVELOPMENT DYNAMICS:  The scientific study of Development forces or processes (Dynamics) that produce movement/change inside a group or system.


CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT:
Before we move on to analyse the meaning of Development Administration it is very important to understand the concept of 'Development'. Development is a complex concept to define,generally it means moving or graduating to a better stage of condition. Development means change plus growth. Development is a process of acquiring a sustained growth of a system's capability to cope with new,continuous change toward the achievement of progressive political,economic and social changes. However, though growth is a pre condition for development it is not a synonym for development and the two should not be taken to mean the same because mere growth of economy does not make it a developed economy,there will be n number of other issues that are either caused by the development like extreme poverty or there will be issues that are standalone like illiteracy,etc. Growth of economy or economic growth is easy to achieve but economic development is not an easy achievement. Economic development is when the means of production are more technical savvy and institutionalised and its distribution is equal among everyone for social justice.

According to planners in India,the concept of development must incorporate the following elements:
1) Economic growth does not mean economic development. There is no surety that a growth in investment,capital formation,industries and national income would alone bring in overall development and social justice. Therefore,we must view development in its totality as one single,unified concept incorporating social,political,cultural and economic angles/dimensions.
2) Social justice is basic to development,that is it provides the base and foundation and principle and objective/goal of development.
3) Development has to be a participative exercise and not a one sided or lobbying affair where only those who are elite and wield power have a say.
4) Self reliance is an important and inseparable aspect of development. In detail it asserts that developing countries should be able to participate in the development process on basis of complete equality in international relations and affairs for reaching an agreement that will be beneficial mutually to both parties involved.
5) Scarcity of natural resources calls for maintaining their balance and not be exploited in the name of development.



Now that we have understood the concept of 'Development',we can move on to understand the theory and concept of administering that Development or Development Administration.


DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION - CONCEPT:
The essence of Development Administration is to bring about change through integrated,organised,and properly directed governmental action.
When Riggs was busy testing the traditional theories of Administration in developing countries like Thailand in 60's he realised the futility of the experiment because the problems that plague the developed societies do not plague the developing countries and so the former's administrative practices did not work in the latter's ecology. He found that in order to bring the developing nations onto the platform of the developed there has to be a lot of development to be done and so these countries were so busy in their welfare and development activities that they developed their own ways and practices of administration in order to sustain the same. Therefore,that is where the concept of development administration was conceptualised. Development Administration as an area of study was propagated as a means to bridge the gaps and missing links in administrative theory between the developed and developing countries.



There is no unanimous definition of Development Administration as such as everyday it is being given newer ones and updated but yes, there are certain characteristics and features of Development Administration that help identify it. Those are:
i) Change Orientation - It is anti status-quo(continuing present situation). It looks to formulate strategies to develop administrative capacities viz-a-viz external environment as well as building activating internal structures in order to speed up socio-economic change.

ii) Goal oriented - It is result oriented that pertain to social,economic,political and cultural goals(including technological) which are progressive in nature.

iii) Motivation - Motivation and that too a high degree of it is a backbone of any organisation and personal vested interests should be thwarted if progressive goals have to be achieved.

iv) Client orientation - It is people centred and aims to provide the maximum services and products to the people/clients.

v) Greater participation of citizens - It involves the great amount of people participation in the formulation and implementation of development goals and policies. It looks to facilitate people's participation and in India the block level and district planning level is part of the govt. initiative to do so at the grass root level.

vi) Effective integration - Effective integration among groups and authorities involved while achieving development goals both at the small and big level.

vii) Innovativeness - Development administration has the approach of problem solving which it does through  applying new methods,structures,procedure,plans,projects and programmes for achieving its objectives.

viii) Responsiveness - Fulfilling the needs of people and responding to the demands and needs of society are its top priorities.




These characteristics and features will be understood after understanding the following two goals of Development Administration:
1) Administration Of Development: Administration of Development means the arrangement and tasks needed to control the operation/plan of development. It is how development plans and policies are carried out or implemented,in short administered. Administration of development involves the following goals/objectives:
a) application of innovative strategies for development. Administrative systems and machinery capacities should be reinforced and built up to implement the programmes and policies in the most optimum way.
b) emphasis on development at the grassroots level. Development has to be a need-oriented and self-reliant process.
c) Stress on social development and human capital as a major resource.
d) Development has to be viewed not merely as a technological problem but also as an ideological norm.
e) Profound and rapid change in order to establish a distinct and just social order.
f) Recognising and highlighting the unity,rather than the dichotomy between politics and administration.
g) Effective and efficient use of scarce resources.
h) Creation of politics-administrative environment which is oriented towards securing basic needs of population.
i) Freedom of administrative machinery to express its values and beliefs without fear or favour on programmes and projects.

2) Development of Administration or Administrative development: Simply speaking it refers to that aspect of development administration where administrative systems and capacities are developed for efficient and optimum utilisation of scarce resources to implement the development policies. It looks to bring out not only procedural,technical or organisational changes to keep the administrative machinery up to date with the societal goals but also to bring about political development,economic growth and social change. It also looks to bring about adaptability,autonomy and coherence in administration and remove corruption.

So now since we have understood the term of Development Administration and its two aspects which need to be fulfilled because they both are interdependent and if one aspect is not fulfilled the other cannot persist. Also we can see the difference between traditional administration of the earlier periods where all that was prioritised was increase in production and efficiency and profits,development administration is concerned about social justice and economic as well as administrative machinery and political development.




EMERGENCE OF DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION:
1) Goals of administration were being ignored and only the means to achieve those goals were being stressed upon. In detail, only theories and methods were being looked into and no one was looking into what should be the goals of administration.
2) The formation of the Comparative Administration Group in 1960.
3) Newly emerged independent nations after the second world war needed their own indigenously developed administrative model/machinery suited to their ecology and needs of society.
4) UN sponsored development schemes and extension of USA economic and technical assistance plans to the third world and newly emerged independent countries.




IMPORTANT INSTRUMENTS(Tools for Achieving) OF DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY:
1) Administrative systems - Planning Commission,etc.
2) Political Organisations - Political parties,etc.
3) Voluntary associations - Non profit trusts/societies like Voluntary Health Association,etc.
4) People's Organisations - NGO's,NPO's,etc.




CHANGING PROFILE(Attention) OF DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION:
As we had discussed earlier that the period of the 50's were a period of development where developing nations imitated developed nations administrative practices in order to develop but that was found to be unsuitable and in fact created a host of new problems and so the period of crisis of that theory began in late 60's and 70's when the CAG/Comparative Administration Group was formed.
Then began the period of rejection of the western ideas and prescriptions and develop their own practices suitable to them. These radicalists like Franck stated that the West were only interested in exploiting the developing countries and nothing else through their policies and funds in the name of development they were providing to the backward nations. This led to a shift in the strategies of the International Labour Organisation and World Bank towards the goal of 'growth with equity'.
But this was termed as a new way of fooling the developing nations once more through bureaucratic stranglehold. But,the western practitioners stated that their principles and theories were the solution but they were not being implemented properly in these developing countries due to various reasons and that is the reason for their failure.
The 1980's was a radical turn in the concept of Development Administration where scholars wanted administration to be flexible and people should be included in the process.
Towards the 90's the very influential 'New Right Philosophy' sprung up which was neo-liberal(modern form of the liberal approach prevailing in earliest time of society) and also the Public Choice Theory(Discussed in previous articles on this blog) emerged that brought a new paradigm to the concept of Development Administration. This led to the Good Governance concept. New Public management also made a huge impact where it was suggested that administration should become more managerial and market based in its approach in order to survive and be efficient. It stated that the state cannot sacrifice social values for achieving efficiency and not go beyond its constitutional limitations.
Nowadays, the Discourse theory of Development Administration is doing the rounds that asserts that development administration should have two major criteria:
a) Human need based approach
b) Sustainable approach
They examined five strategies(liberal capitalism,communist strategy,liberation theology,Islamic fundamentalism,Sarvodhaya/socialist) to find out which one catered to both these criteria. It was found that Sarvodhaya ( read - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarvodaya ) was the only model that contained both the above criteria and if implemented properly will lead to optimum results in Development Administration.
Sarvodhaya(social uplift) is being studied right now and if found can replace the current prevalent strategy which is Development Management and Good Governance Agenda.




ANTI DEVELOPMENT THESIS:
It began in 1950's and 60's. It is not against development but only against the western theory of development in developing countries which they termed as full of vested interests and anti-development policies of the West that were being labelled as Development of the developing countries. Reactions to it or it gained prominence during the 70's and 80's and was a precursor to the Good Governance policy nowadays.
The Anti-Development theorists suggested that the western concepts should be debunked and people should revert to their indigenous ways and include people in the administrative process that is the only road to development,through the bottom up approach. It laid stress on the socio-economic, political and environmental traits of the country in question while devising/formulating and implementing development policies and programmes in it instead of blindly aping the west and developed nations where the situation is totally different.




BUREAUCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT:
Bureaucracy and development are two components of development philosophy if seen from an overview seem to possess opposing values(ideas) as Bureaucracy represents static or orthodox and rigid values while Development advocates dynamic(moving) values. Bureaucracy viewed by the Weberian model and other theorists pertains to same routine,unchanged and repeated procedures that enable it to continue,achieve its pre-estabilished goals and handle its problems like a system without being influenced by external factors. Development as a concept on the other hand is seen as a phenomenon influenced by the concept of change and is quick to adapt and adjust to changes coming in through both external as well as internal factors on the way to development. It is the administrative process evolved for developing countries. And in the developing countries till now Bureaucracy by shedding its Weberian character is the only neutral,biggest existing and stable machinery that can achieve and lead the way towards the process of development in the developing countries. Therefore in the context of developing countries Bureaucracy and development are complementary and inter dependant instead of being hostile to one another for the purpose of Development Administration. In order to sensitise the bureaucracy for development processes it is suggested to provide them training in attitudinal changes and incorporate dynamic and social values in them to know the requirement,preparation of strategy and implementation of programmes in the present ecological setting in order to uplift the socio-cultural and economic status of the country. Bureaucracy,apart from its own duties like development policy formulation and implementation as well as educating people about the policies has been suggested to utilise their specialist knowledge in order to play the role of a friend,facilitator,coordinator,guardian,philosopher and guide to the factors like market and civil societies as well as other instruments of development administration(as listed above under the same heading) in the process of development and the bureaucrats have been asked to patiently assist people in the same. Therefore,as one can understand now that overall evaluation and implementation of Development Administration programmes are carried out by the Bureaucracy playing the leading role in developing nations.




STRONG STATE VERSUS THE MARKET DEBATE:
There has been a constant debate as to what shall be the instrumental influencing factor for the economic arrangement and economic development of a organised state. This is very important because economic development has a very big impact on the development of a nation. There is a question as to whether the Market as in western countries should take the lead to do so or should the neutral and just State be the leader as in developing countries. A State led economic arrangement consists of planned social and economic development through five year plans,etc whereas the Market led mechanism on the other hand is associated with increased economic enterprise/industries and better quality of products and services. Thinkers have supported both ideas and thus there is no synonymous decision on the same. Lets discuss this further in order to understand how exactly both of them are important. A State led mechanism according to scholars,is very necessary as it will be determined in its objective to achieve equitable and all round development in society whereas the Market is only profit driven and it may lead to a disparity in people's status as those who cannot afford the products and services would be further pushed down into unjust social conditions. Market will not invest in new ventures and areas where the profits are not visible thus leading to stagnation and no development,thus a State is required to intervene. They will keep competing among themselves for the same kind of products and services thus leading to unnecessary supply and wastage of natural resources. Even countries who are champions of market driven mechanism have been forced from time to time to bring in the State to intervene and regulate them for the benefit of the people and economy,examples of these are the 'New Deal' arrangement during The Great Depression in the 1930's and in the recession period in 2008.
On the other hand if we take a purely State led mechanism to drive economic arrangement and development in a society then scholars fear that it will lead to a rigid arrangement where even developmental and necessary economic decisions may become victims of routine and rigid rules and regulations and corruption in the name of socialistic perspective and will be pushed back thus leading to no development and ineffectiveness and inefficiency. Market is a very efficient and quality provider of goods and services and they create an arrangement of competition and betterment through the forces of demand of supply.
Therefore,in between these counter views in the era of Liberalisation,privatisation and globalisation post 1990's there has been a sort of compromise between the two schools of thought and we have as a result the arrangements of Public Private Partnership,etc and it has been suggested the State should be present to provide an indicative framework with sufficient free play to market forces in enterprises within that framework. Which means simply that the State shall regulate and create a framework with necessary objectives and goals for development of society and the production of products and services shall be given to the market for proper competition and efficient,quality products and services that will be distributed equally by the State as per its policy framework established. So,both factors will be playing and driving the economic arrangement and development in a society(mostly in developing countries).




IMPACT OF LIBERALISATION ON ADMINISTRATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES:
Liberalisation refers to an arrangement where restrictions which once existed in an economy are removed or relaxed. State is given the role of a facilitator and regulator of economy and economic enterprise is given more free play to set up their businesses(multi nationals especially) especially at the ground level thus providing more and more employment opportunities leading to economic development. This is the positive side of liberalisation,now lets look at the other flip side of it as well.
It has also led to a big divide among people and their socio-economic and class status in the developing countries as the State is being pushed back and corporates driven by the motive of profit only are taking over in even policy matters due to rampant corruption and corporate lobbying in the Parliamentary proceedings. The corporates only invest and work in those areas and sectors that are profitable to them and do not touch other areas so one area/sector flourishes at the cost of the other's development.As a result poverty is driving people to acts like theft,murder,communal riots and terrorism to fulfill their basic needs and once it starts it carries on because of various reasons thus causing all the more problems. The institutions like World Bank and IMF,etc are taking over policy decisions of developing countries in the name of development and if any country refuses it ,sanctions are laid on it and funds cut off,thus arm twisting is done by Western developed nations for their vested interests through these institutions that are dominated by them and their constant funding.Thus,there is going to be a loss of sovereignty,democracy and community in developing countries due to the constant interference of these global institutions in the State functioning. There is a shift from Government to Governance(the act of governing) that means that a government is not necessary but governance is necessary and that can be done through any organisation.
Thus,to counter all this there is a necessity of the State to play a strong role of a regulator and facilitator and rule maker and operate in a professional manner to challenge the unwanted growth of the private sector through means of comparative studies and analysis as to failures of market in certain areas and it will take over that immediately. The policies and programmes are still to be determined and formulated by the State only in favour of social justice and development and the private organisations to be directed by them as to what they can and cannot do and if not adhered to will attract legal action under the law of the land. The imposition of Corporate Social Responsibility on enterprises by the State has also made a lot of self regulations on these corporates thus making them responsible towards the society and the upliftment of the people. For more please refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility .




WOMEN AND DEVELOPMENT: THE SELF - HELP GROUP MOVEMENT :-
A Self Help Group is a small voluntary association of poor people preferably from the same socio economic backdrop,it can be an all women group,all men group or a mixed group and micro credit is given to them for their enterprises. However,it has been found that women's groups perform better in all the important activities of Self Help Groups.
Self Help Groups in India are a catalyst for the economic empowerment of women and poverty eradication. As majority of women lack the assets to help contribute to their empowerment and well being ,economic independence through self employment and entrepreneurial development must be paid attention to and that's why the Govt. of India has provided for Self-Help Groups.Most of the Self-Help Groups are found in India though some are also found in South and South East Asia.
It is usually composed of 10-20 women who make regular small contributions of their savings for a period of time until there is enough money/corpus in the group to begin lending back to the members or other people of the village for any purpose which might be beneficial to the group as an investment and also many SHG's are linked to banks for the purpose of delivery of microcredit(very small loans to impoverished brokers for entrepreneurial work or alleviate poverty as well as empower women and uplift communities). The Grameen Bank of Bangladesh is one example and in fact the pioneer of micro finance providing institution/bank,NABARD of India is another example.Thus these SHG format relieves people of unjust money lending tactics by thugs and heavy interest repayment and allows them to become financially sound.
SHG's are mostly started out or germinated by NGO's for a variety of goals/purposes like birth control facilities,school enrollment,small businesses by women,community,etc.
But,there are concerns too that women should be properly trained before going ahead with an enterprise because only then can she sustain that and earn profits otherwise she will end up having more debts on her head. Also the local govt. like village panchayats,etc need to help curb procedural delays in these groups getting the requisite financial aid from the local banks. And,there should also be a tab and rigid check that people who are better off do not indulge in borrowing money from here.
The Integrated Rural Development Programmes of the govt of India is one of the largest micro finance programmes for SHGs in the world since its inception in 1979. For more information please refer to the Planning Commission website report,the link for which is provided here : http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/articles/ncsxna/index.php?repts=irdpm.htm .


IGNOU notes - http://www.scribd.com/doc/39746885/IGNOU-s-Public-Administration-material-Part-3-Development-Administration

_______________________________________________________________________________

Click on ' JOIN THIS SITE ' to get instant updates on new posts on this blog. And also for 'INTERACTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS' regarding this blog's posts 'JOIN ITS FACEBOOK COMMUNITY/GROUP' that is mentioned on the right hand side of this page.
_______________________________________________________________________________





The next article on this blog will cover:

Personnel Administration:
Importance of human resource development;
Recruitment, training, career advancement,
position classification, discipline,
performance appraisal, promotion,
pay and service conditions; employer-employee
relations, grievance redressal
mechanism; Code of conduct; Administrative
ethics.

Comparative Public Administration: Historical and sociological factors affecting administrative systems; Administration and politics in different countries; Current status of Comparative Public Administration; Ecology and administration; Riggsian models and their critique.

________________________________________________________________________

Click on ' JOIN THIS SITE ' to get instant updates on new posts on this blog. And also for 'INTERACTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS' regarding this blog's posts 'JOIN ITS FACEBOOK COMMUNITY/GROUP' that is mentioned on the right hand side of this page.
________________________________________________________________________


COMPARATIVE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION - DEFINITION:
Comparative public administration is defined as the study of administrative systems in a comparative fashion or the study of public administration in other countries.Another definition for "comparative public administration" is the "quest for patterns and regularities in administrative action and behavior". It looks to test the effectiveness of the Classical Theorists' (Fayol,Taylor,Urwick,etc) Principles of Administration effectiveness on a universal level(different political and administrative setups in developing and developed countries and their ecology) as well as develop a comparative theory of Public Administration.
It is a very significant area of study in Public Administration as it helps in understanding Administrative setups and their functioning in various settings and societies/countries and what works and why it works. Also,it helps improvise administrative systems making them more efficient together with  helping in adding and improvising the already existing literature/theories of Public Administration thus leading to a strong and practical theory of the subject with the help of practical experiments and analysis.



COMPARATIVE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION EVOLUTION - A BACKDROP:
Even though comparative studies in administration date back to Aristotlian times where he sent scholars to different parts of world to study their political systems,Comparative Public Administration started off as a topic of interest post the Wilson(called the 1st comparativist) essay in 1884 where he very rightly stated that in order to know our own country's administrative weaknesses and virtues we need to compare with others. And,he stated that administration is the best and most safe prospect of comparative studies as administrative techniques and procedures are similar almost everywhere and in fact we can learn a lot by comparing.

However,it was not taken so seriously due to the the emphasis on conceptualising and structuring as well as defining Public Administration at that time was the top priority. The theorists and administrators as well as governments were busy understanding their own administrative setup before they could set off on a comparison with others. So, while this was being contemplated the First World War erupted and with its end and the establishment of the League Of Nations there came about a lot of questions regarding the need to understand the needs of the countries who were not so developed because many of them came under the British colonialism as well as other imperialist countries in order to control these and draw maximum benefit.

This comparative study took a philosophical turn during the course of the second world war and its aftermath when there came the end of imperialism and colonialism and emergence of many independent states, a joint initiative by the developed countries under the United Nations(formerly called 'The League Of Nations') aegis to refurbish the developing an third world countries as well as to develop their own war damaged national economies. And lets not forget the beginning of Cold War between the two superpowers USA and Soviet Union which played a big part in this movement where both looked to hegemonise the world politics and economy.

 USA took the lead here in administrative studies and also in providing financial as well as technical help to the developing nations in order to increase their market share and also to curb communism that was a product of the Soviet Union.

The USA was the hub of these studies since the Western countries lacked the institutional and administrative capacities to implement their development plans post world war 2.the government,United Nations and various private institutions as well as corporates sponsored varied technical assistance programmes that enabled the public administrators,lecturers of public administration and professionals to study the same in depth as well as travel abroad and gather hands on experience and build a universal comparative theory of Public Administration. Notable in these efforts were that of the American Society For Public Administration(ASPA) & American Political Science Association( APSA).

The first organisation formally formed to formulate a universal comparative theory of public administration was the Comparative Administration Group(CAG) in 1960 that was a division of the ASPA , funded by the Ford foundation to study methods for improving public administration in developing countries under the chairmanship of Fred W. Riggs. More than providing administrative techniques this group became a forum for intellectuals to understand why the developing countries differ so much in practise of administration and are not able to sustain the classical theory principles of administration in their systems even though Classical theorists of administration like Fayol & Weber , etc preached that their principles and models of administration were universal in their element and can be applied anywhere with greatest success.

CAG gave the idea of scientific studies and emphasised on empirical and ecological(social,cultural and historical factors) study of various administrative systems. Even though the CAG had to shut shop in the early 70's since various administrators and academicians realised that due to the highly complex setting which the group had provided for comparative Public Administration studies was resulting in failures in providing really empirical assessment of administration factors in a society. They stated that it provided a very good direction but the techniques were not being specified to execute the idea. And so the studies was transferred back to the Department of Comparative Studies.

Also in 1968, the first Minnowbrook Conference was held under the chairmanship of Dwight Waldo that also talked about the need for Comparative Public Administration study and analysis.
Now we will discuss in detail.




APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF COMPARATIVE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION:
1) Ideal or Bureaucratic Approach: Bureaucratic specifications are studied for reaching conclusions and developing understanding. Under this approach structures of organisations are analysed in terms of their horizontal differentiation,vertical differentiation,span of control,etc. Procedures and rules are analysed and the framework of functioning is determined. Job specifications and descriptions at various nodes are analysed and some understanding is reached on the basis of elaborateness and degree of specialisation compared in regards to different administrative systems.

The limitations of this approach is that though it has been considered simple but it does not explain the structures and their functions in society and gives a very general observation.


2) Structural - Functional Approach : It is considered as a very popular approach for comparing various administrative systems and was implemented by Fred W. Riggs in his study for developing his Models of society/environment/ecology which will be discussed later in this article. This approach analyses society in terms of its various structures and their functions for reaching an understanding regarding their positioning and functioning. Structures here can refer to govt.(political arrangement) and abstract like values systems in society. Function is seen as the discharge of duties by these structures in the society.

The limitation of this approach is that there has to be a correct identification of the structures before proceeding to analyse them especially in agraria-transitia and fused-prismatic societies.


3) Ecological Approach: Devised by Riggs this approach states that structures and their functions exist in an inter dependant manner. So if a study is to be undertaken of a particular structure and its function then its effects on other systems and their functions of society are also to be analysed. Limitations is that this approach is highly complex and difficult to apply.




HISTORICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEMS:
If one notices carefully then it is clearly evident that historical events have led to the invention of many administrative practises. Though there are aplenty,however,some examples are cited below.
1) English Administrative system: England does not possess a written constitution mainly because it was a monarchy prevailing there and the people lived there through conventions and traditions going on from time immemorial.

2) Indian Administrative system: Reservations are made as Indian society is very diverse in matters of social as well as economic status,etc after a lot of historical events like B.R a\Ambedkar and his policies as well as the British division of Hindu and Muslims and other minorities in separate electorate system,etc. There are various social laws in India that are made from society like panchayats,etc. Tribal welfare is given special attention in India due to existence of tribals in the society. Many offices(bureaucratic,political,economical,etc) are remnants of British legacy like the office of the collector,police dept,civil services,etc. Revenue administration here is a modern version inspired by historic Mughal ones.

3) USA Administrative system: Many historical and sociological factors have also shaped the American system. A few of them cited are the Civil war that lead to providing African American slaves were given the title of citizens and right to vote. Also the second civil rights movement that occurred under the aegis of Martin Luther King Jr. leading to elimination of segregation and racial discrimination between black and white Americans.

4) France Administrative system: Arrangement of Droit Administration could be seen associated with the approach and functioning of Napoleon Bonaparte who set the table for a centralised administration as an efficient administration.The storming of Bastille incident which was fuelled by economic crisis lead to the overthrow of monarchy there to republican system and led to the establishment of Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen that lead to the first step of France's constitution framing.




ADMINISTRATION AND POLITICS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES:
1) USA: The USA have a federal republican form of government where President is the national as well as executive head. There is a separate constitution(which bears allegiance to the federal constitution of 1787) as well as citizenship for every state and they are all bound together in a federation,thus all working as a whole with their autonomy intact. The Constitution of US specifies the subjects listed for the national/federal and the ones reserved for the States and also the residuary powers lie with the states only.There are three level of governments - national or federal,state and local(counties,towns,cities,etc). Separation of powers between the legislature,executive and judiciary is an important aspect. The Senate (Upper House) and House of Representatives(Lower house) comprise the congress/legislature of the country. There is no specificity in the constitution regarding the administrative system but it does state that the President can from time to time as and when necessary get advise from the principal officers of the various departments regarding his duty as the chief executive of those departments. There are thirteen departments in the administration that come under the direct control of the president. The President however does not possess the authority to change/reorder his cabinet as that power lies with the Congress.

Civil services in USA are also done on merit through competitive exams and also at times there are some political appointees too who are chosen by the president for their extraordinary achievement in a particular field suitable to the job. Some departments are headed by individuals whereas some are headed by Boards and Commissions.



2) UK: It is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy. In practise it is a Parliamentary democracy. The Monarch is the head and performs functions akin to the President of India. Legislature is supreme and is bicameral viz. House of Lords(upper house) and House of Commons(lower house). Executive is headed by the political executive that is the Prime Minister and his cabinet that consist of ministries staffed by civil servants under ministers. Boards and commissions are formed to operate and regulate various industries and services. Judiciary is independent.The House of Lords is the highest court of appeal for civil cases and some criminal cases.

The Senior Courts of England and Wales were originally created by the Judicature Acts as the "Supreme Court of Judicature". It was renamed the "Supreme Court of England and Wales" in 1981, and again to the "Senior Courts of England and Wales" by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. It consists of the following courts:

• Court of Appeal- Deals only with appeals from other courts or tribunals. The Court of Appeal consists of two divisions: the Civil Division hears appeals from the High Court and County Court and certain superior tribunals, while the Criminal Division may only hear appeals from the Crown Court connected with a trial on indictment (i.e., for a serious offence). Its decisions are binding on all courts, including itself, apart from the Supreme Court.
• High Court of Justice - The High Court of Justice functions, both as a civil court of first instance and a criminal and civil appellate court for cases from the subordinate courts. It consists of three divisions: the Queen's Bench, the Chancery and the Family divisions. The divisions of the High Court are not separate courts, but have somewhat separate procedures and practises adapted to their purposes. Although particular kinds of cases will be assigned to each division depending on their subject matter, each division may exercise the jurisdiction of the High Court. However, beginning proceedings in the wrong division may result in a costs penalty.
• Crown Court- is a criminal court of both original and appellate jurisdiction which in addition handles a limited amount of civil business both at first instance and on appeal.The Crown Court is the only court in England and Wales that has the jurisdiction to try cases on indictment and when exercising such a role it is a superior court in that its judgements cannot be reviewed by the Administrative Court of the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court.
  The Crown Court is an inferior court in respect of the other work it undertakes, viz. inter alia, appeals from the Magistrates’ courts and other tribunals.

The Lord Chancellor and Home Secy administrate the judicial system. Civil servants are recruited through merit via open competitive exams.



3) FRANCE: It is a mixture of Republican as well as Parliamentary form of govt. President is the Chief executive and enjoys tremendous powers in the legislature as well as Parliament. Here the President is directly elected by the people.The Prime Minister is then chosen and appointed as per the President's wish from the Parliament.The Prime Minister has to enjoy the confidence of both the President and the Parliament in order to sustain his position. Executive is separated from legislature and thus the President is not able to influence the executive much but still indirectly the PM has to go by him to enjoy his confidence because most of the times,the parliament and the president are from the same party. Civil services are of two types External recruitment and internal recruitment where external recruitment is done through open competitive exams for graduates under 27 years of age and the internal recruitment is for people from the lower echelons of service having at least five years of service and not more than 36 years old. They are then chosen and trained at the Ecole Nationale Administration for two years.



4) JAPAN: The Constitution of Japan rests on three principles - a) sovereignty of people , b) guarantee of Fundamental Rights, c) renunciation of war.The Emperor performs the role akin to Indian president. The Japanese people elect their representatives to the Japanese Parliament called Diet which is bicameral that is, House of Councillors and the House Of Representatives. Both Houses share equal powers but the house of representatives has superiority in matters of finance. The prime minister is appointed by the prime minister from the Diet who heads the executive and also the Emperor appoints the chief judge of the supreme court. Grants are to be passed by the Diet and then only it is given to the executive. Local govt possess autonomy in its matters. People posses the right to choose their public officials as well as remove them. Civil services are of two types here - a) Special govt service - includes members of cabinet approved by the Diet like positions of high officials in Imperial Court,Judges,Ambassadors and Ministers,Diet employees,common labourers and employees of state corporations. b) Includes personnel of National govt.,administrative as well as clerical except the Special govt. services ones.




DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DEMOCRACY AND REPUBLIC:
 Democracy and Republic are two forms of government which are distinguished by their treatment of the Minority, and the Individual, by the Majority.

In a Democracy, the Majority has unlimited power over the Minority. This system of government does not provide a legal safeguard of the rights of the Individual and the Minority. It has been referred to as "Majority over Man".

 In a Republic, the Majority is Limited and constrained by a written Constitution which protects the rights of the Individual and the Minority. The purpose of a Republic form of government is to control the Majority and to protect the God-given, inalienable rights and liberty of the Individual.

 The United States of America is founded as a Republic under the Constitution. The Ministers head Ministries with directors under them to carry out execution and also to advise the Minister.





CURRENT STATUS OF COMPARATIVE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION:
 After the decline of the comparative administration group (CAG) in the early 1970's,there was a lull in this field due to many factors like theoretical and fact based study was only done and so there was problem in the applicability of those models and USA was going through a bad phase in the Vietnamese war and so funds had to be diverted,etc.

However, it got a boost once again when scholars like Robert Dahl,James Cloeman,Rapheli,Dwight Waldo etc propagated it and stated that without comparison there can never be a science of administration. Also the behavioural school of thought was bringing in a lot of attention to the fact and value theories of administrative man and so comparative public administration saw a resurgence. In the 80's and 90's studies in CPA resurfaced but with a new objective,philosophy and orientation than its previous predecessors and counterparts. It started to study various arrangements like RTI,Rule of Law,good governance,etc in different countries. It has recently started focusing itself on the analysis of such operations of administrative systems which affect functioning of various societies.

The following could be seen as the recent trends in the studies of Comparative Public Administration:

1) Studying the status of human rights in the nations of the problems associated with human rights.
2) Studying the status of Rule of Law and analysing the barriers if any.
3) Studying the presence of Civil Society Institutions and their role and contribution in the administrative arrangements of societies.
4) Studying the level of participation and involvement in the implementation of schemes related to welfare of people.
5) Studying the presence of arrangements through which accountability of politicians and administrators could be ensured towards the public through the mechanisms prescribed and available like RTI,Citizens charters,Ombudsman,Social Audit,etc.





ECOLOGY AND ADMINISTRATION:
Ecology in simple words relates to 'Environment'. And this environment includes physical,social and cultural aspects. So, basically we are going to talk about the relationship between administration and the environment it is set in(internal as well as external) and how the affect each other.

Environment is the largest system,the rest and others like political systems,administrative systems,etc are all sub systems who work under it. It influences its sub systems and vice versa. They both have to adjust to each other and also reform and change each other from time to time to stay up to date where the people's wishes drive the policies and the policies bring in development that uplifts the socio-economic status and level of the environment for progress. So they are interdependent and not mutually exclusive of each other.

Administration is seen as one of the most significant aspect of any societal arrangement as it makes possible the achievement of governmental function fulfilment. It has been observed that administration of any state happens to be an expression of various unique factors existing in society and is inter dependant over other arrangements in the society that provides the stability of all structure in a society. Various scholars like George Orwell in their writings like 'Shooting an Elephant' books have given case studies of how they have seen practically that the administrative systems in different parts of the world perform differently in order to suit the environment or ecology they are set in.

The ecological approach to Public Administration was first propagated popularly by Fred W. Riggs who studied administrative systems in different countries( emphasis on developing countries) and why there was a vast amount of disconnect among them while applying the Americanised theories of Public Administration and how they coped up. He found that the main reason for this uniqueness of administrative systems in the world is the environment that they are set in. Each country had a different environment setting and that played a major role in the shaping of the administrative system because without the help and approval of its people an administrative system cannot survive and thus it acts according to its environment and in turn it also influences the society with its work and procedures.

Max Weber projected an ideal system of bureaucracy where bureaucracy was shown as a closed system unaffected by the environment. A system which Weber assumed would be applicable and successful in all countries irrespective of its socio economic status and that's where he went wrong because we can very well see that the systems in USA and UK etc cannot be applied in an environment of India or any other developing countries. Weber did provide a very good structure for the organisation of bureaucracy but the part which he missed as cited above was the starting ground for Riggs when he began his research on the relationship between ecology and administration.
Ecology/Environment affects the administrative system both internally as well as externally.

Internally it affects when we take note that in actuality the administrator is a man of society and thus when he is taking an administrative decision,he will definitely be influenced by his values,societal and cultural attitude,etc to quite an extent and that needs to be taken into account.

Externally also the ecology/environment affects the administrative organisation by means of social values and rules,culture of the society,dependence on other important subsystems prevalent in the society,etc where the administration and politics have to be in context of the people's wishes and demands and if they go against it will face a possibility of overthrow and revolt anytime.

Therefore,one can very conveniently understand from the above mentioned,the delicate and crucial relationship between Ecology and Administration.





RIGGSIAN MODELS AND THEIR CRITIQUE:
Riggs is considered the pioneer in the field of Ecological Approach to Public Administration. He stated that if studies of Public Administration had to become really comparative then it has to shift from being Normative(Establishing, relating to, or deriving from a standard or norm, esp. of behavior) to empirical (Based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic), from Ideographic(case by case study and not related to one another) to nomothetic(relating to the study or discovery of general scientific laws) and from non ecological(closed and confined to one area) to ecological(open and cross cultural).

He blamed the import of developed countries' administrative practices as it is by the developing countries for their progress without any study as the reason for its failure and the reason for developing countries still lagging behind.

In his ecological studies he gave the concept of structural functional approach as a means to study the environment and administration relation. According to this approach every society has various structures that perform specific functions like political,economic,social,symbolic and communicational functions in  the society.


On the basis of this approach he proceeded to study and listed two theoretical models to explain the administrative systems in the comparative context. Those models are:
a) AGRARIA MODEL: It is the Agricultural society and the characteristics are functional diffusion,particularistic norms,self sufficiency,ascriptive(The attribution of something to a cause) values,stable local groups and limited or no mobility,differentiated stratification. Agraria is agriculture dominated society and Riggs takes China at the time for instance Imperial China. In Agrarian primordial preferences like caste and given priority. Occupational pattern is fixed that is Agriculture and carries on for many generations. Very few administrative structures and their functions/duties were not at all specified.
b) TRANSITIA MODEL : It is the in between society. It is in between or lets use the term in transition between the Agraria and Industria society and bears features resembling to both. It is on the path to become a developed society from an agricultural society. Examples are India,Thailand,etc.
c) INDUSTRIA MODEL: It refers to a developed or Industry dominated society. Its characteristics are Universalistic norms,Achievement values,specific patterns,high degree of social and spatial mobility,well-developed occupational system,egalitarian class system,prevalence of associations which are functionally specific and non ascriptive. USA is an example of this society.





LIMITATIONS AND CRITIQUE OF RIGGS' AGRARIA-TRANSITIA-INDUSTRIA MODEL:
1) It does not help in examining the transitional societies and is too rigid focusing only on the underdeveloped and developed countries.
2) It does not provide sufficient mechanism to study mixed-type societies. Critics argue that the industrial societies will always retain or have some agrarian features.
3) It assumes a unidirectional movement from an agraria stage to an industria stage.
4) Its major stress is on the environment of the administrative system but not on the administrative system per se.
5) It is too general and abstract with little resemblance to concrete reality.

Consequently Riggs abandoned this typology and proceeded to better it and that resulted in a new typology/model he designed which was the Fused-Prismatic-Diffracted Model.





RIGGS IMPROVISED TYPOLOGY : FUSED-PRISMATIC-DIFFRACTED MODEL:

It is the more improvised and specified version of his previous typology where the Fused society can be compared to the agrarian model,the prismatic society can be compared to the Transitia model and the Diffracted society can be compared to the Industria model.

This Model was designed to silence those critics who stated that Riggs had not effectively and in detail specified the 'Transitia' society which was very important as most of the world in in that phase.

This model effectively detailed all of the typologies.The new model is based on the principle of a prism and how it diffracts fused colours of white light back into the seven colours of the spectrum when passed through it. White light represents a society with very less degree of specialisation and development and the diffracted spectrum reflects the highly specialised and developed society. The in between prismatic society is the transition society.

He stated that neither of the extreme sides exist in totality or as it is but yes,it is certain that they do but in varying degrees as suitable to the environment/ecology.

First we will discuss the Fused and Diffracted model and then proceed to explain the Prismatic model. A good understanding of the Fused and Diffracted Model will only be the tool to understand the Prismatic Model features.

FUSED MODEL(Ex- Imperial China and Thailand):
1) Heavily dependent on agriculture.
2) Economic system based on barter system.
3) King and officials nominated by the king carry out all administrative,economic and other activities.
4) Royal family and special sects dominate.
5) Ascriptive values dominate.
6) Having many administrative structures that are part diffracted(perform special functions they are given charge of) and part fused ( many structures performing many functions which are not prescribed to them thus overlapping with the diffracted ones and confusing the system).



DIFFRACTED MODEL:
1) It is the polar opposite of the fused society.  Each structure carries out its own functions.
2)  Attainment value in society.
3) Economic system based on market mechanism(demand and supply)
4) Responsive government
5) General consensus among all the people on all basic aspects of social life.



PRISMATIC MODEL(Example India,Thailand,etc):
1) In real no society is completely fused or completely diffracted. A prismatic society has achieved a certain degree of differentiation or specialisation.
2) Heterogeneity - Simultaneous existence of different kinds of system and viewpoints. Example - rural-urban,Indian gurukuls - western education,homoeopathic-allopathic. Various factors pulling the system apart. Political and administrative officers enjoy enormous influence. Privileges for select groups which may be communal thus creating problem in administration.
3) Formalism(Excessive adherence to prescribed forms) - Discrepancy between formally prescribed and effectively practiced norms. Rules and regulations are prescribed but wide deviations are observed. Lack of pressure on govt. for programme objectives. Weakness of social powers to influence bureaucratic performance. Hypocrisy in social life. Constitution formalism which means that there is a gap between stated principles and actual implementation.
4) Overlapping - Differentiated structures coexist with undifferentiated structures of Fused type. New or modern social structures are created,but traditional social structures continue to dominate. Example - Parliament,Govt,Offices exist but behaviour is still largely governed by family,religion,caste,etc.



SUB-SYSTEMS OF THE PRISMATIC MODEL:
1) Administrative subsystem which is called the SALA MODEL (The Spanish word, 'Sala', has a variety of meanings like a government office, religious
conference, a room, a pavilion, etc. The word, 'Sala', is also generally used in East Asian
countries more or less with the same meaning.): -

 a) Certain features of bureau ( diffracted ) coexists with certain features of chambers ( fused ).
 Formalism exists:1.a. Universalizaiton of law is there but is not followed.
1.b. Objective is social welfare but priority is personal aggrandizement.
b) Overlapping exists:Highly concentrated authority structure overlaps with localized and dispersed control system.
c) Non cooperation among rival communities also reflects in administration. So favouritism and nepotism is widespread
d) Existence of clects – The dominant group who use modernmethods of organization but retains diffuse and particularistic goal of traditional type.
e) For promotion officers depend on ascriptive ties . Officers unresponsive to people . Unbalanced polity in which bureaucracy dominates exists.
f) Nepotism, corruption and inefficiency.



2) Economic subsystem which is also called the BAZAAR - CANTEEN MODEL:
a) Market factors ( demand and supply ) as well as area factors ( religious, social, family) dominates the economy.
b) This leads to price indeterminacy further deteriorating economic conditions encouraging black marketing, hoarding,adulteration etc.
c) Foreign domination and a small section of people dominate economic institution.
d) Price of services vary from place to place, time to time and person to person.
e) Economic subsystem acts like subsidized canteen to priviledged & tributary canteen to members of less priviledged, politically non influential or members of outside group.
f) Wage relation: Wide gap exists for same work. Persons with less wage may feel motivated to earn more by illegitimate means.



DEVELOPMENT MODEL:
Rising level of diffraction represents development. Higher the level of differentiation ( various structures for various functions ) and integration (coexistence of these structures ),higher the development.

If differentiation is high but no sufficient integrative mechanism , it leads to confusion and chaos.
Differentiation depends upon technological factors.Integration depends upon:
1.a. Penetration – receptivity of law and govt. willingness and ability.
1.b. Participation - willingness of people to participate.




CRITICISM OF RIGGS' FUSED-PRISMATIC-DIFFRACTED MODEL:
1) Usage of scientific words does not make administration science.
2) It has highly technical description
3) Prismatic and sala models are equilibrium models and does not lead to social change.
4) Lack of measurement of level of diffraction in prismatic or diffracted society.
5) Diffracted society is also not desirable because it is static and in equilibrium.
6) Difficult to identify the level of differentiation and integration for development.
7) Lack of international perspective.
8)Wrong analytical tool.
9) Fails to explain the role of administration in society.
10) Overlapping is not specific phenomena of prismatic society but exists in diffracted society also.
11) Prismatic model has a negative character.

Irrespective of the criticism Riggs attracted there is no denying that he set the table and standards for Comparative Public Administration and got to the root of the failure of Americanised and Europised Public Administration practices failing in developing countries, through his important paradigm called ''The Ecological approach to Public Administration'',and also suggested the issues that plague the developing countries and how to rectify them.

________________________________________________________________________

Click on ' JOIN THIS SITE ' to get instant updates on new posts on this blog. And also for 'INTERACTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS' regarding this blog's posts 'JOIN ITS FACEBOOK COMMUNITY/GROUP' that is mentioned on the right hand side of this page.
________________________________________________________________________


The next article on this blog will cover:

Development Dynamics:
Concept of development; Changing profile
of development administration; ‘Antidevelopment
thesis’; Bureaucracy and
development; Strong state versus the market
debate; Impact of liberalisation on administration
in developing countries;
Women and development - the self-help
group movement.

Tags - Comparative Public Administration: Historical and sociological factors affecting administrative systems; Administration and politics in different countries; Current status of Comparative Public Administration; Ecology and administration; Riggsian models and their critique.

 

Administrative Law: Meaning, scope and significance; Dicey on Administrative law; Delegated legislation; Administrative Tribunals.

It's heartening to know that this blog is now being recommended on Civil services preparation groups and pages of leading Social Networking sites and the responses coming in are great which just goes on to reinforce the fact that Public Administration is and always will be a force to reckon with not only on the professional front but also as an academic discipline(subject of study and research) as well as competitive exams with so many people choosing it year on year.

So today's post begins with a very important aspect of Public Administration which is - Administrative law and related dimensions. Let's proceed with the details.

________________________________________________________________________

Click on ' JOIN THIS SITE ' to get instant updates on new posts on this blog. And also for 'INTERACTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS' regarding this blog's posts 'JOIN ITS FACEBOOK COMMUNITY/GROUP' that is mentioned on the right hand side of this page.
________________________________________________________________________


ADMINISTRATIVE LAW - MEANING:
Administrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of the government which comprise of rule making or legislation(when delegated to them by the Legislature as and when the need be),adjudication(to pronounce decisions while giving judgements on certain matters),implementation/enforcement of public policy.


SCOPE:
Administrative law determines the organization, powers and duties of administrative authorities. The emphasis of Administrative Law is on procedures for formal adjudication based on the principles of Natural Justice and for rule making.

The concept of Administrative Law is founded on the following principles:
a) Power is conferred on the administration by law
b) No power is absolute or uncontrolled howsoever broad the nature of the same might be.
c) There should be reasonable restrictions on exercise of such powers depending on the situation.

Though administrative law is as old as administration itself since they cannot exist separately,in India the early signs/existence of administrative law could be found in the treatises written during the reign of the Mauryas,Guptas,Mughals as well as East India Company(modern administrative law).

It is based on the concept of rule of law that supports Natural Justice (to adjudicate based on impartiality,unjustness and the prescribed laws and legal methods instead of arbitrariness and abuse of official power on the part of govt. while serving the people and deciding cases brought before its Tribunals,etc. Natural justice is basically applied in cases where there are no laws prescribed,here the individual has to be given an opportunity to be heard and the judgement is to be taken into consideration the particular facts and cases of the case and the judgement should be free from bias). It is to prevent violation of people's rights by officials in power.

Administrative law specifies the rights and liabilities of private individuals in their dealings with public officials and also specifies the procedures  by which those rights and liabilities can be enforced by those private individuals. It provides accountability and responsibility in the administrative functioning. Also there are specified laws and rules and regulations that guide and direct the internal administration relations like hierarchy,division of labour,etc.



SIGNIFICANCE:
It is very significant because if it did not exist then the very concept of having a democracy and a government to work for the people would be self defeating because then there would be no responsibility or accountability of the public officials to anybody and the administration would run arbitrarily thus creating a huge monster that would eat up the very system. There would be an upset in the balance in areas such as police law, international trade, manufacturing, environmental, taxation, broadcasting, immigration, and transportation,etc.



REASONS FOR GROWTH:
1) Rise in complexity warranted handling of variable by the state authorities in order to provide functioning in that area with necessary certainty and prescriptions.
2) Industrial revolution that resulted in the coming up of cities and new types of economic transactions necessitated handling of affairs by govt in order to facilitate production,supply and exchange of products and services.
3) Technological inventions and the increasing specialization has called for the increased need of specialised handling of affairs by govt officials.
4) To allow necessary flexibility in the administrative system so that the challenges arising due to social and economic factors could be addressed more adequately and efficiently.
5) To allow experimentation in order to ensure the application of best fit model in a given circumstance
6) To allow participation of people in the administrative functioning to provide the necessary authority to the administrative officials so that they can address the challenges arising due to extraordinary circumstances or emergency situations.


DICEY ON ADMINISTRATIVE LAW:
Dicey supported Rule Of Law where everybody in a State everybody shall be subjected to some common law and no official irrespective of his status and authority shall be kept outside the purview of Rule Of Law. Thus,he rejected the idea of Administrative Law that was akin to Droit Administratif or that which was being practised in France and other European countries where there are seperate rules for administrative officials as he believed that such an arrangement would lead to a perpetual risk of excessive application of authority with people having no window to their grievance redressal.

The reason for this is that while analysing the concept of Administrative Law Dicey was always thinking of French administrative law/rights system/Le Droit Admanistratif that existed under Napoleon's Bonaparte's rule.

Droit Adminstratif practised the system of:
a) One rule for regulating the behaviour of individuals of society and one rule for regulating the members of State and administration.
b) One court for members and individuals of the society and their private aspects and another court for members of State and administration which is the administrative Court/Tribunals and the apex of this court will be the Council D'Etat(very small division of the country in to administrative divisions that are smaller than even counties). These are distinct and not overlapping neither are superior or inferior to each other. They are equals. In case they ever overlap then the final decision will be taken by a special court constituted for this purpose.
This was done so that administrative and State officials have more autonomy in dealing with situations and contingencies that arise in execution of administrative duties and which would not be easily understood by the normal law and courts.

Thus,Dicey believed that there should not be such a separation where there is one law that governs the administrative and political officials( Administrative Law) and one that governs society and its people(civil and criminal law) and advocated the rule of law as prevalent in UK where everybody was equal in the eyes of law and only one common law governed each and every individual. But,he was heavily criticised for this later as he did not take into account that even the Crown in UK was immune from civil and criminal proceedings,thus,there was no rule of law or equality here. Also he is criticised for not taking into account the future issues that would arrive in administration due to modernisation and complexity like delegated legislation,etc. Delegated legislation was very much a part of UK administrative setup as well as the system of administrative adjudication through tribunals that was contrary to Dicey's rule of law stating only one law making body which is the legislature and it being applied everywhere universally and interpreted by the judicial courts as and when required for each and every one. So,therefore UK was practising administrative law already.
Marx also criticised Dicey's rule of law concept by saying that it promotes inequality instead of equality because if you treat underprivileged and poor equally with rich then there is going to be a huge disparity that will only expand with time.
Modern day concept of rule of law has been given a very broad meaning by providing opportunities to unequal people in order to equal themselves with the others like reservation,etc. Law is created by the legislature or other legal institutions and is not to differentiate but enable unequals to become equals and the last word on the law would be that of the Independent judiciary.




ADMINISTRATIVE LAW AND RULE OF LAW ARE COMPLEMENTARY:
a) The modern concept of rule of law will be frustrated if not supported by a sound administration,and only a separate administrative law can provide that sound administration.
b) Administration cannot function in a vaccum,it needs a sound administrative law for itself to work properly. And all this together only will lead to the rule of law.
c) Thus rule of law and administrative law are both complementary and are inter dependant to make each other work.


DELEGATED LEGISLATION:
When a part of legislation(law making) is formally executed(performed/done) by the executive machinery instead of the legislature because the legislature has formally passed it on to them, it is called delegated legislation. The legislature provides the broader framework of the law with necessary objectives and directions and the technical details are left to the executive to fill in. It is also referred to as subordinate legislation. The executive are strictly subordinate to the parent act/law and the executive only fills in how to go about achieving the objective,thus he/she does not have original powers of rule making/legislation but just enclosed and subordinate power. Any technical/detailed rule writing done by the executive under delegated legislation would be declared ultra vires/null and void. Delegated legislation as a practise is also a result of  the growing complexities and technicalities which are seen in modern day rule making and policy implementation which the political executive is not aware of at the grass root level and so executives are called in to fill in the gaps due to their practical experience in the field. Also it provides relative autonomy to the executive while performing his duties as there are many unplanned situations that come up and the executive will not waste time to coordinate with the legislature/ministry and immediately frame the rules/law needed and resolve the situation.
And last but not the least it provides time to the legislature to devote and manage their time in dealing with other important issues as well as minute rule writing will take up a lot of time.




TYPES OF DELEGATED LEGISLATION:
1) Normal delegated legislation: They do not deal with matters of policy,taxation and repealing,modifying constitutional and statutory laws.
a) Positive/Normal positive  delegated legislation: This involves legislature enabling or legitimising administration to make laws and in that gives the rules and regulations how the administration is to go about it. Thus it is properly defined.
b) Negative/normal negative delegated legislation: Also certain areas are notified where administration where administration is restricted from making laws.

This can become reversed in order because in the normal positive delegation there are areas specified that the administration can make laws and that means indirectly that the other areas it cannot make so it becomes restricted whereas in the negative delegated legislation there are specified areas that the administration cannot do law making and that means indirectly all the other areas it is free to make laws.

2) Special Delegated Legislation/Henry viii clause: Here there are no areas or restrictions on the administration on legislation. This is also called Exceptional Delegated Legislation.




RISKS OF DELEGATED LEGISLATION:
1) It may lead to the legislature having diminished control over executives and significance.
2) In the name of technical law making by executive sometimes even basic or those which can be made by the legislature are passed on.
3) The executive is unconnected with the people and thus they would not take into account a lot of substantive interests of people and focus more on organised interests and technicality of implementation.




SAFEGUARDS FOR DELEGATED LEGISLATION:

1) PARLIAMENTARY SAFEGUARDS: The rules of lower house and the upper house of parliament has provided for a system of committee to carry out detailed scrutiny of all the rules framed by the executives through delegated legislation. This committee is known as the Committee of Subordinate Legislation that exists in both the Houses of Parliament. This was established in 1950 in the Lok Sabha and in Rajya Sabha it was estabilished in 1964.  It scrutinises and analyses the laws and rules formed by the executive and any discrepancies/irregularities and inconsistencies as well where financial powers have been usurped by the executive as well as the good work done by the executive. The committee then submits its report to the speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha as well as a copy of it is tabled in the other house for its perusal.



2) JUDICIAL SAFEGUARDS: Independent judiciary has the power to declare any law including delegated legislation intra vires(relevant or in consistence with the law) or ultra vires( against the law or irrelevant and are struck down) depending on the amount of legislation delegated is in line with it or out of line of the enabling Act.
If the executive law is out of order with the enabling act or the Constitution then they are declared ultra vires.
This is known as judicial review. It states that there are some basic and fundamental powers of the legislature that can never be delegated and if that is done then it will lead to chaos and so the executive is only given the task to make laws for technical purposes under the guidance and directions of the parent or original law established by the legislature.



3) SPECIAL SAFEGUARDS: Legislature in Parliamentary system has exclusively in context of Delegated Legislation has brought about the concept of 'LAYING" (i.e. to be laid before the house)
There are five types of LAYING:
a) Laying subject to no further action - The moment law is laid before house it comes into force and house has no role to play. It is just informative.
b) Laying subject to negative action- The law when laid before house it comes to force unless house rejects it.
c) Laying subject to affirmative action- The law when laid before house it comes into force only when house approves it.
d) Laying in draft subject to negative action- The law when laid before house it remains in force unless it is rejected within 40 days.
e) laying in draft subject to affirmative action- The law when laid before house it does not come into force unless it is approved within 40 days.
This procedure is followed when the enabling or parent act is being considered to come into force and then passed on to the executive to fill in the minute and technical details.

Through these procedures the drafting is made clear and to the point explanation is there thus leaving no room for any doubt in the minds of the receiver. Through these discussions the negative aspects are removed and only then it comes into force. Once the law is finalised it should be notified in the local gazette so that the public is informed.




ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUDICATION(to act as judge in an issue and take a formal decision binding on both parties) / ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS:
Administrative adjudication is an important component of administrative law along with delegated legislation. It came into response to modern day changes. It is a settlement of disputes related to administrative functioning by an administrative tribunal( an executive body that may act as quasi Judicial body). Issues or disputes arising during administrative functioning is done by this mechanism where the administrative machinery acts as an adjudicator instead of going to the courts of law directly so these disputes are settled speedily as the adjudicators are administrative officials and know the specific details and understand the administrative process and thus give relevant and unbiased decisions. This helps in non-stagnation of policy work and thus benefits the people at large. It is flexible in its decisions as it looks at the broader angle of public policy and its benefit whereas a court of law only looks at rigid laws and nothing else.
But at times it can also be biased and deny independent justice to the aggrieved. According to many theorists it is organised lawlessness and is contravening to the principle of natural justice as the panel of adjudicators here are administrators and not independent judges, who definitely happen to be one of the parties involved in the dispute. But,due to its benefits mentioned above it still continues until a better alternative is found.




TYPES OF ADMINISTRATIVE COURTS/TRIBUNALS:
There are many:
1) Administrative tribunal for service rules
2) In cases involving matters of finance,the statutory acts empower offices to act as tribunal - Revenue Board of State,District Magistrate relating to rent control and revenue cases.
3) Election commission acts as the tribunal in violation of election rules.
4) Land acquisition act empowers the district magistrate to acquire land and he acts as tribunal in case of grievance regarding land acquisition.
5) In transportation a number of officials act as tribunals from the transport dept.
6) The regulatory commissions and agencies have power to hear cases and act as tribunals.



THREE TYPES OF TRIBUNALS SETUP UNDER ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL ACT 1985:
1) CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL (CAT) : The Central Administrative Tribunal has been established for adjudication of disputes with respect to recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to public services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or other local authorities within the territory of India or under the control of Government of India and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. This was done in pursuance of the amendment of Constitution of India by Articles 323A.  Includes service matters involving central services,state matters and civilian matters(excluding military) and civil matters.


2) STATE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL (SAT): Administrative tribunal for state civil services matters


3) JOINT ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL: Administrative tribunal setup for two or more states.

All these tribunals are setup and appointments are made by the president.

The chairman is appointed by the president on advice of the Chief Justice of India and has to be a judge of a High Court or should have acted as a two years vice-chairman of the central administrative tribunal.
The vice chairman of the CAT should be a secretary of govt of India or any other post with equivalent pay for two years or otherwise additional secretary or post with equivalent pay for a period of not less than 5 years.
For members of the CAT the person should be additional secretary of govt of India or equivalent pay for 2 years or joint secretary or with an equivalent pay post for a period not less than 5 years.
The members can only be removed on grounds of proven misbehaviour by the president.
For the chairman and vice chairman are given secure tenure of 5 years or retirement on 65 years whichever is earlier.
For administrative members 5 years or retirement upon 65 years whichever is earlier.
For the judicial member of the CAT he should be 1st class magistrate.

An aggrieved person can approach high court appealing against the decision of CAT.




RISKS IN ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL SETUP:
1) They lack in legal expertise.
2) It is a kind of Martial Law where law makers here implement it also and the legal procedures are ignored which is violative of the principle of Natural Justice. Here the administration is both the litigant and judge in its own case as mostly the cases are against or relating to the very administrators who are sitting as judges there.
3) Lack of autonomy for lower tribunal officers.
4) Huge delay happens in this system too.




SAFEGUARDS AGAINST NEGATIVES OF ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS:
1) More legal expertise and officers should be brought in.
2) Principle of natural justice should be followed and the judge who is party to the dispute should be excluded from the hearing of the case.
3) More autonomy should be given.
4) Members of civil society should also be included.
5) People with high integrity should only be appointed.
6) Political interference should be minimized in the appointment procedure of tribunals and transparent procedures and rules should be established and followed.
7) Rule of tested evidence should be followed.
8) Decision making should be based on merit of the cases brought forward.
9) The parties to the dispute shall be given to present their cases and no judgement shall be delivered without giving full chance to defend one's cause.
10) Appeals in courts of law should be permissible.


________________________________________________________________________

Click on ' JOIN THIS SITE ' to get instant updates on new posts on this blog. And also for 'INTERACTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS' regarding this blog's posts 'JOIN ITS FACEBOOK COMMUNITY/GROUP' that is mentioned on the right hand side of this page.
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________


The next segment of this blog will be covering:

Comparative Public Administration:
Historical and sociological factors affecting
administrative systems; Administration
and politics in different countries; Current
status of Comparative Public Administration;
Ecology and administration; Riggsian
models and their critique.

__________________________________________________________________________

Tags - Administrative Law: Meaning, scope and significance; Dicey on Administrative law; Delegated legislation; Administrative Tribunals

ACCOUNTABILITY AND CONTROL: Concepts of accountability and control; Legislative, Executive and Judicial control over administration; Citizen and Administration; Role of media, interest groups, voluntary organizations; Civil society; Citizen’s Charters; Right to Information; Social audit.

The readership of this blog is swelling day by day. This does go to show that irrespective of the reasons attached , Public Administration is still a subject of considerable interest to many.

So with that wonderful beginning we proceed to today's article which will discuss Accountability And Control in Administration and everything related to it as per the heading above.

____________________________________________________________________

Click on ' JOIN THIS SITE ' to get instant updates on new posts on this blog. And also for 'INTERACTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS' regarding this blog's posts 'JOIN ITS FACEBOOK COMMUNITY/GROUP' that is mentioned on the right hand side of this page.
____________________________________________________________________


CONCEPT OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND CONTROL:

ACCOUNTABILITY - Accountability is to take complete responsibility by a person or an organisation for what he/she or the organisation did or failed to do (which was their duty) and must be able to give a satisfactory reason for it and the use of authority entrusted in them to carry out that responsibility. It is to check whether a work was done or not and Accountabilty as a process is performed after the work is completed or is supposed to have been completed.

Civil servants though not directly accountable to the People or their representatives but they are Vigilance authorities and Ombudsman in all organisations to keep a tab on them and also they are indirectly accountable for their action/exercise of authority to the people through the political executive(who are answerable to the Houses of Parliament for their Ministries) and Courts of Law.
If there is no accountablility then the civil servants would turn in to despots(unfair/cruel rulers),arbitrary and corrupt.

RESPONSIBILITY - A job or duty that a person is entrusted with in order to perform and complete them.

AUTHORITY - The legal right to control.

CONTROL - The contemporaneous mechanisms to check whether work is being done and done in the proper manner as specified on time is Control. It is carried on simultaneously while work is being done through its various forms which will be discussed below.



DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACCOUNTABILITY AND CONTROL:
Accountability happens after the job is complete or when some work has been done whereas control is performed simultaneously as the work is being done,side by side.



Types Of Accountability & Control:

1) Internal Control & Accountability : It is a part of the Administrative Machinery and work automatically and spontaneously with the movement of the machinery as self regulating devices and act as brakes in an automobile.
It comprises of -
 a) Budgetary control - Every department and official is given information about the amount of funds they have and they have to perform within it,if it goes overboard then they are accountable. These funds are passed by the Parliament/Legislature through voting and is not easy to get and once they are used they are audited by the CAG and the Finance Ministry sanctions funds to the departments and Ministries once Parliament passes it.

b) Personnel Management Control- Every official is made aware of his rank,grade and salary and there are rules and regulations that govern the work conditions and conduct of the personnel and if that is not followed and then a pre-prescribed punishment is meted out.

c) Organisational and Method/Management Control- Regular inspections are done and requisite training is provided to officials for efficient execution of their responsibilities.
d) Administrative Ethics and Professional standards - Moral and accepted beliefs of behaviour are promoted amongst officials.

e) Leadership- Leadership acceptance increases with an increase in hierarchy and position and that is encouraged to keep the motivation and morale of officials going. It should not be seen only in the negative light of a control mechanism for irrational patterns of individual's employees' activities but as a positive mechanism of harmonising individual's activities into rational patterns.

2) External Control & Accountability:
The controls within the constitutional machinery e.g. Legislative control,executive control,Judicial control. Public control through media, interest groups, voluntary organizations,Civil society,Citizen’s Charters,Right to Information,Social audit.are also a form of external control.
A thing to note is that external and internal controls are not exclusive categories but are interdependent and complement and supplement each other.
Lets discuss these in detail now.

IN DETAIL:
LEGISLATIVE CONTROL AND ACCOUNTABILITY - The legislature exercises general power of ' direction,supervision and control of Public administration ' as per Willoughby. Through budgetary review and other devices of investigation it keeps a check on them. The bureaucrat is shielded for his actions by the minister through the policy of ministerial responsibility to the legislature.

However, there are many means by the legislature to enforce responsibility in the executive,which are:

a) Control on delegated legislation: Normally the legislature is entrusted with the job of making laws but in complex and stressful conditions of the modern society,the State is caught up with many things at one time and is not able to concentrate and study a particular issue properly leads to a situation of delegated legislation or delegation(giving) of some of its law making powers to the administrative authorities.However,the administrative authorities are strictly subordinate or under the terms of the statute of the delegation and is subject to judicial review if it violated the terms of conditions of the agreement and its validity can be measured as well.
Delegated legislation has become a necessary evil as nowadays matters brought before the legislature to make laws are highly technical and usually the legislators do not possess such specialist knowledge and so lay down the general principles(basic ideas/rules) and leave the technical details to be sorted out to the administration to make the rules through the process of delegated legislation. It brings in flexibility and is immensely helpful in times of emergencies.
The legislature should clearly;y spell out the limit of the power delegated so that there is control maintained. The delegation should function under the rules and regulations of the agreement made between the legislature and them.It should be transparent and public should be allowed to participate. Judicial review is a must for the smooth and legal functioning of the delegated legislation.

b) President's speech: Addressing both the Houses of Parliament before starting every new session of the parliament and also on other occasions aims to broadly and clearly read out the policies and activities of the executive in the time immediately ahead. General discussion is then held regarding the president's speech and this gives an opportunity to the parliamentarians to appreciate or criticise the administration for doing or not doing their duties. President's speech is a means to bring in the public's voice in the parliament and not to coerce the parliamentarians as they follow the party guidelines.

c) Financial control: Parliament exercises control over the finance and funds given to administration for their various activities.
In detail:
i) Budget discussion: Before the financial year begins there is an 'annual financial statement' called the 'Budget' that is laid down before the houses of parliament. After that the general discussion takes place on it and all doubts are sought to be cleared. Then there is a voting done to pass it and then the funds are granted. So it is not an easy procedure to get funds.

ii) Audit Report: The CAG,an independent agency, audits all the accounts of income and expenditure of the govt at centre as well as States and causes to lay down the same before the parliament as well as legislatures of different states through the president and governor of respective states respectively to be reviewed and hold accountable the concerned people.

iii) Reports of the Estimates Committee and Public Accounts Committee of Parliament: The parliament appoints these committees from amongst themselves through voting and consensus. The PAC scrutinises the CAG's report and also reviews the financial transactions of governmental departments. Then there is an audit report compiled by the PAC that is presented for discussion and questioning before the House. The Estimates committee makes recommendations for improving organisation,securing economy and providing guidance and alternative policies and examine whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy implied in the estimates in the presentation of their estimates.

d) Other forms of Legislative Control:
i) Question hour - one hour,that is 11 a.m to 12 p.m. of every parliament day is reserved for questions where around 30-40 oral questions are asked normally and then there are supplementary questions along with the original question that helps cross examine the minister. It helps the public attention to focus on a particular issue and avoids ministerial and bureaucratic arrogance from creeping in.\

ii) Half an hour,short discussions,Calling attention motion - The half an hour discussion is subsequent to the question hour when there is dissatisfaction regarding a particular answer given by the concerned minister and so there is more time given to extract relevant information and ventilate public grievance,etc. Short discussions needs prior notice to the speaker and is of a matter of urgent public importance and the govt. has to reply. No voting takes place here and not more than two hours in a day can be devoted to this. The Calling Attention Motion is a tool used for drawing the govt's attention to a serious policy administration/implementation issue and the govt has to answer immediately once the motion is admitted by the speaker of the house or it may ask for time to prepare the answer if thorough detailing and understanding is required.

iii) Zero hour discussion: It happens after the question hour that is 12 p.m. and since 12 p.m. is also called zero hour therefore it is named 'Zero Hour'. Here upto five members are allowed by the Speaker to raise matters of public importance under rule 377(If in the opinion of the Speaker, any notice contains words, phrases or expressions which are argumentative, unparliamentary, ironical, irrelevant, verbose, or otherwise inappropriate, he may, in his discretion, amend such notice before it is circulated ) of the rules of parliamentary procedure.

iv) Adjournment debates: On intimation of an urgent matter for debate,the normal business of the House is adjourned and the debate on the topic ensues.

v) No-Confidence Motion: Also called censure motion. It is raised by a member or members when they express a lack of confidence in the govt for any reason.If the motion is allowed by the Speaker then the debate is held and at the end of it a vote of confidence is sought by the govt. failing which the entire cabinet/govt. has to resign thus leading to formation of a new govt.

vi) Debates on Legislation: Normal business of legislation where new laws are enacted or amendments are sought to existing laws.


e) Parliamentary Committees: Estimates and Parliament Accounts Committee we have already discussed so now we will discuss other relevant ones:
i) Committee on Assurances - It undertakes scrutiny of promises,assurances,undertakings,etc. given by the Ministers from time to time on the House floor and reports on: to the extent that they have been implemented and whether it has fulfilled the minimum conditions of its purpose. Thus making the Ministers wary of their promises and efficiently perform their duties through the administration.

ii) Committee in Subordinate Legislation - It controls and scrutinises the govt activities regarding administrative delegation of legislative powers.


LIMITATIONS TO LEGISLATIVE CONTROL:
So as we can see that the legislature keeps a stronghold on the govt as well as administration in every minute way.
Now, lets see how these are limited due to various reasons mentioned below:
1) Lack of time,staff and expertise and technical knowledge to exert effective control in the most meaningful areas.
2) No sustained measure of control and surveillance.
3) Imperial or rigid mindset of administrators and huge public illiteracy.
4) business groups lobbying.
5) Seniority instead of merit given preference for promotion of bureaucrats thus not letting them do their work with vigour and new ideas.
6) Declaration of emergency cuts their hands off.
7) Govt. bills to become laws out shadow private member's bills which are mostly for the public cause.
8) Funds are not provided many a times as the legislature lacks technical knowledge and is not able to understand the need by the executive for excess grants.
9) Parliament cannot raise money or any tax unless executive demands it but can only increase or reduce those demands.




EXECUTIVE CONTROL AND ACCOUNTABILITY:
In a parliamentary and democratic system of governance there is the political executive (govt.) and the permanent executive(bureaucracy) . Here will be discussing the political executive's control over the permanent executive where the permanent executive works under the political executive through ministries and departments and is responsible to the political executive who in turn is responsible collectively to the House of Parliament especially the House of the people or the Lok Sabha and that's how they are answerable to the people.

Lets discuss those controls in detail:
i) Recruitment and promotion system - The UPSC and state PSC's appoint and remove personnel however the general rules of appointment,eligibility,age,etc to these posts and the recruitment procedure is laid down by the govt. of the day.

ii) Executive law making: Through the process of delegated legislation as discussed above and ordinances ( rule made by the govt or president which is temporary in nature unless passed in due time by the Houses of parliament) in times of emergencies and is not questionable in a court of law however if the objective of the ordinance is not fulfilled then people can approach court for accountability.

iii) Budget: Explained before above.

iv) Staff agencies:Union Cabinet committees like Economic committee,Foreign affairs committee,etc whose task is to advise,direct and coordinate the ministries linked to the subject matter of these committees. Cabinet Secretariat which is headed by a civil servant called the Cabinet Secretary and a joint secy,two deputy secy,two under secy,two asst secy and four staff officers from the defence services.It deals with coordinating between various ministries and departments and the govt. and also maintains all details of meetings,deals with matters of organisation and personnel and presides over various committees on the behalf of the govt.



e) Civil service code for conduct and discipline:
Bureaucrats are supposed to be neutral and apolitical to carry out their duties and they have guidelines and rules laid down for correct and ethical behaviour which they follow lest they attract disciplinary action and suspension/dismission.



f) Appeal to Public Opinion: The bureaucracy is generally change resistant and likes to follow their own rules where the public is concerned and this is the reason for public dissatisfaction with the bureaucracy.Therefore,to counter this the bureaucracy is often seen being directed to coordinate with pressure groups and other voluntary organisations to carry out/implement public policy and this is how they connect with the people to maintain their status.



JUDICIAL CONTROL AND ACCOUNTABILITY:
The Courts have the authority and right as per the constitution of India to examine the legality and validity of acts of the permanent executive in order to safeguard the citizen's rights.An aggrieved citizen or party on his/her behalf can file a civil or criminal suit in the court if his rights have been violated or if any particular act of the legislature is ultra vires or unconstitutional that is is not in spirit of the constitution and has a corrupt objective it is struck down and made null and void by the courts of law.



CITIZEN AND ADMINISTRATION:
Citizens and administration are interconnected and interdependent as the job of public administration is to protect and provide services to citizens and they receive their salaries and funds from the taxes the citizens pay. And this relationship has come all the more in the limelight and importance due to the concept of welfare state.
There is generally a hostility between the two due to the rigid and high handed behaviour of public officials and the illiteracy of the public regarding their rights and political happenings that leads to the alienation between the two.

Channels of redressal for grieving citizens:

1)Redressal through parliament/legislature: It is the same as discussed above under Legislative control and accountability topic.

2) Judicial remedies: Same as discussed above under Judicial control and accountability topic. Apart from that a special mention should be given to Public Interest Litigation (PIL) where citizens who have been denied their rights due to any reason and maladministration but cannot approach the courts for relief due to social and economic constraints can approach through a group or NGO on their behalf.

3) Administrative tribunals(special court appointed by the govt): Central Administrative Tribunal deals with grievances of public or government employees(All India Services) and their service matters whereas the State & Joint Administrative Tribunals deals with employees of State public services. The Industrial Tribunals,Income Tax Tribunals,Railway rates tribunals etc deal with citizen's grievances concerned with that subject matter.

4) Lok Adalats have been set up to deal with ordinary grievances of citizens against the administration like pensions,utilities,telephones,compensation,etc and if the parties are not happy with the decision then they can approach the courts of law.

To deal with administrative corruption:

i) Central Vigilance Commission: It is headed by a Central Vigilance Commissioner and deals with grievances of citizens involving corruption and lack of integrity on the part of governmental servants.
It takes into matters even complaints against the Union govt who is ruling and is to set up an enquiry or investigation through the concerned administrative Ministry/dept vigilance officers into the matter or ask the CBI to take charge. Complaints can come directly from grieving individuals as well s from other sources like press reports,audit reports,parliamentary committee reports ,etc. Each Ministry/dept has a chief vigilance officer and he is responsible for coordinating and guiding the activities of other vigilance officers of his ministry/dept and report to the Commission from time to time. The role of the CVC is advisory in nature.

ii) Ombudsman: Appointed by the legislature and deals with complaints made against the legislature or govt. In India its forms are known as 'LOKPAL' at the central level and 'LOKAYUKTA' at the State level. The LOKPAL is to deal with all complaints of corruption made by any citizen against the ruling govt and the Union/Central Ministers as well as State Ministers regarding any action taken by them and it should not be done more than five years ago. After the investigation is complete,the report will be submitted to the Prime Minister(where complaint is against Union Minister) or a Chief Minister ( Complaint against State Minister) as the case maybe. If the complaint is frivolous and based on malafide then it can be rejected and the complainant penalised or tried in a court of law.
However,sadly this bill is yet not passed in both the Houses due to obvious reasons.
The LOKAYUKTA deals with State level corruption complaints against State Ministers. The setting up of Lokayukta offices in the states is sparse and still many do not have one.


GRIEVANCE CELLS IN VARIOUS MINISTRIES AND DEPARTMENTS:
For speedy justice many ministries and departments of govt n centre as well as state have set up grievance cells headed by a grievance officer.



ROLE OF MEDIA:
Media is a collective/plural word for medium. And by media here we mean the various mediums of mass communication which is news channels,newspapers,radios,journals,magazines,etc. It airs public views and is a medium of connection between citizens and the State. It has wide reach. State policies and public views on it are disseminated through the media and thus helps both parties effectively leading to development of the country.It holds the political and permanent executive accountable to the people through its forums for debates,discussions and polls,etc.
There is the State controlled media that is the govt media which is more than often biased and then there is the pvt funded media that does lobbying for its investors and there is the independent media that is free from govt or corporate control and are small in reach.
However,what worries the people many a times is when the media resorts to unfair means and gets corrupt ending up as mouthpieces of various politicians and corporate houses. Therefore, It is necessary to regulate them from time to time regarding ownership and management. There should be a code of conduct along with a grievance redressal cell for each office of the public media. Local and folk media should be encouraged.



INTEREST GROUPS:
Interest group refers to virtually any voluntary association that seeks to publicly promote and create advantages for its cause. It applies to a vast array of diverse organizations. This includes corporations, charitable organizations, civil rights groups, neighborhood associations, professional and trade associations. They often resort to legal and illegal means,violent or peaceful and make the govt bow down to their cause and make a certain policy or amend certain policies by putting pressure on the govt and administration via their sheer number and financial as well as political strength.
There are two types of Interest Groups:
1) Sectional Interest Groups: Work for interests of a particular section like for example writers association or teacher's association,etc.
2) Promotional Interest Group: Work for public good and not any particular section. Example - Group against child labour,etc.
They help in holding the govt and administration accountable because people have confidence in them.



VOLUNATRY ORGANISATIONS:
 Voluntary association or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, unincorporated association, or just an association) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body (or organization) to accomplish a purpose. They are to confirm to a certain requirement. There should be a formal structure and the members should be free of any vested or personal interests and work for the public good.
Three types of Voluntary organisations:
a) Service oriented voluntary organisations - Provide certain services like care of old age people,orphans,etc.
b) Mutual Aid Voluntary organisations - Collectively help each other like for example self help groups.
c) Resources and Coordination providing voluntary organisations - Specifically provide expertise and information relating to something for public purpose for example micro finance institutions,etc.

Good governance has brought these organisations into the limelight and they are of great importance to the govt while formulating as well as implementing policies as they are close to the people and have their trust and have grass root level expertise and knowledge of issues and help in people participation. Thus they hold the govt and administration accountable in various times by ensuring public participation and making administration transparent.



CIVIL SOCIETY:
Civil society is the arena outside of the family, the state, and the market where people associate to advance common interests. It is sometimes considered to include the family and the private sphere and then referred to as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business.Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon defines civil society as 1) the aggregate of non-governmental organizations and institutions that manifest interests and will of citizens or 2) individuals and organizations in a society which are independent of the government. Sometimes the term is used in the more general sense of "the elements such as freedom of speech, an independent judiciary, etc, that make up a democratic society".
NGO's and NPO's are part of civil society. However there is no unanimous view to define civil society and it keeps changing.
The civil society also does include political parties and professional organisations. They help encourage public interest and participation and helps in formulation and implementation of policies of govt. as well as bring core issues of concern in the eyes of the govt to take care of.



CITIZENS CHARTERS:
It is a charter that seeks to make administration people friendly and incorporates the following in it to enforce the above:
1) Responsibilities of an agency
2) Standards while performing these responsibilities.
3) Mechanisms for grievance redressals.
It began in UK with the mission that administration should be responsive.
For a successful citizens charter it should possess six major principles:
a) Setting the standards - Standardisation of services so that there is a standard maintained and nobody falls below that.
b) Information and openness- Citizens should get all relevant information.
c) Choice and consultation-People should be consulted while formulating as well as running it in order to gauge its effectiveness else it is redundant because it is made for the people only.
d) Putting things right-Things should be made right and done the correct way
e) Value for money-The money charged should not be exorbitant and should satisfy the consumer.
f) Courtesy and helpfulness- The personnel should be courteous and helpful always.

In India this mechanism is yet to be developed and matured and the organisations that possess it either do not display it or people are not aware of it and thus are fooled by the employees.



RIGHT TO INFORMATION:
It is the citizen's right to know and right to information regarding administration and its performance.
This has helped bring immense transparency and efficiency in the administration since it was implemented in 2005 in India. It was hailed that the fundamental rights of ' freedom to speech and expression' as well as right to life cannot be fulfilled and safeguarded without relevant information.
Tamil Nadu was the first to implement this act in its state and now almost all states have followed suit. Each central level government office or organisation has to have a RTI cell headed by a Public Information Officer who will receive RTI's from common citizens and is to disseminate the relevant information within the time specified usually 30 days to provide an answer to the appellant. But if there is a threat to life of the applicant than that information is to be provided within 48 hours and if the information is regarding a third party then  it has to be provided within 45 days.
The RTI department is headed at the Central level by the Chief Information Officer and his subordinates.
At the state level there is the State Chief Public Information Officer and his subordinates.
Appellate authorities:
If the applicant does not receive a answer or does not receive a satisfactory answer where information is denied then he/she can approach the appellate authority which are:
a) First appellate authority: Should be an officer senior to that of the Public Information officer in that agency and designated as the appellate authority.
b) Second appellate authority: If still unsatisfied or denied information the applicant can then approach directly to the State Chief Public Information Commissioner and then the Central Chief Information commissioner which is provided on the website of each govt. organisation and the Chief Information Commissioner's official website.

The tenures of the Chief Information Commissioner and his State counterparts are secured for 5 years or 65 years,whichever comes earlier. They are appointed by the President on consultation with PM,opposition leader and cabinet ministers.
At the state level,the authorities are appointed by the Governor and a committee appointed by the governor. They are not eligible for reappointment but a State Chief Information Commissioner can be promoted to the rank of Central Chief Information Commissioner but still it should be within his 5 years tenure. They can be removed from office for proven misconduct by the president at centre and governor for state level.
In case of delaying information,destroying evidence,malafide information provided,denying information by any agency or organisation of the centre or state govt like UPSC,UKPSC,RAILWAYS,etc then the Chief Information Commissioner of centre as well as states can penalise the Public Information officers of those organisations and other officers there to the tune of rs 250 per day to maximum rs 25000 which will be recovered from their salary/pension. The commission's verdict can be challenged in the High Court and Supreme Court.

Only restricted information can be withheld from the public that can cause:
a) Contempt of court
b) Affects national safety and security
c) Affects Intellectual property rights and trade secrets and competition
d) Affects privacy of individuals
e) Breaches the privileges provided by the constitution to the elected representatives

Any act which goes contrary to the RTI act will be considered null and void ( the acts are section 5 of the official secrets act and Indian evidence act).
If an application has been sent to the wrong dept then also it cannot be rejected and it is the duty of the receiver to redirect it to the concerned dept and PIO within 5 days as the information has to be provided to the applicant within 30 days.
If there are some information that cannot be provided for the above mentioned reasons in an application but 2-3 other questions can be answered then the whole application will not be rejected and the relevant information will be provided for those 2-3 questions.

However,people need to be educated and should on their own get educated about this act and mechanism and there needs to be a proper system that should be in place and also there is a lot of corruption that goes on here as a corrupt officer does not worry about giving rs 25000 and file notes are put on files and then removed as and when required when it is to be said that do not provide this information,so the culprit is not able to be caught. Therefore, stringent measures are needed. People need to be educated that if they are not satisfied by anything and all rules have been  violated after the application was made then they should approach the courts and sort things out only then this corruption will end.



SOCIAL AUDIT:
Audit is a mechanism to appraise loyalty of expenditure and revenue to check whether the mandate has been followed as specified and the purpose is achieved.
Different types of audit:
a) Regulatory audit: To check whether there is fraudulent activities going on.
b) Proprietary audit : Money may not have been spent economically and is wasted. This audit helps check that.
c) Performance audit: Nature of spending or earning may not come out with the required result/objective. This type of audit helps check the functional(job related) and structural level(organisation) in performance and increases efficiency.

Social audit is a contemporary version of Audit and not only takes into consideration economical activities but also social and cultural aspects by taking a holistic view of policy impact. It does a detailed study of socio-politico-economic-psychological dimensions of the society and also the environmental dimensions in order to bring about true development of the country and its people.
To conduct a social audit proper and measurable indicators as well as techniques and skills/expertise as well as unbiasedness are required and are employed by bringing in civil society too along with the government. Panchayats are a big help in this. Once problems are identified then actions and steps are taken that are relevant to cure and prevent the issue from cropping up in future.




____________________________________________________________________
Click on ' JOIN THIS SITE ' to get instant updates on new posts on this blog. And also for 'INTERACTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS' regarding this blog's posts 'JOIN ITS FACEBOOK COMMUNITY/GROUP' that is mentioned on the right hand side of this page.
__________________________________________________________________________

The next blog will cover:

Administrative Law:
Meaning, scope and significance; Dicey on Administrative law; Delegated legislation; Administrative Tribunals.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACCOUNTABILITY AND CONTROL -  Concepts of accountability and control; Legislative, Executive and Judicial control over administration; Citizen and Administration; Role of media, interest groups, voluntary organizations; Civil society; Citizen’s Charters; Right to Information; Social audit.