Public Administration Mains 2020 : Solved Paper-2 (Question: 7)
Public Administration Mains 2020 : Solved Paper Question Paper-2 (Question-7)
Section A
- Exam Name: UPSC IAS Mains Public Administration (Paper-II)
- Marks: 250
- Time Allowed: 3 Hours
Q7.(a) Ward committees in urban local governance have remained more tigers. The ideal of realizing effective people's participation in collaboration with local functionaries is still in the pipeline. Evaluate the gap in theory and practice.
ANSWER: ONLY FOR COURSE MEMBERS
(b) Police needs to be made accountable and freed from the grip of politics. It is a big challenge not only for law and order but also for the development of the country. Critically examine.
In the existing set-up, the police function under the executive control of the state government. According to the National Police Commission, the manner in which political control has been exercised over the police in this country has led to gross abuses, resulting in erosion of the rule of law and loss of police credibility as a professional organisation. The threat of transfer / suspension is the most potent weapon in the hands of the politician to bend the police down to his will. The Commission recommended that the superintendence of the state government over the police should be limited to ensure that police performance is in strict accordance with law. In the performance of its tasks, the police should be subject to overall guidance from the government which should lay down broad policies for adoption in different situations. There should however be no instructions in regard to actual operations in the field. In regard to investigation work, in any case, the police are beyond any intervention by the executive or politicians.
On 22 September 2006, the Supreme Court of India delivered a historic judgment in Prakash Singh v. Union of India, instructing central and state governments to comply with a set of seven directives that laid down practical mechanisms to kick-start police reform. The Court’s directives sought to achieve functional autonomy for the police (through security of tenure, streamlined appointment and transfer processes, and the creation of a “buffer body’ between the police and the government) and enhanced police accountability (both for organisational performance and individual misconduct.)