Public Administration Mains 2021 : Solved Paper-2 (Question: 2)
Public Administration Mains 2021 : Solved Paper Question Paper-2 (Question-2)
Section A
- Exam Name: UPSC IAS Mains Public Administration (Paper-II)
- Marks: 250
- Time Allowed: 3 Hours
Q2.(a) Kautilya envisages protection, welfare and prosperity of the State and its people as the utmost concern of a ruler. In this context, discuss the significance of Kautilya's emphasis on governing, accountability and justice in contemporary India.
ANSWER: ONLY FOR COURSE MEMBERS
(b) District Collector is the most important functionary in district administration in India. In light of the above statement, discuss the multidimensional responsibilities of District Collector in effecting coordinated developmental administration in India.
The office of the collector was called upon to play a prominent role in the implementation of development programmes in free India. Introduction of community development and national extension programme in 1952 and 1953 added further importance to the traditional prestige and position of the collector. This completely changed the emphasis of the duties of the collector. From regulatory activities the emphasis now shifted to development activities. The introduction of panchayati raj in 1959 added a new dimension to the developmental activities of the collector. The Balwantrai Mehta Committee recommended that the collector should be closely associated with the new institutions of panchayati raj and he should be the chairman of the Zila Parishad. When the different states interpreted the recommendations in different ways and prepared legislations for panchayati raj in their respective states, it was found that different roles were assigned to the collectors of different-states. A scholar can discern three different models of panchayati raj from the point of view of the role of the collector in it. In some of the states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the involvement of the collector is manifold. Starting from the Zila Parish ad to the gram panchayat level he is invested with wide and sweeping powers to exercise. He is the kingpin of development activities. He is the chairman of the District Development Council. At the other extreme falls the Maharashtra model where, as in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, the collector has been kept outside the Zila Parishad. The collector has nothing to do with the working of the Zila Parishad and is not even a member of it. In the third category come states like Assam, Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan. In these states the collector is a member of the Zila Parishad but without the right to vote. Legislation in these states postulates that the collector should be associated with the Zila Parishad in an advisory capacity and does not envisage any active involvement of the collector with the decision-making process. However, in Rajasthan, the collector has not been completely dissociated with development work The Rajasthan Panchayati Samitis and Zila Parishad Act has designated the collector as the District Development Officer.
Because of the introduction of the panchayati raj and assigning of development role to the panchayati raj institutions there arose a controversy during the sixties relating to the utility of the office of the collector in mid and late sixties. This controversy shook the citadel of the collector temporarily but it survived the shock.
(c) The role of the Governor isofa sagacious counsellor, mediator and arbitrator rather than that of an active politician. In this context, examine the role of the Governor in state politics in India.
ANSWER: ONLY FOR COURSE MEMBERS