State and District Administration | Indian Polity for UPSC CSE PDF Download

 Page 1


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Administration at the State level is the cutting edge of the public administration system 
in the country. Be it the issue of ration or electoral identity cards, procurement of foodgrains, 
implementation of employment guarantee schemes, supply of drinking water, mutation of 
land records, functioning of primary schools and healthcare centres or control of epidemics 
in the countryside, it is the instrumentalities of the State and District administration with 
which citizens have to interact. 
1.2 The institutions of the State and District administration exist primarily to provide these 
services to the citizens. There are laid down rules and procedures for every aspect of the 
government’s functioning and its interaction with the common man but, due to weaknesses 
of the bureaucracy, growing complexities of administration and absence of commitment and 
responsiveness, a wide gap has emerged between “Government” and “Governance” .
1.3 In this background, the terms of reference of the Second Administrative Reforms 
Commission identify the following issues on which the Commission has been asked to make 
specific recommendations.
5. Steps to ensure effective administration at the State level
5.1 T o encourage and promote appropriate changes in State Administration in 
the governance of the States to achieve envisaged outcomes.
5.1.1 Changes required in the State Administration to achieve the objectives.
6. Steps to ensure effective District Administration
6.1 Progressive modernization and transformation of district administration 
in form and content keeping in mind the centrality thereof in regulating, 
facilitating and delivering services at the grass-root levels.
6.2 Bringing about systemic changes to infuse and sustain vibrancy and 
responsiveness.
Page 2


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Administration at the State level is the cutting edge of the public administration system 
in the country. Be it the issue of ration or electoral identity cards, procurement of foodgrains, 
implementation of employment guarantee schemes, supply of drinking water, mutation of 
land records, functioning of primary schools and healthcare centres or control of epidemics 
in the countryside, it is the instrumentalities of the State and District administration with 
which citizens have to interact. 
1.2 The institutions of the State and District administration exist primarily to provide these 
services to the citizens. There are laid down rules and procedures for every aspect of the 
government’s functioning and its interaction with the common man but, due to weaknesses 
of the bureaucracy, growing complexities of administration and absence of commitment and 
responsiveness, a wide gap has emerged between “Government” and “Governance” .
1.3 In this background, the terms of reference of the Second Administrative Reforms 
Commission identify the following issues on which the Commission has been asked to make 
specific recommendations.
5. Steps to ensure effective administration at the State level
5.1 T o encourage and promote appropriate changes in State Administration in 
the governance of the States to achieve envisaged outcomes.
5.1.1 Changes required in the State Administration to achieve the objectives.
6. Steps to ensure effective District Administration
6.1 Progressive modernization and transformation of district administration 
in form and content keeping in mind the centrality thereof in regulating, 
facilitating and delivering services at the grass-root levels.
6.2 Bringing about systemic changes to infuse and sustain vibrancy and 
responsiveness.
6.3 Streamlining and fine-tuning a comprehensive and accessible public grievance 
handling and redress mechanism.
6.4 Greater devolution and delegation of functions and resources to the local 
levels.
6.5 Examine the coordinating and leadership role of the District Officer in 
developmental activities and enlisting peoples’ participation therein.
1.4 The Commission has so far submitted fourteen Reports to the government on its different 
terms of reference. Many of the recommendations made in these Reports particularly those 
on Public Order, Local Government, NREGA, Crisis Management, Conflict Resolution and 
Financial Management have a direct bearing on the administration at the State and District 
levels. Besides, the principles enunciated in Reports dealing with “Right to Information” , 
“Citizen Centric Administration” , “e-Governance” and “Social Capital” too are of considerable 
relevance to State Governments as they provide the basic foundation for public services. 
In this Report, the Commission would be dealing with those issues of State and District 
administration, which have not been covered in the earlier Reports.
1.5 The Commission has structured the current Report in the following manner:-
1. Introduction
2. Reorganisation of the State Secretariat and Departments.
a. Role and functions of the Secretariat, Departments and Agencies (Societies, 
Cooperatives, Statutory Bodies and Government Corporations). 
b. Some issues of personnel administration including those relating to 
State Public Service Commission, enactment of Civil Services Law 
and appointment and tenure of senior functionaries in the State 
Government.
c. The future of the office of the Divisional Commissioner and Regional 
Offices of line departments.
d. Vigilance set up in the States.
3. District Administration, the role and composition of line departments and 
parastatals in the districts after empowerment of local governments.
4. Special aspects of the administration of Union T erritories (Delhi, Chandigarh, 
Island UT s and others).
5. Issues pertaining to the administration of the North-Eastern States
6. Managing State Finances
1.6 The Report deals with issues of modernization, increased devolution of functions and 
powers, effective grievance handling system, people’s participation, enhancing responsiveness, 
process simplification and delegation of power. The Report has also taken note of certain 
innovative measures initiated by government on issues of human resource development and 
social service which have resulted in better implementational practices and consequently in 
a marked improvement in the tenor of administration. The communitisation experiment in 
Nagaland and the digitised registration of documents in Bihar are two such examples. The 
Commission believes that with appropriate modification it is possible to replicate such practices 
in other parts of the country as well. 
1.7 The Union T erritories and the North-Eastern States have special features, which call for 
careful study. Generally, except perhaps for Delhi, the administration of the Union T erritories 
has not been studied in detail, as it has been considered as part of the Union Government. In 
the case of the North-Eastern States, the Commission found that knowledge of their special 
features was rather limited in the Ministries; the approach until recently, has been to deal 
with the administrative challenges in more or less the same way as in the rest of the country, 
without taking into account the special features of each of them, as for example, extensive 
powers given to the Autonomous Councils in the Sixth Schedule areas. The Commission, 
therefore, thought it fit to deal with the Union T erritories and North-Eastern States at some 
length in this Report. The suggestions given here are in addition to the recommendations 
made in earlier Reports like the one on “Conflict Resolution” . 
1.8 In order to have a composite view of the issues and challenges being faced by the State 
and District administration across the country, the Commission visited 20 States viz. Andhra 
Pradesh, T amil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & 
Kashmir, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, T ripura, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, W est Bengal, 
Orissa and Chhattisgarh. It also visited 5 Union T erritories viz. Andaman & Nicobar Islands, 
Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Delhi. During these visits, the Commission had 
detailed discussions with the Governors, Chief Ministers, Lt. Governors/ Administrators and 
senior officials of the States/UT s concerned on their programmes, schemes and innovative 
practices. In order to elicit suggestions and perceptions of people on administration, the 
Commission organised public hearings in the States’ capital and also interacted with scholars, 
State and District Administation Introduction
Page 3


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Administration at the State level is the cutting edge of the public administration system 
in the country. Be it the issue of ration or electoral identity cards, procurement of foodgrains, 
implementation of employment guarantee schemes, supply of drinking water, mutation of 
land records, functioning of primary schools and healthcare centres or control of epidemics 
in the countryside, it is the instrumentalities of the State and District administration with 
which citizens have to interact. 
1.2 The institutions of the State and District administration exist primarily to provide these 
services to the citizens. There are laid down rules and procedures for every aspect of the 
government’s functioning and its interaction with the common man but, due to weaknesses 
of the bureaucracy, growing complexities of administration and absence of commitment and 
responsiveness, a wide gap has emerged between “Government” and “Governance” .
1.3 In this background, the terms of reference of the Second Administrative Reforms 
Commission identify the following issues on which the Commission has been asked to make 
specific recommendations.
5. Steps to ensure effective administration at the State level
5.1 T o encourage and promote appropriate changes in State Administration in 
the governance of the States to achieve envisaged outcomes.
5.1.1 Changes required in the State Administration to achieve the objectives.
6. Steps to ensure effective District Administration
6.1 Progressive modernization and transformation of district administration 
in form and content keeping in mind the centrality thereof in regulating, 
facilitating and delivering services at the grass-root levels.
6.2 Bringing about systemic changes to infuse and sustain vibrancy and 
responsiveness.
6.3 Streamlining and fine-tuning a comprehensive and accessible public grievance 
handling and redress mechanism.
6.4 Greater devolution and delegation of functions and resources to the local 
levels.
6.5 Examine the coordinating and leadership role of the District Officer in 
developmental activities and enlisting peoples’ participation therein.
1.4 The Commission has so far submitted fourteen Reports to the government on its different 
terms of reference. Many of the recommendations made in these Reports particularly those 
on Public Order, Local Government, NREGA, Crisis Management, Conflict Resolution and 
Financial Management have a direct bearing on the administration at the State and District 
levels. Besides, the principles enunciated in Reports dealing with “Right to Information” , 
“Citizen Centric Administration” , “e-Governance” and “Social Capital” too are of considerable 
relevance to State Governments as they provide the basic foundation for public services. 
In this Report, the Commission would be dealing with those issues of State and District 
administration, which have not been covered in the earlier Reports.
1.5 The Commission has structured the current Report in the following manner:-
1. Introduction
2. Reorganisation of the State Secretariat and Departments.
a. Role and functions of the Secretariat, Departments and Agencies (Societies, 
Cooperatives, Statutory Bodies and Government Corporations). 
b. Some issues of personnel administration including those relating to 
State Public Service Commission, enactment of Civil Services Law 
and appointment and tenure of senior functionaries in the State 
Government.
c. The future of the office of the Divisional Commissioner and Regional 
Offices of line departments.
d. Vigilance set up in the States.
3. District Administration, the role and composition of line departments and 
parastatals in the districts after empowerment of local governments.
4. Special aspects of the administration of Union T erritories (Delhi, Chandigarh, 
Island UT s and others).
5. Issues pertaining to the administration of the North-Eastern States
6. Managing State Finances
1.6 The Report deals with issues of modernization, increased devolution of functions and 
powers, effective grievance handling system, people’s participation, enhancing responsiveness, 
process simplification and delegation of power. The Report has also taken note of certain 
innovative measures initiated by government on issues of human resource development and 
social service which have resulted in better implementational practices and consequently in 
a marked improvement in the tenor of administration. The communitisation experiment in 
Nagaland and the digitised registration of documents in Bihar are two such examples. The 
Commission believes that with appropriate modification it is possible to replicate such practices 
in other parts of the country as well. 
1.7 The Union T erritories and the North-Eastern States have special features, which call for 
careful study. Generally, except perhaps for Delhi, the administration of the Union T erritories 
has not been studied in detail, as it has been considered as part of the Union Government. In 
the case of the North-Eastern States, the Commission found that knowledge of their special 
features was rather limited in the Ministries; the approach until recently, has been to deal 
with the administrative challenges in more or less the same way as in the rest of the country, 
without taking into account the special features of each of them, as for example, extensive 
powers given to the Autonomous Councils in the Sixth Schedule areas. The Commission, 
therefore, thought it fit to deal with the Union T erritories and North-Eastern States at some 
length in this Report. The suggestions given here are in addition to the recommendations 
made in earlier Reports like the one on “Conflict Resolution” . 
1.8 In order to have a composite view of the issues and challenges being faced by the State 
and District administration across the country, the Commission visited 20 States viz. Andhra 
Pradesh, T amil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & 
Kashmir, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, T ripura, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, W est Bengal, 
Orissa and Chhattisgarh. It also visited 5 Union T erritories viz. Andaman & Nicobar Islands, 
Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Delhi. During these visits, the Commission had 
detailed discussions with the Governors, Chief Ministers, Lt. Governors/ Administrators and 
senior officials of the States/UT s concerned on their programmes, schemes and innovative 
practices. In order to elicit suggestions and perceptions of people on administration, the 
Commission organised public hearings in the States’ capital and also interacted with scholars, 
State and District Administation Introduction
litterateurs, retired officials and the media on common issues of governance and administration. 
The Commission expresses its deep gratitude to all of them for their help, cooperation, and 
valuable suggestions. 
1.9 Though the Report was finalised in April and printed in May 2009, the Commission 
would like to record its appreciation for the contributions made by Dr. M. V eerappa Moily 
in arriving at the conclusions. Before resigning from the position of Chairman, ARC, on 
31st March, 2009, Dr. Moily had played an important role in guiding the deliberations of the 
Commission in finalising this Report.
1.10 In the preparation of this Report, the Commission took support of the Indian Institute 
of Public Administration, Delhi, the Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, HCM 
Rajasthan State Institute of Public Administration, Jaipur, Y ashwantrao Chavan Academy of 
Development Administration, Pune, the Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad, Himachal 
Pradesh Institute of Public Administration, Shimla, State T raining Institute, W est Bengal, 
Assam Administrative Staff College, Guwahati and Asian Development Research Institute, 
Patna. The inputs provided by them were extremely valuable. The Commission thanks them 
for this assistance. The Commission would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Shri 
Lalit Sharma, Consultant, ARC and Shri P.P. Srivastav, Member, North-East Council who 
provided significant and valuable inputs to the the Commission on the administration of the 
Union T erritories and the North-Eastern States.
1.11 The Commission feels that the implementation of the recommendations made in this 
Report in conjunction with the measures suggested in the earlier ones, will bring considerable 
improvement in the functioning at all levels of the State Government.
State and District Administation
2
STATE ADMINISTRATION
2.1 Introduction
2.1.1 Constitutional guarantees and provisions, Union and State laws as well as policies and 
programmes for economic and social development are relevant to the daily lives of the people 
only to the extent they are implemented honestly and efficiently. The Constitution of India 
gives a special role and responsibility to the State Governments for preserving public order and 
ensuring the welfare of citizens. The Seventh Schedule which clearly demarcates the legislative 
and functional domain of the Union and the States, highlights the critical role envisaged for 
State Governments in fulfilling the aspirations set out in the Directive Principles of State 
Policy.
2.1.2 So far the Commission has submitted fourteen Reports, each of them containing 
recommendations to be acted upon by the Union, State, District and Local Governments – by 
one or all of them - as well as by institutions of civil society. The Reports dealt with:-
(i) Right to Information; 
(ii) Implementation of NREGA;
(iii) Crisis Management; 
(iv) Ethics in Governance;
(v) Public Order;
(vi) Local Governance;
(vii) Capacity Building for Conflict Resolution;
(viii) Combatting T errorism;
(ix) Social Capital;
Page 4


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Administration at the State level is the cutting edge of the public administration system 
in the country. Be it the issue of ration or electoral identity cards, procurement of foodgrains, 
implementation of employment guarantee schemes, supply of drinking water, mutation of 
land records, functioning of primary schools and healthcare centres or control of epidemics 
in the countryside, it is the instrumentalities of the State and District administration with 
which citizens have to interact. 
1.2 The institutions of the State and District administration exist primarily to provide these 
services to the citizens. There are laid down rules and procedures for every aspect of the 
government’s functioning and its interaction with the common man but, due to weaknesses 
of the bureaucracy, growing complexities of administration and absence of commitment and 
responsiveness, a wide gap has emerged between “Government” and “Governance” .
1.3 In this background, the terms of reference of the Second Administrative Reforms 
Commission identify the following issues on which the Commission has been asked to make 
specific recommendations.
5. Steps to ensure effective administration at the State level
5.1 T o encourage and promote appropriate changes in State Administration in 
the governance of the States to achieve envisaged outcomes.
5.1.1 Changes required in the State Administration to achieve the objectives.
6. Steps to ensure effective District Administration
6.1 Progressive modernization and transformation of district administration 
in form and content keeping in mind the centrality thereof in regulating, 
facilitating and delivering services at the grass-root levels.
6.2 Bringing about systemic changes to infuse and sustain vibrancy and 
responsiveness.
6.3 Streamlining and fine-tuning a comprehensive and accessible public grievance 
handling and redress mechanism.
6.4 Greater devolution and delegation of functions and resources to the local 
levels.
6.5 Examine the coordinating and leadership role of the District Officer in 
developmental activities and enlisting peoples’ participation therein.
1.4 The Commission has so far submitted fourteen Reports to the government on its different 
terms of reference. Many of the recommendations made in these Reports particularly those 
on Public Order, Local Government, NREGA, Crisis Management, Conflict Resolution and 
Financial Management have a direct bearing on the administration at the State and District 
levels. Besides, the principles enunciated in Reports dealing with “Right to Information” , 
“Citizen Centric Administration” , “e-Governance” and “Social Capital” too are of considerable 
relevance to State Governments as they provide the basic foundation for public services. 
In this Report, the Commission would be dealing with those issues of State and District 
administration, which have not been covered in the earlier Reports.
1.5 The Commission has structured the current Report in the following manner:-
1. Introduction
2. Reorganisation of the State Secretariat and Departments.
a. Role and functions of the Secretariat, Departments and Agencies (Societies, 
Cooperatives, Statutory Bodies and Government Corporations). 
b. Some issues of personnel administration including those relating to 
State Public Service Commission, enactment of Civil Services Law 
and appointment and tenure of senior functionaries in the State 
Government.
c. The future of the office of the Divisional Commissioner and Regional 
Offices of line departments.
d. Vigilance set up in the States.
3. District Administration, the role and composition of line departments and 
parastatals in the districts after empowerment of local governments.
4. Special aspects of the administration of Union T erritories (Delhi, Chandigarh, 
Island UT s and others).
5. Issues pertaining to the administration of the North-Eastern States
6. Managing State Finances
1.6 The Report deals with issues of modernization, increased devolution of functions and 
powers, effective grievance handling system, people’s participation, enhancing responsiveness, 
process simplification and delegation of power. The Report has also taken note of certain 
innovative measures initiated by government on issues of human resource development and 
social service which have resulted in better implementational practices and consequently in 
a marked improvement in the tenor of administration. The communitisation experiment in 
Nagaland and the digitised registration of documents in Bihar are two such examples. The 
Commission believes that with appropriate modification it is possible to replicate such practices 
in other parts of the country as well. 
1.7 The Union T erritories and the North-Eastern States have special features, which call for 
careful study. Generally, except perhaps for Delhi, the administration of the Union T erritories 
has not been studied in detail, as it has been considered as part of the Union Government. In 
the case of the North-Eastern States, the Commission found that knowledge of their special 
features was rather limited in the Ministries; the approach until recently, has been to deal 
with the administrative challenges in more or less the same way as in the rest of the country, 
without taking into account the special features of each of them, as for example, extensive 
powers given to the Autonomous Councils in the Sixth Schedule areas. The Commission, 
therefore, thought it fit to deal with the Union T erritories and North-Eastern States at some 
length in this Report. The suggestions given here are in addition to the recommendations 
made in earlier Reports like the one on “Conflict Resolution” . 
1.8 In order to have a composite view of the issues and challenges being faced by the State 
and District administration across the country, the Commission visited 20 States viz. Andhra 
Pradesh, T amil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & 
Kashmir, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, T ripura, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, W est Bengal, 
Orissa and Chhattisgarh. It also visited 5 Union T erritories viz. Andaman & Nicobar Islands, 
Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Delhi. During these visits, the Commission had 
detailed discussions with the Governors, Chief Ministers, Lt. Governors/ Administrators and 
senior officials of the States/UT s concerned on their programmes, schemes and innovative 
practices. In order to elicit suggestions and perceptions of people on administration, the 
Commission organised public hearings in the States’ capital and also interacted with scholars, 
State and District Administation Introduction
litterateurs, retired officials and the media on common issues of governance and administration. 
The Commission expresses its deep gratitude to all of them for their help, cooperation, and 
valuable suggestions. 
1.9 Though the Report was finalised in April and printed in May 2009, the Commission 
would like to record its appreciation for the contributions made by Dr. M. V eerappa Moily 
in arriving at the conclusions. Before resigning from the position of Chairman, ARC, on 
31st March, 2009, Dr. Moily had played an important role in guiding the deliberations of the 
Commission in finalising this Report.
1.10 In the preparation of this Report, the Commission took support of the Indian Institute 
of Public Administration, Delhi, the Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, HCM 
Rajasthan State Institute of Public Administration, Jaipur, Y ashwantrao Chavan Academy of 
Development Administration, Pune, the Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad, Himachal 
Pradesh Institute of Public Administration, Shimla, State T raining Institute, W est Bengal, 
Assam Administrative Staff College, Guwahati and Asian Development Research Institute, 
Patna. The inputs provided by them were extremely valuable. The Commission thanks them 
for this assistance. The Commission would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Shri 
Lalit Sharma, Consultant, ARC and Shri P.P. Srivastav, Member, North-East Council who 
provided significant and valuable inputs to the the Commission on the administration of the 
Union T erritories and the North-Eastern States.
1.11 The Commission feels that the implementation of the recommendations made in this 
Report in conjunction with the measures suggested in the earlier ones, will bring considerable 
improvement in the functioning at all levels of the State Government.
State and District Administation
2
STATE ADMINISTRATION
2.1 Introduction
2.1.1 Constitutional guarantees and provisions, Union and State laws as well as policies and 
programmes for economic and social development are relevant to the daily lives of the people 
only to the extent they are implemented honestly and efficiently. The Constitution of India 
gives a special role and responsibility to the State Governments for preserving public order and 
ensuring the welfare of citizens. The Seventh Schedule which clearly demarcates the legislative 
and functional domain of the Union and the States, highlights the critical role envisaged for 
State Governments in fulfilling the aspirations set out in the Directive Principles of State 
Policy.
2.1.2 So far the Commission has submitted fourteen Reports, each of them containing 
recommendations to be acted upon by the Union, State, District and Local Governments – by 
one or all of them - as well as by institutions of civil society. The Reports dealt with:-
(i) Right to Information; 
(ii) Implementation of NREGA;
(iii) Crisis Management; 
(iv) Ethics in Governance;
(v) Public Order;
(vi) Local Governance;
(vii) Capacity Building for Conflict Resolution;
(viii) Combatting T errorism;
(ix) Social Capital;
setting-up new projects in many sectors, the States have now got greater freedom to take major 
investment decisions and many of them have utilised these powers to accelerate the pace of 
their development. The Union Government too, has found new roles in social sectors and 
social security after halting major investments in public undertakings. 
2.2.2.2 The major recommendations in the Sixth Report that are of particular relevance to 
State and District administration are:
2.2.2.3 Structural Reforms
•	 A do pt i n g	t he	p r i nci p le	of	s ubsid ia r it y	i n	de v o l u t io n	of	f u nct io n s	t o	lo c a l	b o d ies .
•	 C r ea t io n	 of	 a	 Dis t r ict	 Cou ncil	 h a v i n g	 r e p r ese n t a t io n	 fr o m	 b ot h	 r u r a l	 a nd	 u rb a n	
bodies, as the true third tier of government;
•	 I m m e d i at e 	 t r a n s f e r 	 o f 	 f u n c t i o n s / f u n c t i o n a r i e s 	 t o 	 t h e 	 P R I s 	 a s 	 p e r 	 p r o v i s i o n s 	 o f	
law; 
•	 A u t o no m y	of	P a nch a y a t s	w it h	r e g a r d	t o	t hei r	p e rso n nel ;	
•	 E s t ab l ish i n g	a	lo c a l	b o dy	O mbuds m a n	fo r	a	g r ou p	of	Dis t r ict s ;	
•	 M e rg i n g	D R D A	w it h	t he	Zil a	P a r ish ad ;
•	 S t a t es	not	t o	h a v e	fi n a l	p o w e rs	ov e r	P a nch a y a t s/	M u n ici p a l	b o d ies ;	
•	 C r ea t io n	of	a	se p a r a t e	O mbuds m a n	fo r	a	M et r o p o l it a n	Co rp o r a t io n ;
•	 U rb a n	L o c a l	B o d ies	–	B a sic	S t r uct u r e
o There should be three tiers of administration in urban local governments, except 
in the case of T own Panchayats, where the middle level would not be required. 
The tiers should be:
? Municipal Council/Corporation (by whatever name it is called)
? W ard Committees; and
? Area Committees or Sabhas.
•	 The	 M a yo r	 of	 a	 M u n ici p a l	 Co rp o r a t io n	 shou ld	 b e	 it s	 C h ief	 Ex e cu t iv e	 a nd	 shou ld	
State and District Administation State Administration
(x) Refurbishing of Personnel Administration;
(xi) Promoting e-Governance;
(xii) Citizen Centric Administration
(xiii) Organisational Structure of Government of India
(xiv) Strengthening of Financial Management Systems 
2.2 Relevant Recommendations of the Commission in its Earlier Reports
2.2.1 While contemplating reforms in the State and District Administration, all the above 
Reports of the Commission need to be considered together. For ease of reference, the relevant 
recommendations of the earlier Reports have been recapitulated below. There are some areas 
in which action needs to be taken primarily by the Union Government; in such cases, the 
States’ role would be to provide support and cooperation to the latter in the measures taken to 
implement the recommendations. Whereas, the measures suggested in the Reports on “Public 
Order” , “Local Governance” , “NREGA” , “Crisis Management” and “Conflict Resolution” 
have a direct bearing on the State and District administration; hence appropriate reform 
actions have to be initiated by the State governments themselves. In addition, the principles 
enunciated in other Reports such as those dealing with “Right to Information” , “Citizen 
Centric Administration” , “e-Governance” and “Social Capital” have overarching relevance 
to the State and District administration. 
2.2.2 Local Governance – Empowerment and Strengthening of Local Governments
2.2.2.1 In its Report on “Local Governance” , the Commission notes that in India, the most 
important institutional reform brought about in governance, since the reorganization of 
States, has been the inclusion of local governments – Panchayats and Municipalities – as 
Constitutional entities, through the Constitutional 73rd and 74th amendments in 1992. But, 
there has been a marked reluctance on the part of most States to adequately transfer powers 
and functions, finances and functionaries to put local governments on the path envisaged by 
these Constitutional amendments. As of now, most local governments are over-structured and 
weakly empowered. The Commission believes that India needs a fundamental transformation 
in governance and that empowered citizen-centric and accountable local governments are the 
core around which this transformation will take place. There will be no real ‘loss of power’ 
to the State Governments as feared. With the abolition of permits and licensing needed for 
Page 5


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Administration at the State level is the cutting edge of the public administration system 
in the country. Be it the issue of ration or electoral identity cards, procurement of foodgrains, 
implementation of employment guarantee schemes, supply of drinking water, mutation of 
land records, functioning of primary schools and healthcare centres or control of epidemics 
in the countryside, it is the instrumentalities of the State and District administration with 
which citizens have to interact. 
1.2 The institutions of the State and District administration exist primarily to provide these 
services to the citizens. There are laid down rules and procedures for every aspect of the 
government’s functioning and its interaction with the common man but, due to weaknesses 
of the bureaucracy, growing complexities of administration and absence of commitment and 
responsiveness, a wide gap has emerged between “Government” and “Governance” .
1.3 In this background, the terms of reference of the Second Administrative Reforms 
Commission identify the following issues on which the Commission has been asked to make 
specific recommendations.
5. Steps to ensure effective administration at the State level
5.1 T o encourage and promote appropriate changes in State Administration in 
the governance of the States to achieve envisaged outcomes.
5.1.1 Changes required in the State Administration to achieve the objectives.
6. Steps to ensure effective District Administration
6.1 Progressive modernization and transformation of district administration 
in form and content keeping in mind the centrality thereof in regulating, 
facilitating and delivering services at the grass-root levels.
6.2 Bringing about systemic changes to infuse and sustain vibrancy and 
responsiveness.
6.3 Streamlining and fine-tuning a comprehensive and accessible public grievance 
handling and redress mechanism.
6.4 Greater devolution and delegation of functions and resources to the local 
levels.
6.5 Examine the coordinating and leadership role of the District Officer in 
developmental activities and enlisting peoples’ participation therein.
1.4 The Commission has so far submitted fourteen Reports to the government on its different 
terms of reference. Many of the recommendations made in these Reports particularly those 
on Public Order, Local Government, NREGA, Crisis Management, Conflict Resolution and 
Financial Management have a direct bearing on the administration at the State and District 
levels. Besides, the principles enunciated in Reports dealing with “Right to Information” , 
“Citizen Centric Administration” , “e-Governance” and “Social Capital” too are of considerable 
relevance to State Governments as they provide the basic foundation for public services. 
In this Report, the Commission would be dealing with those issues of State and District 
administration, which have not been covered in the earlier Reports.
1.5 The Commission has structured the current Report in the following manner:-
1. Introduction
2. Reorganisation of the State Secretariat and Departments.
a. Role and functions of the Secretariat, Departments and Agencies (Societies, 
Cooperatives, Statutory Bodies and Government Corporations). 
b. Some issues of personnel administration including those relating to 
State Public Service Commission, enactment of Civil Services Law 
and appointment and tenure of senior functionaries in the State 
Government.
c. The future of the office of the Divisional Commissioner and Regional 
Offices of line departments.
d. Vigilance set up in the States.
3. District Administration, the role and composition of line departments and 
parastatals in the districts after empowerment of local governments.
4. Special aspects of the administration of Union T erritories (Delhi, Chandigarh, 
Island UT s and others).
5. Issues pertaining to the administration of the North-Eastern States
6. Managing State Finances
1.6 The Report deals with issues of modernization, increased devolution of functions and 
powers, effective grievance handling system, people’s participation, enhancing responsiveness, 
process simplification and delegation of power. The Report has also taken note of certain 
innovative measures initiated by government on issues of human resource development and 
social service which have resulted in better implementational practices and consequently in 
a marked improvement in the tenor of administration. The communitisation experiment in 
Nagaland and the digitised registration of documents in Bihar are two such examples. The 
Commission believes that with appropriate modification it is possible to replicate such practices 
in other parts of the country as well. 
1.7 The Union T erritories and the North-Eastern States have special features, which call for 
careful study. Generally, except perhaps for Delhi, the administration of the Union T erritories 
has not been studied in detail, as it has been considered as part of the Union Government. In 
the case of the North-Eastern States, the Commission found that knowledge of their special 
features was rather limited in the Ministries; the approach until recently, has been to deal 
with the administrative challenges in more or less the same way as in the rest of the country, 
without taking into account the special features of each of them, as for example, extensive 
powers given to the Autonomous Councils in the Sixth Schedule areas. The Commission, 
therefore, thought it fit to deal with the Union T erritories and North-Eastern States at some 
length in this Report. The suggestions given here are in addition to the recommendations 
made in earlier Reports like the one on “Conflict Resolution” . 
1.8 In order to have a composite view of the issues and challenges being faced by the State 
and District administration across the country, the Commission visited 20 States viz. Andhra 
Pradesh, T amil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & 
Kashmir, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, T ripura, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, W est Bengal, 
Orissa and Chhattisgarh. It also visited 5 Union T erritories viz. Andaman & Nicobar Islands, 
Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Delhi. During these visits, the Commission had 
detailed discussions with the Governors, Chief Ministers, Lt. Governors/ Administrators and 
senior officials of the States/UT s concerned on their programmes, schemes and innovative 
practices. In order to elicit suggestions and perceptions of people on administration, the 
Commission organised public hearings in the States’ capital and also interacted with scholars, 
State and District Administation Introduction
litterateurs, retired officials and the media on common issues of governance and administration. 
The Commission expresses its deep gratitude to all of them for their help, cooperation, and 
valuable suggestions. 
1.9 Though the Report was finalised in April and printed in May 2009, the Commission 
would like to record its appreciation for the contributions made by Dr. M. V eerappa Moily 
in arriving at the conclusions. Before resigning from the position of Chairman, ARC, on 
31st March, 2009, Dr. Moily had played an important role in guiding the deliberations of the 
Commission in finalising this Report.
1.10 In the preparation of this Report, the Commission took support of the Indian Institute 
of Public Administration, Delhi, the Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, HCM 
Rajasthan State Institute of Public Administration, Jaipur, Y ashwantrao Chavan Academy of 
Development Administration, Pune, the Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad, Himachal 
Pradesh Institute of Public Administration, Shimla, State T raining Institute, W est Bengal, 
Assam Administrative Staff College, Guwahati and Asian Development Research Institute, 
Patna. The inputs provided by them were extremely valuable. The Commission thanks them 
for this assistance. The Commission would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Shri 
Lalit Sharma, Consultant, ARC and Shri P.P. Srivastav, Member, North-East Council who 
provided significant and valuable inputs to the the Commission on the administration of the 
Union T erritories and the North-Eastern States.
1.11 The Commission feels that the implementation of the recommendations made in this 
Report in conjunction with the measures suggested in the earlier ones, will bring considerable 
improvement in the functioning at all levels of the State Government.
State and District Administation
2
STATE ADMINISTRATION
2.1 Introduction
2.1.1 Constitutional guarantees and provisions, Union and State laws as well as policies and 
programmes for economic and social development are relevant to the daily lives of the people 
only to the extent they are implemented honestly and efficiently. The Constitution of India 
gives a special role and responsibility to the State Governments for preserving public order and 
ensuring the welfare of citizens. The Seventh Schedule which clearly demarcates the legislative 
and functional domain of the Union and the States, highlights the critical role envisaged for 
State Governments in fulfilling the aspirations set out in the Directive Principles of State 
Policy.
2.1.2 So far the Commission has submitted fourteen Reports, each of them containing 
recommendations to be acted upon by the Union, State, District and Local Governments – by 
one or all of them - as well as by institutions of civil society. The Reports dealt with:-
(i) Right to Information; 
(ii) Implementation of NREGA;
(iii) Crisis Management; 
(iv) Ethics in Governance;
(v) Public Order;
(vi) Local Governance;
(vii) Capacity Building for Conflict Resolution;
(viii) Combatting T errorism;
(ix) Social Capital;
setting-up new projects in many sectors, the States have now got greater freedom to take major 
investment decisions and many of them have utilised these powers to accelerate the pace of 
their development. The Union Government too, has found new roles in social sectors and 
social security after halting major investments in public undertakings. 
2.2.2.2 The major recommendations in the Sixth Report that are of particular relevance to 
State and District administration are:
2.2.2.3 Structural Reforms
•	 A do pt i n g	t he	p r i nci p le	of	s ubsid ia r it y	i n	de v o l u t io n	of	f u nct io n s	t o	lo c a l	b o d ies .
•	 C r ea t io n	 of	 a	 Dis t r ict	 Cou ncil	 h a v i n g	 r e p r ese n t a t io n	 fr o m	 b ot h	 r u r a l	 a nd	 u rb a n	
bodies, as the true third tier of government;
•	 I m m e d i at e 	 t r a n s f e r 	 o f 	 f u n c t i o n s / f u n c t i o n a r i e s 	 t o 	 t h e 	 P R I s 	 a s 	 p e r 	 p r o v i s i o n s 	 o f	
law; 
•	 A u t o no m y	of	P a nch a y a t s	w it h	r e g a r d	t o	t hei r	p e rso n nel ;	
•	 E s t ab l ish i n g	a	lo c a l	b o dy	O mbuds m a n	fo r	a	g r ou p	of	Dis t r ict s ;	
•	 M e rg i n g	D R D A	w it h	t he	Zil a	P a r ish ad ;
•	 S t a t es	not	t o	h a v e	fi n a l	p o w e rs	ov e r	P a nch a y a t s/	M u n ici p a l	b o d ies ;	
•	 C r ea t io n	of	a	se p a r a t e	O mbuds m a n	fo r	a	M et r o p o l it a n	Co rp o r a t io n ;
•	 U rb a n	L o c a l	B o d ies	–	B a sic	S t r uct u r e
o There should be three tiers of administration in urban local governments, except 
in the case of T own Panchayats, where the middle level would not be required. 
The tiers should be:
? Municipal Council/Corporation (by whatever name it is called)
? W ard Committees; and
? Area Committees or Sabhas.
•	 The	 M a yo r	 of	 a	 M u n ici p a l	 Co rp o r a t io n	 shou ld	 b e	 it s	 C h ief	 Ex e cu t iv e	 a nd	 shou ld	
State and District Administation State Administration
(x) Refurbishing of Personnel Administration;
(xi) Promoting e-Governance;
(xii) Citizen Centric Administration
(xiii) Organisational Structure of Government of India
(xiv) Strengthening of Financial Management Systems 
2.2 Relevant Recommendations of the Commission in its Earlier Reports
2.2.1 While contemplating reforms in the State and District Administration, all the above 
Reports of the Commission need to be considered together. For ease of reference, the relevant 
recommendations of the earlier Reports have been recapitulated below. There are some areas 
in which action needs to be taken primarily by the Union Government; in such cases, the 
States’ role would be to provide support and cooperation to the latter in the measures taken to 
implement the recommendations. Whereas, the measures suggested in the Reports on “Public 
Order” , “Local Governance” , “NREGA” , “Crisis Management” and “Conflict Resolution” 
have a direct bearing on the State and District administration; hence appropriate reform 
actions have to be initiated by the State governments themselves. In addition, the principles 
enunciated in other Reports such as those dealing with “Right to Information” , “Citizen 
Centric Administration” , “e-Governance” and “Social Capital” have overarching relevance 
to the State and District administration. 
2.2.2 Local Governance – Empowerment and Strengthening of Local Governments
2.2.2.1 In its Report on “Local Governance” , the Commission notes that in India, the most 
important institutional reform brought about in governance, since the reorganization of 
States, has been the inclusion of local governments – Panchayats and Municipalities – as 
Constitutional entities, through the Constitutional 73rd and 74th amendments in 1992. But, 
there has been a marked reluctance on the part of most States to adequately transfer powers 
and functions, finances and functionaries to put local governments on the path envisaged by 
these Constitutional amendments. As of now, most local governments are over-structured and 
weakly empowered. The Commission believes that India needs a fundamental transformation 
in governance and that empowered citizen-centric and accountable local governments are the 
core around which this transformation will take place. There will be no real ‘loss of power’ 
to the State Governments as feared. With the abolition of permits and licensing needed for 
be elected directly; 
•	 S p e cia l	 p o w e rs	 a nd	 a u t ho r it ies	 i n	 M et r o p o l it a n	 Co rp o r a t io n s	 (w it h	 a	 p o pu l a t io n	
above five million). 
2.2.2.4 Decentralised Planning 
a.  Constitution of a District Council to be empowered to exercise the powers and 
functions in accordance with Articles 243G and 243W of the Constitution. 
b.  For urban districts where town planning functions are being done by Development 
Authorities, these authorities should become the technical/planning arms of the 
District Planning Committees (DPCs) and ultimately of the District Council.
d.  Guidelines issued by the Planning Commission pertaining to the preparation of 
the Plan and the recommendations of the Expert Group regarding the planning 
process at the district level should be strictly implemented. 
i.  The function of planning for urban areas to be clearly demarcated among the 
local bodies and planning committees. The local bodies should be responsible for 
plans at the layout level. The District Planning Committees/District Councils 
– when constituted – and Metropolitan Planning Committees (MPCs) should 
be responsible for preparation of regional and zonal plans. The level of public 
consultation should be enhanced at each level.
j.  For metropolitan areas, the total area likely to be urbanised (the extended 
metropolitan region) should be assessed by the State Government and a 
Metropolitan Planning Committee constituted for the same which may be 
deemed to be a District Planning Committee for such areas. As such an area will 
usually cover more than one district. District Planning Committees for those 
districts should not be constituted (or their jurisdictions may be limited to the 
rural portion of the revenue district concerned). The Metropolitan Planning 
Committees should be asked to draw up a Master Plan/Composite Development 
Plan for the entire metropolitan area including the peri-urban areas. 
2.2.2.5 Accountability and Transparency
a.  Audit committees may be constituted by the State Governments at the district 
level to exercise oversight regarding the integrity of financial information
b.  There should be a separate Standing Committee of the State Legislature for the 
local Bodies. This Committee may function in the manner of a Public Accounts 
Committee.
c.  A local body Ombudsman needs to be constituted 
d.  A suitable mechanism to evolve a system of benchmarking on the basis of identified 
performance indicators may be adopted by each State. Assistance of independent 
professional evaluators may be availed in this regard.
e.  Evaluation tools for assessing the performance of local bodies should be devised 
wherein citizens should have a say in the evaluation. T ools such as ‘Citizens’ 
Report Cards’ may be introduced to incorporate a feedback mechanism regarding 
performance of the local bodies.
2.2.2.6 Personnel Management in PRIs 
a.  Panchayats should have the power to recruit personnel and to regulate their 
service conditions subject to such laws and standards as laid down by the State 
Government. 
b.  In all States, a detailed review of the staffing pattern and systems, with a zero-based 
approach to PRI staffing, may be undertaken over the next one year in order to 
implement the policy of PRI ownership of staff. 
2.7.2.5 PRIs and the State Government 
a.  The provisions in some State Acts regarding approval of the budget of a Panchayat 
by the higher tier or any other State authority should be abolished. 
b.  State Governments should not have the power to suspend or rescind any resolution 
passed by the PRIs or take action against the elected representatives on the ground 
of abuse of office, corruption etc. or to supersede/ dissolve the Panchayats. In 
all such cases, the powers to investigate and recommend action should lie with 
the local Ombudsman who will send his report through the Lokayukta to the 
Governor. 
c.  For election infringements and other election related complaints, the authority 
to investigate should be the State Election Commission who will send its 
State and District Administation State Administration