Public Administration

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RURAL DEVELOPMENT
“India lives in its villages” ~~~ Mahatma Gandhi”
India is a country of villages with 70% of India's population live in rural areas as per Census of
India's 2011 Provisional Population Totals of Rural-Urban Distribution. And, a large majority
of those villages have very poorsocio - economic conditions. Therefore, one can understand the
importance of developing the rural areas. A slowdown in rural growth /development rate leads
to a slow down the national growth rate as well even if the urban growth remains remains the
same or increases.
The concerted efforts made to Increase the standard of living of the people of the villages is
termed as Rural Development. And it is achieved through collective governmental and
voluntary agencies' efforts in a country
Rural: Is an area where the people are engaged in primary industry in the sense that they
produce things directly for the first time in cooperation with nature. People here live in villages,
farms or isolated homes in remote areas. Agriculture is the main occupation of rural areas,
Institutions & Agencies for Rural Development
Departments Since Independence:
The Ministry of Rural Development in India is the apex body for policy formulation,
regulations and acts pertaining to the development of the rural sector, agriculture, handicrafts,
fisheries, poultry, and dairy are the primary contributors to the rural business and economy
There are two departments under the Ministry:
1. Department of Land Resources
The main objectives of the Department are:
I. To increase productivity of rain shed /degraded land through the process of integrated
watershed management.
II. To support the States/UTs for implementation of National Land Records Modernization
Programme (NLRMP)
III. Bio-diesel Mission
2. Department of Rural Development

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Department of Rural Development in India is a department under the Ministry of Rural
Development in the Central Government of India. The Department facilitates the provision of
several services such as training and research facilities, human resource development, institutes
of Panchayati Raj, and at the same time provides functional assistance to the DRDA and
oversees the execution of projects and schemes.
Department of Rural Development also executes the schemes for wage employment and self-
employment generation and, for providing small irrigation and housing facilities to the rural
poor, provide economic aid to the poor in rural areas, basic minimum services. The department
also develops roads in the rural areas.
Agencies Since Independence:
1. National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development ( Nabard)
NABARD was established on the recommendations of Shivaraman Committee, by an act of
Parliament on 12 July 1982. It replaced the Agricultural Credit Department (ACD) and Rural
Planning and Credit Cell (RPCC) of Reserve Bank of India, and Agricultural Refinance and
Development Corporation (ARDC). It is one of the apex agencies to provide credit in rural
areas. The govt. holds 99% stake in NABARD since RBI sold its share to the GOI.
Objectives of NABARD:
I. NABARD would be the apex body pertaining to the planning of the financial and functional
aspects of promotion for small-scale industries, agriculture, handicrafts, rural crafts, village
industries, cottage industries, and any kind of commercial operations in the rural sector.
II. NABARD would function as a refinancing organization for the credit given by financial
agencies both long term loans and short term loans for promoting various kinds of activities in
the rural sector.
III. NABARD would facilitate the provision of direct loan to different institutions on the
approval of the Central Government of India.
IV. NABARD would have constitutional connections with the apex bank, the Reserve Bank of
India.
2. Haryana State Cooperative Apex Bank Limited:
HARCO BANK is the apex organization for rural development in the state of Haryana and its
purpose is to financially assist the artisans in the rural areas, farmers and the agrarian unskilled

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labour, small and big rural entrepreneurs of Haryana by functioning as an investor since three
decades now. Its reach is across the length and breadth of Haryana through its numerous
branches and associate partners.
Agrarian credits under HARCOBANK:
Loans schemes
Interim finance by the means of cash loans
Cash Credit against mortgage of property
Crop Loan and Kisan Credit Card
3. Regional Rural Banks:
The main goal of establishing regional rural banks in India (1975 via the Narsimhan Committee
report) was to provide credit to the rural people who are not economically strong enough,
especially the small and marginal farmers, artisans, agricultural labors, and even small
entrepreneurs.
4. Various Microfinance Institutions, NGO & Foundations:
Microfinance institutions provide financial assistance to micro-entrepreneurs and small
businesses where there is a lack of banking and related services due to high transaction costs
associated while serving these client categories. They provide these financial services through
relationship - based banking for individual entrepreneurs and small businesses; and group based
models where several entrepreneurs come together to apply for loans and other services as a
group.
Rural Development Programmes
Rural Development Programmes or Bharat Nirman Plan of the GOI comprise of the following:
I. Provision of basic infrastructure facilities in the rural areas like schools, health facilities,
roads, drinking water, electrification, etc.
II. Improving agricultural productivity in the rural areas.
III. Provision of social services like health and education for socio - economic development.
IV. Implementing schemes for the promotion of rural industry increasing agricultural
productivity, providing rural employment, etc.

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V. Assistance to individual families and Self Help Groups living below poverty line by
providing productive resources through credit and subsidy.
Lets discuss them:
Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY): is a rural development project launched in 2014 by
the Government of India in which each Member of Parliament will take the responsibility of
three villages and look after the personal, human, social, environmental and economic
development of the villages. This would substantially improve the standard of living as well as
the quality of life in the villages. No funding have been provided to this project as funding can
be raised through existing scheme
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana: Launched on 25 December 2000 by then Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the scheme aims at enhancing rural road connectivity. This
scheme provides connectivity to the habitations with less or no connectivity at all and helps in
poverty reduction by promoting access to economic and social services. This ensures
sustainable poverty reduction in the long run as people get an opportunity to get connected with
the rest of the world. The scheme has been benefiting several villagers and is helping them to
lead better lives. Nearly 82% of roads have been built till December 2017 which have
successfully connected several rural areas to cities. Earlier, the scheme was funded only by the
central government but after the recommendation of 14th Finance Commission report the
expense is shared by both state and central government.
Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin)/ Indira Awas Yojana: Indira Awas Yojana
revamped as Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana in 2016 is a welfare programme created by
the Indian Government to provide housing to rural poor people in India. The goal of this
scheme is to provide home to all citizens till 2022. The cost of constructing the houses will be
shared by the centre and the state. The scheme has been implemented in rural areas throughout
India, except in Delhi and Chandigarh. Houses developed under this scheme will have basic
amenities such as toilet, electricity connection, drinking water connection, LPG connection etc.
The alloted houses will be jointly under the name of husband and wife.
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA): As per the National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) of 2005, 100 days of employment is guaranteed to any
rural household adult who is willing to do unskilled manual work in a financial year. The Act
addresses the working people and their fundamental right to live life with dignity. If a person
does not get a job within 15 days, he is eligible for getting unemployment allowance. National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) also highlights the importance of basic right to
work. Amendments have been introduced to this act to minimise corruption in the scheme.

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Training Rural Youths for Self-Employment (TRYSEM): This scheme was launched in
1979 to provide technical skills (training) to rural youths (between 18-35 years) living below
the poverty line, to enable them to seek employment in fields of agriculture, industry, services
and business activ-ities.
As in other schemes of poverty alleviation, in this scheme also, youths belonging to SCs and
STs and ex-servicemen, who had passed ninth class, were given priority. One-third seats were
reserved for women. The beneficiaries of this scheme after completion of training were
absorbed in the IRDP scheme.
According to an estimate, up to 1995-96, about two lakh youths were being trained every year,
of whom about 45 per cent became self-employed and 30 per cent got regular employment.
Village Grain Bank Scheme:
I. This scheme was implemented by the department of food and public distribution.
II. Main objective of this scheme is to provide safeguard against the starvation during the period
of natural calamity or during lean season when the marginalized food insecure households do
not have sufficient resources to purchase rations.
III. Under this scheme needy people will be able to borrow food grains from the village grain
bank and return it when they have abundant food.
Aam Aadmi Bima Yojna:
I. It was launched on october2, 2007.
II. It’s a social security scheme for rural households.
III. Under this scheme one member of the family is covered.
IV. The premium of Rs. 200 per person per annum is shared by the state and central
government. V. The insured person need not to pay any premium if his/her age is between the
18 years to 59 years.
Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY): The Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana
(SGRY) was launched in 2001 to provide employment to the poor. It also aimed at providing
food to people in areas who live below the poverty line and improving their nutritional levels.
Sarv Siksha Abhiyan: Pioneered by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Bajpayee, the Sarv
Siksha Abhiyan was launched in 2000. It is an attempt to provide an opportunity to all children

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between 6 and 14 years of age to get free education which is also a basic fundamental right. The
state and the central government share the expenses of this project.
National Social Assistance Programme: signifies the fulfillment of Directive Principles in
Article 41 and 42 of the constitution which states that it is the duty of the state to provide
assistance to the citizens in terms of sickness, unemployment, old age in limits of the economic
capabilities. It is basically a centrally sponsored scheme of Government of India which provides
financial help to widows, elderly, people with disability in form of pensions. The scheme was
launched on August 15 in 1995.
Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY): Launched by the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee in 2000, the Antyodaya Anna Yojana aimed at providing food grains to around 2
crore people at subsidised rates. As per the scheme Below Poverty Line (BPL) families were
provided 35 kgs of food grains. Rice was provided at the rate of Rs 3/kg and wheat at the rate of
Rs 2/kg. The scheme was first launched in Rajasthan but has now been implemented in all
Indian states.

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Investigative Agencies
For any nation security is a top priority, for it to be in top level intelligence plays a vital part.
India has many intelligence agencies that are specified to work in particular areas. The reason
for having one agency for one area is to have a specialized one who can go in depth and gather
information as well as provide security and stop crimes. The Indian agencies were set up in
response to a shortage of information and lack of specialization. Over the years, these agencies
have improved so much and have stopped many untoward incidents which a common man does
not know. Some of the key agencies of India that strive to keep us safe and sound.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI): The Central Bureau of Investigation or the CBI is
India’s primary investigative police agency. It is responsible for maintaining law and order,
ensuring national security and health of the economy. It is under the jurisdiction of the
Government of India. The CBI is headed by an IPS officer known as the Director who has a
rank of the Director General of Police or Commissioner of Police (State). The CBI is
responsible for investigating offenses against the Central Government and its employees. These
offences can be financial or legal in nature. It is also responsible for investigating multi – state
crimes and international cases.
Presently, the following are the part of CBI Constitution, that take care of the different offences
that the CBI currently investigates:
Anti-Corruption Division: This division is responsible for the collection of information which
regards to cases of bribery and corruption, and tasks related to preventive aspects of
corruptions. They investigate cases against public servants under the control of the Central
Government and cases against public servants working under state authorities who come under
the jurisdiction of the CBI.
Special Crimes Division: This division of the CBI investigates cases relating to a wide variety
of crimes and offences like murders, kidnappings, rapes, cheating and so on, which are
committed by organized criminal families and gangs, who pose a major threat to the public
tranquility and safety. CBI also undertakes investigation and prosecution of other IPC offences
as well as offences under local and special laws notified under the DSPE Act.
Economic Offences Division: This part of the CBI was instituted on the 29th of April, 1963. It
deals with various economy-related offences as mentioned in section 3 of the DSPE Act. These
offences include acts like serious frauds in Banks, Stock Exchanges, Joint Stock companies,
Public Limited Companies and so on

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RAW (Research and Analysis Wing): RAW or Research and Analysis Wing is India’s main
Foreign Intelligence Agency. It was established in 1968 following the intelligence failures of
the Sino-Indian and Indo-Pakistani wars, which persuaded the Government of India to create a
specialised, independent agency dedicated to foreign intelligence gathering.
It is responsible for gathering information related to external intelligence and countering
terrorism in all its forms. It plays a very important role in developing and implementing India’s
foreign as well as domestic policies. RAW reports directly to the Prime Minister of the country
and its operations are kept secret from the parliament, media and the public. It aims to keep a
track of all developments in foreign countries that concern India’s national security and foreign
policy. RAW is also responsible for carrying out secret operations to protect India’s national
interests and countering terrorist threats.
IB (Intelligence Bureau): The Intelligence Bureau is India’s Central Internal Intelligence
Agency. It is the oldest intelligence agency in the country, created by the government in 1947 at
the time of independence. It is responsible for countering all forms of terrorism against India
and collecting vital intelligence information from within India. The IB is also responsible for
carrying out activities that would ensure that intelligence agencies from foreign countries
cannot collect information about India’s activities and policies from within India. The IB works
under the ambit of the Ministry of Home Affairs but can report directly to the Prime Minister as
well if the need arises. It operates at both the state and national level and is responsible for
deploying agents across the country to collect intelligence information that is related to India’s
national security, domestic policies and foreign policies.
IB carries out intelligence inside the country and counter insurgency and counter terrorism
strategies are made based upon analysis of information due by IB. IB specialises in covert,
secretive operations and helps the government in formulating foreign policy towards countries
with which India does not seem to have good, friendly relations. The members of Intelligence
bureau were trained initially by the KGB of Russia
Narcotics Control Bureau: The NCB is the primary organisation in India to cut and monitor
the drug business. The NCB is the law enforcement and intelligence agency of India responsible
for fighting drug trafficking and the abuse of illegal substances. It is under the home ministry of
India. The major reason for the formation the bureau was to cut down drug trafficking and
reduce drug abuse in India. The agency was formed at a time when drug crimes were in peak.
The officers in this organisation are drawn from both the IRS and the IPS.
DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence): The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence is an
intelligence agency that focuses on collecting information about illegal activities like smuggling

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of goods, drugs, gold, diamonds, electronic gadgets, foreign currency, counterfeit Indian
currency, etc. and monitoring and investigating matters related to tax evasions. It works under
the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in the Ministry of Finance. The DRI is
headed by a Director General in New Delhi. It is responsible for controlling and directing anti –
smuggling operations all across the country. The objective of the DRI is to curb smuggling of
all types of goods and eradicate tax evasions throughout India. It is concerned with matters
involving customs laws and anti – narcotics laws.
Directorate General of Income Tax (Investigation): The Directorate General of Income Tax
(Investigation) is responsible for investigating matters that are related to the violations of
India’s tax laws. It is responsible for collecting and analyzing intelligence information related to
the evasion of direct taxes and organizing actions to unearth ‘black money’. The Directorate
General of Income Tax (Investigation) is also responsible for keeping a watch on all types of
economic offences and studying new trends of tax evasion. It works under the Ministry of
Finance of India.
Central Forensic Science Laboratory: The Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) is a
wing of the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, which fulfils the forensic requirements in the
country. It houses the only DNA repository in South and Southeast Asia.
There are few central forensic laboratories in India, at Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Rajkot,
Chandigarh, Pune and New Delhi. CFSL Hyderabad is centre of excellence in chemical
sciences, CFSL Kolkata in biological sciences and CFSL Chandigarh in physical sciences.
These laboratories are under the control of the Directorate of Forensic Science (DFS) of the
Ministry of Home Affairs. The laboratory in New Delhi is under the control of the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and investigates cases on its behalf.
National Human Rights Commission
The most important development in India is the creation of the National Human Rights
Commission
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India is an autonomous public body,
responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights, defined by the Act as "rights
relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or
embodied in the International Covenants". It was constituted on 12 October 1993 under “The

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Protection of Human Rights Ordinance” of 28 September 1993. It was given a statutory basis by
the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993
The term Human Rights is a very dynamic and broad term; It includes natural rights,
fundamental rights etc. In short, all the rights that an individual needs to live a sustainable and
respectable life are known as Human Rights. These rights are universal in nature and are
inherent to an individual.
Composition:
The members of the NHRC are as follows:
1. The Chairperson is a retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
2. One member is either a working or a retired judge of the Supreme Court.
3. One member is either a working or a retired Chief Justice or a judge of a High Court.
4. Two persons having knowledge or practical experience in matters relating to Human Rights.
In addition, the Chairpersons of four National Commissions of ( 1.Minorities 2.SC 3.ST
4.Women) serve as ex officio members.
Tenure:
The Chairperson and the members of the NHRC have tenure of five years. But if any member
attains the age of 70 years before the completion of his tenure, he or she has to retire from the
membership.
Removal:
The Chairperson or any other member of this commission can be removed by the President
even before the expiry of their full term. They can be removed only on the charge of proved
misbehavior or incapacity or both, if it is proved by an inquiry conducted by a judge of the
Supreme Court.
Powers and Functions:
The NHRC has the following functions:
1. To investigate complaints regarding the violation of human rights.
2. To intervene in any judicial proceedings involving any allegation of violation of human
rights.

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3. To visit any jail or any other institution under the control of the State Government to see the
living conditions of the inmates and to make recommendations thereon.
4. To study treaties and other international instruments on human rights and to make
recommendations for their effective implementation.
5. To undertake and promote research in the field of human rights.
6. To encourage the efforts of the non-governmental organisations working in the field of
human rights.
7. To spread human rights literacy among various sections of society and to promote awareness
of the safeguards available for the protection of these rights through publications, the media,
seminars and other means.
8. Submit to the Minister any opinion, recommendation, proposal or report on any matter
concerning the promotion and protection of human rights,
9. Inform the Minister of situations of violation of human rights and advise on ways in which
such situations can be ended.
While making an inquiry into the complaints submitted to it, the commission enjoys the powers
of a civil court. It can recommend to both the central and state governments to take appropriate
steps to prevent the violation of Human Rights. It submits its annual report to the President of
India who causes it to be laid before each House of Parliament.
It usually sends a copy of the inquiry report to the petitioner and also to the concerned
government. The government may be asked to inform it about the action taken or proposed to
be taken on the concerned complaints.
The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, empowered the State Governments to set up their
own commission for such a purpose. The chairman and the members of such State Commission
are appointed by the Governor in consultation with the Chief Minister, Home Minister, Speaker
and Leader of the Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly.
Major Human Rights issues in India
Nobody can deny the humongous magnitude of human right violations taking place in our
country. The world’s largest democracy is plagued by widespread violations. I have listed a
few major issues which are taken up by NHRC.

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Custodial Torture
Right to Work and Labour Rights
Extrajudicial Killings
Arbitrary Arrest and Detention
Excessive Powers of the Armed Forces and the Police
Sexual Violence
Conflict Induced Internal Displacement
Child Labour
Violence and discrimination against Women, Children
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Rights
Problems faced by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Religious Minorities, Persons with
Disabilities
Role of NHRC in safeguarding human rights
Since its formation, the NHRC has widely dealt with issues relating to application of human
rights. NHRC has established its reputation for independence and integrity. There is ever-
increasing number of complaints addressed to the Commission seeking redressal of grievances.
The NHRC has pursued its mandate and priorities with determination and considerable success.
Some of the famous interventions of NHRC include campaigns against discrimination of HIV
patients. It also has asked all State Governments to report the cases of custodial deaths or rapes
within 24 hours of occur-rence failing which it would be assumed that there was an attempt to
suppress the incident. An important intervention of the Commission was related to Nithari
Village in Noida, UP, where children were sexually abused and murdered. Recenlty, NHRC
helped bring out in open a multi crore pension scam in Haryana. It also is looking up the
sterilization tragedy of Chattisgarh.
In spite of many achievements, the NHRC has been marred with controversies. For instance, the
Batla House encounter case in the recent past. The Commission’s report giving clean chit to the
Delhi Police came under fire from various quarters. It was said that the Commission had failed
to conduct a proper inquiry as its officials never visited the site and filed a report on the basis on
the police version.

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Limitations of the Commission
NHRC can only make recommendations, without the power to enforce decisions.
Under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, human rights commissions cannot investigate
an event if the complaint was made more than one year after the incident. Therefore, a large
number of genuine grievances go unaddressed.
Administrative Challenges in India
India is country with lot diversity. It is believed that if you travel every 100 km the language
style will change, if you travel every 500km there is a change in the way people live, if you
travel every 200 km there is change in food habits, there are around 1000 languages and equal
number religions and so wide is the people's thought.
Administration becomes easier if there is some sort of uniformity. In India, if there is any
uniformity it is only in diversity i.e diversification is spread uniformly. In other words to put it
simply we see diversity everywhere. And Administration becomes really challenging in this
diversified environment. More over diversity is in huge chunk i.e. population!! .Only Sheer size
of this population really becomes a monster for administrator. So in these scenarios how to
administer is a big question.
Let us see the some aspects that an administrator has to take care -
1) Region and religion: India is geographically so vast that there are very few places where
there is no problem. From region to region living style of people change and also religion. For
region one policy is applicable and for other region you need to come up with something else.
And since there are numerous religion people in the same region also calls for policy
diversification. So to evolve a solution to the problem becomes secondary in most of the cases
but to look for a solution which satisfies all the people (because of political gains in some cases)
or a majority of the people who are in that particular region becomes important because
majority gives the VOTE.
2) Nepotism: Nepotism means special favor to some special people. It is another curse of our
politics and administration. The rulers give privilege and unfair advantage to their family
members, kiths and kens on public resources, that is why mass people are deprived from these
opportunities.

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3) People's ignorance: Partly illiteracy is contributing to this. Most of the citizen's don’t know
what are the benefits that they are entitled to from the government. They are not aware of their
rights and becoming scapegoats of this ghost called corruption at every step.
4) Population: With having 1/6 the of the world's population and the available resources are not
utilized so as to be beneficial to most and this miss-management of resources coupled with
scarcity of resources would throw a catastrophe. So it is becoming increasingly difficult for the
administration to provide even the basic needs for the people.
5) Politicians: Though our most politicians themselves are ignorant and illiterate (and in worst
cases criminals too) they have a bright mind in playing provocative and populist politics.
Provocative in the sense regional and religious provocation, populist in the sense - coming up
with plans for shorter gains without thinking of future implications. And most of the times
politicians will spend time in correcting / modifying or completely scraping what has been done
in the previous regime without actually doing impact analysis. What I mean here is - if
accidently some party comes up with a novel plan with real concern for people, the next regime
will change those plans because of political gains.
6) Poverty: Poverty is one of the main reasons why people tend to look for short term gain. And
this is the reason why people can be manipulated either during a implementation of a plan or
during an election. Because of this it will be very difficult to convince the people of larger and
future implications of the shorter gains. Poverty can also cause law and order problem. Imagine
a person whose family is dying of starvation and didnt have anything to eat for days together,
and a person approaches him and offers a hundred rupee note to pelt a stone at a vehicle then
do you think he will listen or think about the morality.
7) Poor decision making and planning: In every institution, there is a lack of proper planning
and decision making process. That is why some development works cannot implement properly
and people suffer for water, electricity, gas etc. But no effective measures are yet to be taken by
the administrators.
8) Corruption culture: Corruption is very common in every office as like culture; it is due to
lack of uniform system of recruitment system, qualification, pay and classification, opportunity
for advancement, satisfactory office environment, satisfactory retirement provisions. A
Transparency International survey found that the police sector is the most corrupt: 97% of
households completely or generally agree that it is just about impossible to get help from the
police without influence or bribe. 33% households had to pay bribe for getting an electricity
connection

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9) Improper use of resources: There is a common tendency of administrator to neglect the
monetary system and other properties in India. The fund flow is not timely and smooth to the
local government. That is why this fund is not utilized properly and very often diverted to other
purposes. So, the general people cannot get benefit from it.
10) Media, not so media. Media is a powerful medium to present information and its analysis
for the people to reason. But it's not the case as they are backed by some politicians that they
have to support them. Now it’s just the views of the media which we see. No two channels
show the same news. No story is complete
Disaster Management
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines Disaster as "any occurrence that causes
damage, ecological disruption, loss of human life, deterioration of health and health services, on
a scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected community or
area."
A disaster can be defined as an occurrence either nature or manmade that causes human
suffering and creates human needs that victim cannot alleviate without assistance.
- (American Red Cross)
A disaster is any tragic event arising from events such as earthquakes, floods, catastrophic
accidents, fires, or explosions. It is a phenomenon that disasters can cause damage to life,
property and destroy the economic, social and cultural life of people.
Disaster is any occurrence that causes widespread distress and destruction. The definition of
disaster management isn’t about stopping such an event when it occurs. Rather, it is about
reducing the impact of these events on a community. When you don’t create a plan to deal with
disasters, you could end up having to deal with lost revenue and massive human casualties.
Disaster management covers a whole range of events, including public disorder, terrorism,
natural disasters and artificial disasters like electrical fires and industrial sabotage
Disaster management is used to cover all the aspects involved in planning for and responding to
disasters. This includes the measures taken before the event happens and those taken after the
event happens. Disaster management isn’t just about responding to the event and providing
relief to the sufferers. It is also about reducing the total negative impact of the event and
preventing its reoccurrence or consequences in the future.

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Disaster management means that all such measures should be taken so that hazard cannot take
the form of disaster. Since, we cannot prevent the coming of many natural hazards but can
reduce their harmful effects by proper management in order to minimize the loss of life and
asset
Disasters are the consequences of natural or human hazards. In fact, the current danger is not as
much from the natural disasters as we have from man-made disasters. For example - Urban
flood due to unsustainable urbanization, Drought due to poor water management, rapid
infrastructural development and overpopulation settlement in ecologically sensitive areas like
Himalaya region lead to the problem of earthquake and landslides.
Disaster management broadly encompasses the management before, during and after disaster.
1-pre disaster management: Pre-disaster management is related to rescue even before any
possible disaster arises. The main purpose of this is to mitigate human loss .It includes
development of information technology system; assessment of disaster and issuance of warning
and to the people through media, radio etc.; transporting the people in a safe place; mobilization
of resource for necessary action in case of disaster occurrence etc.
2-Management during Disasters: The success of this phase depends on the level of pre disaster
management phase. This is based on the process of quick action and the help of the victims of
the disaster prone areas, transporting them in safe areas. In this, food, clothing and health
facilities are also provided to the people.
3-post disaster management: Under this phase, reconstruction and redevelopment of affected
areas is done .Also, the affected people are given employment or compensation.
Types of disasters
Disasters are broadly divided into two types: 1) Natural 2) Man made disasters
Natural disasters
Natural disasters occur as the result of action of the natural forces and tend to be accepted as
unfortunate, but inevitable. They include:
Famines Droughts Tornadoes,
Hurricanes, Floods / Sea Surges / Tsunamis Volcanoes
Snow storms,Earthquakes,

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Manmade disasters:
Explosions, Fires,
Release of toxic chemicals or radioactive materials (industrial accidents),
Dam failures Nuclear reactor accidents
Hazard -
Any phenomenon that has the potential to cause disruption or damage to people and their
environment.
“A hazard is natural event while the disaster is its consequence. A hazard is perceived natural
event which threatens both life and property……
A disaster is a realization of this hazard.” -John Whittow
When hazard involves elements of risks, vulnerabilities and capacities, they can turn into
Disasters.
Hazards may be inevitable but disasters can be prevented.
Classification of Disasters
Disasters are classified as per origin, into natural and man-made disasters. As per severity,
disasters are classified as minor or major (in impact). However, such classifications are more
academic than real as major disasters could simply be events that received relatively more
media coverage. High Powered Committee (HPC) was constituted in August 1999 under the
chairmanship of J.C.Pant. The mandate of the HPC was to prepare comprehensive model plans
for disaster management at the national, state and district levels. This was the first attempt in
India towards a systematic comprehensive and holistic look at all disasters. Thirty odd disasters
have been identified by the HPC, which were grouped into the following five categories, based
on generic considerations:
1) Water and Climate
Floods Cyclones Tornadoes and hurricanes (cyclones)
Hailstorms Cloudburst Heat wave and cold wave
Snow avalanches Droughts
Sea erosion Thunder/ lightning

18
2) Geological
Landslides and mudflows Earthquakes Large fires
Dam failures and dam bursts Mine fires
3) Biological
Epidemics Pest attacks Cattle epidemics
Food poisoning
4) Chemical, industrial and nuclear
Chemical and Industrial disasters Nuclear
5) Accidental
Forest fires urban fires Mine flooding
Oil spill Major building collapse Serial bomb blasts
Festival related disasters Electrical disasters and fires Village fire
Air, road, and rail accidents Boat capsizing
Depending on the type of disaster, a nodal ministry has been assigned the task of coordinating
all activities of the state and district administration and the other support departments/ministry.
The following table below vividly gives the information:
Air Accidents -> Ministry of Civil Aviation
Railway Accidents -> Ministry of Railways
Chemical Disasters -> Ministry of Environment
Biological Disaster -> Ministry of Health
Nuclear Accident -> Department of Atomic Energy

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Phases Of Disaster Management
Disaster (Emergency) management is a comprehensive approach dealing with all 5 phases of
disasters:
1. The Prevention of the Disaster: This is the phase where the human hazard of the disaster is
prevented. It is typically used when you are dealing with terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
You will take preventive measures which are well designed to provide the people with some
kind of permanent protection from the disaster in question. You should note that you can’t
prevent all kinds of disasters, especially natural disasters. However, you can and should
mitigate the risk of anyone losing his life or suffering a major injury by planning for evacuation,
planning for the environment and implementing proper design standards.
It can involve such actions as:
Laws and regulations restricting deforestation to prevent mudslides
Relocating or elevating structures to minimize the effects of floods
Securing shelves and hot water heaters to walls in earthquake zones
Developing, adopting and enforcing building codes and standards
Engineering roads and bridges to withstand earthquakes
Using fire-retardant materials in new construction to reduce the risk of fire
2. The Mitigation of the Disaster: This can be used for a variety of disaster types. Consider
electrical disasters, for example. You could audit the power quality regularly and undertake
maintenance processes that prevent any obvious but avoidable disaster from occurring. That
way, you could prevent electrical fires or at least reduce the risk of them occurring. More than
85 percent of fires are actually caused by electrical malfunctions that could have been prevented
by taking the right measures.
When you live an area prone to earthquakes, you could undertake some preventive measures,
such as installing an earthquake valve that will shut off the supply of natural gas to a building in
order to prevent a fire. You could also install seismic retrofits in houses and fit them with robust
security systems. This may include mounting to the walls items such as water heaters,
refrigerators, furniture and anything that is breakable. You can also add latches to the cabinets.
If you live in an area that is prone to flooding, you might choose to build your house on stilts.

20
These mitigation measures can go a long way in reducing the negative impacts of disasters. It is
best to be proactive long before the disaster hits.
3. Preparedness: Preparedness takes the form for creation of plans or procedures designed to
minimize physical and property damage when an event occurs. These activities ensure that
when a disaster strikes, disaster (emergency) managers will be able to provide the best response
possible.
The essential elements include:
Planning
Training personnel
Table top disaster drills
4. Response to the Disaster: This phase is an elaborate version of search and rescue and
focuses on handling the humanitarian needs that must be fulfilled post-event. It is all about the
actions undertaken during the disaster and afterwards in order to reduce the negative impact of
the disaster and to provide people with support and relief. It involves providing people with
rescue, medical aid, shelter, water and food, among other things. It is often a coordinated
process and involves supporting the affected population by helping them to reconstruct their
physical structures and infrastructure and to help them restore their physical, economic, social
and emotional well-being. It also involves rebuilding their businesses and providing them with
counseling.
5. Recovering from the Disaster: This phase begins immediately after the disaster has
subsided or when there is no longer an immediate threat to human life. The goal of this phase is
to restore the normalcy that had prevailed in the population prior to the disaster in the quickest
and most durable fashion.
It consists of things like Repairing Buildings,
Financial assistance to individuals and governments,
Rebuilding of roads and bridges
Recovery differs from the response phase in its focus; recovery efforts are concerned with
issues and decisions that must be made after immediate needs are addressed. Recovery efforts
are primarily concerned with actions that involve rebuilding destroyed property, re-
employment, and the repair of other essential infrastructure.

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Administrative Reforms
Reform - The word ' Reform ' means to make something better, to improve something or to
remove the faults of something especially by changing its behaviour or structure.
Reform is an inherited feature of govt. Because of constant growth in our society, there is also
need to reform the various aspects of society like
i) Political ii) Legal iii) Institutional
iv) Technical v) Personnel vi) Financial
viii) Social ix) Psychological, etc.
Administrative reforms can, in short, be defined as artificial inducement of administrative
transformation against resistance. This definition highlights three distinct elements, namely:
 Administrative reform is artificially stimulated
 It is a transformatory process; and
 There is existence of resistance to change process.
Obviously, reforms do not take place by themselves. They are pre-meditated, well studied and
planned programmes with definite objectives in view. Reform is an induced and manipulated
change, for it involves persuasion, collaboration and generation of conviction for betterment.
Reform is more than a series of incremental changes or marginal adjustments, though it may
result from the cumulating of small changes, which periodically creates requirement for
comprehensive and systematic efforts. Administrative reform paves the way for new order. It
refers to the formal, mechanistic and meditated process of structured change.
Types Of Administrative Reforms
Administrative reforms, according to Gerald E. Caiden,.can be of four types.
 Reforms imposed through political changes.
 Reforms introduced to remedy organisational rigidity.
 Reforms through the legal system, and
 Reforms through changes in attitude.

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Major Concerns Driving Administrative Reforms:
i) Efficiency and Economy
ii) Specialisation
iii) Effective cooperation and coordination
iv) Administration and Development of Personnel
v) Accountability
vi) Corruption
When India became independent in 1947, it faced problems of partition, refugees, migration,
retirement of a great number of administrative personnel, problem of integration of the princely
States, etc.
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMSIN INDIA SINCE INDEPENDENCE
The Context for Reforms
When India became independent in 1947, it faced problems of partition, refugees, migration,
retirement of a great number of administrative personnel, problem of integration of the princely
States, etc. The new government adopted the ideology of welfare of the people through socio-
economic development, which led to a greater proliferation of tasks and functions.
To take up the welfare programmes and challenges, the administrative machinery, which was
inherited from the colonial regime and rendered weak by erosive circumstances and stressful
situations accompanying Independence, had to be revamped and reinforced. Administration, as
the instrument for designing and implementing all the developmental programmes had to be
restructured, reformed and renewed.
Various measures were taken up by the GO1 in administrative reforms. We will discuss these
measures now.
Secretariat Re-organisation Committee, 1947
The Government of India set up the Secretariat Re-organisation Committee in 1947, which was
headed by Girija Shankar Bajpai. The Committee enquired into the matters of personnel
shortages, better utilization of the available manpower and improvement of methods of work in
the Central Secretariat.

23
Shri N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar Report, 1950
Shri N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar conducted a comprehensive review of the working of the
machinery of the Central Government, which was presented in his report on 'Reorganisation of
the Machinery of Central Government'.
A.D. Gorwala Committe, 1951
In July 1951, a Committee headed by Shri .A.D.Gorwala in its Report on Public Administration
underlined the need for having a clean, efficient and impartial administration.
Balwant Rai Mehta Committee:
In January 1957, the Government of India appointed a committee to examine the working of the
Community Development Programme (1952) and the National Extension Service (1953) and to
suggest measures for their better working.
The committee submitted its report in November 1957 and recommended the establishment of
the scheme of ‘democratic decentralization’, which ultimately came to be known as Panchayati
Raj.
Committee on Prevention of Corruption, 1962
The Committee was set up under the chairmanship of K Santhanam to study the causes of
corruption, to review the existing set up for checking corruption and to suggest measures for
improvement. The Committee stressed on the need for streamlining the procedures relating to
prevention of corruption and recommended the setting up of Central Vigilance
Commission(CVC).
Kothari Committee, 1976
The Committee on recruitment and selection methods under the chairmanship of Shri Kothari
was set up in 1976 by the UPSC, to examine and report on the system of recruitement to All
India Services and Central Group A and B Services. The committee in its report recommended
for single examination for the AIS and Central Group A non-technical services.
Ashok Mehta Committee:
In December 1977, the Janata Government appointed a committee on panchayati raj institutions
under the chairmanship of Ashok Mehta. It submitted its report in August 1978 and made 132
recommendations to revive and strengthen the declining panchayati raj system in the country.

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Group of Interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir:
The Group of Interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir was appointed by the Central Government
in October 2010 under the Chairmanship of the eminent journalist Dileep Padgaonkar. It was
tasked to hold-wide – ranging discussions with all sections of opinion in Jammu and Kashmir in
order to identify the political contours of a solution to the problems of the state
National Police Commission, 1977
The Commission was set up under the chairmanship of Shri Dharam Vira to examine the role
and functions of police with special reference to control of crime and maintenance of public
order, the method of magisterial supervision, the system of investigation and prosecution and
maintenance of crime records. The Commission made over five hundred recommendations
extending to a wide area of interest relating to police administration.
Economic Reforms Commission, 1981
The Commission was set up with L K Jha as the chairman. The main functions assigned to the
Commission related to the study of the important areas of economic administration with a view
to suggest reforms. The Commission submitted a number of reports to the Government of India,
which advocated the rationalization and modification of the economic administrative system to
pave way for a new economic order.
Commission on Centre-State Relations, 1983
Mr. R S Sarkaria, was the chairman of this Commission. Its term of reference was to examine
and review the working of the existing arrangements between the union and states with regard
to powers, functions and responsibilities in a11 spheres and make recommendations as to the
changes and measures needed.
National Commission Review the Working of the Indian Constitution, 2000-03, under the
Chairmanship of Chief Justice (Retd.) Venkatacheliah, was set up to examine the working of
the Indian Constitution.
Fifth & Sixth Pay Commission:
The Fifth and Sixth Pay Commissions brought in a lot of reforms as well for sustaining the
integrity and honesty of public administrators through enhanced pays that were implemented.

25
Expenditure Reforms Commission
Expenditure Reforms Commission - that emphasized on a drastic downsizing of the government
staff strength for securing modern and professional governance and also reducing the increasing
salary bill of the Government of India.
Local Self Government
Local Government or Local Self-Government is the Government of a locality. It is not the area
of the State Government. It is an autonomous unit like the State or Central Government. It is the
local will, not the will of the Centre or State, which is reflected through the Local Government.
National Government is for the whole nation; hence it is big Government. By contrast, Local
Government looks after the 'local' functions like water supply, local streets, garbage collection
and disposal and similar other local heeds. It is small but important Government for a local area,
which can be a town or a group of villages.
Local Self-Government has three important features:
a) It is elected by the people of the local area;
b) It has the power to levy taxes and other fees, like any other Government; and
c) Its functions and activities are clearly laid down in law so that within the scheme of
legislation Local Self-Government enjoys a degree of autonomy.
Forms of Local Self-Government
There are two common forms of Local Self-Government that is Urban Local Self- Government
and Rural Local Self-Government. We have Panchayati Raj Institution in the rural areas. In the
urban areas - in the cities and towns -there are Municipal Corporations and Municipalities.
According to the 74th Constitutional Amendment the Urban- Local Self-Government has been
classified into three types, that is,Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council and Municipal
Committee.

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Panchayati Raj
Panchayati Raj is a system of rural local self-government in India It has been established in all
the states of India by the acts of the state legislature to build democracy at the grass root level. It
is entrusted with rural development and was constitutionalized through the 73rd Constitutional
Amendment Act of 1992.
Panchayati Raj is the system of local self government for villages. Because Panchayats are an
effective vehicle for people’s participation in administration, planning and democratic process,
Rural India has seen such Panchayats for ages. The new Panchayats are an improvement over
the old ones in uniformity, institutional structure and states support. The present day Panchayati
Raj system was introduced in 1959 on the recommendations of the Balwant Rai Mehta
Committee. The committee had been set up in 1956 primarily to suggest measures for
improvement in the working of the Community Development Programme and the National
Extension Service which were being implemented at that time. It recommended a three-tier
Panchayati Raj system for proper implementation of the Community Development Council and
the Union Government accepted the recommendations of the committee but gave the
responsibility of implementing them to the states Governments. For one reason or the other, the
implementation was slow and unsatisfactory.
Evolution of Panchayati Raj in India
Panchayati Raj was not a new concept to India. Indian villages had Panchayats (council of five
persons) from very ancient time, which were having both executive and judicial powers and
used to handle various issues (land distribution, tax collection etc.) or disputes arising in the
village area.
Gandhi also held the opinion of empowerment of Panchayats for the development of rural areas.
Thus, recognizing their importance our Constitution makers included a provision for Panchayats
in part IV of our constitution (directive principles of state policy).
Art. 40 confers the responsibility upon State to take steps to organize Village Panchayats and
endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as
units of self-government. But it does not give guidelines for organizing village panchayats.
Thus, its formal organisation and structure was firstly recommended by Balwant Rai committee,
1957 (Committee to examine the Community Development Programme, 1952).

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The Committee, in its report in November 1957, recommended the establishment of the scheme
of ‘democratic decentralization’, which ultimately came to be known as Panchayati Raj. It
recommended for a three tier system at village, block and district level and it also recommended
for direct election of village level panchayat. Rajasthan was the first state to establish
Panchayati Raj at it started from Nagaur district on October 2, 1959.
After this, Ashok Mehta Committee on Panchayati Raj was appointed in December 1977 and in
August 1978 submitted its report with various recommendations to revive and strengthen the
declining Panchayati Raj system in the country.
Its major recommendation were two tier system of panchayat, regular social audit,
representation of political parties at all level of panchayat elections, provisions for regular
election, reservation to SCs/STs in panchayats and a minister for panchayati raj in state council
of ministers.
Further, G V K Rao Committee appointed in 1985 again recommended some measures to
strengthen Panchayati Raj institutions.
LM Singhvi Committee appointed in 1986 first time recommended for the constitutional status
of Panchayati Raj institutions and it also suggested for constitutional provisions to ensure
regular, free and fair elections to the Panchayati Raj Bodies.
In response to the recommendations of LM Singhvi committee, a bill was introduced in the Lok
Sabha by Rajiv Gandhi’s government in July 1989 to constitutionalize Panchayati Raj
Institutions, but the bill was not passed in Rajya Sabha.
The V P Singh government also brought a bill, but fall of the government resulted in lapse of
the bill.
After this P V Narashima Rao’s government introduced a bill for this purpose in Lok Sabha in
September, 1991 and the bill finally emerged as the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992
and came into force on 24th April, 1993.
The Panchayati Raj system has many benefits. These can be summarized as under:
1. Panchayats can best carry out the uplift programmes, such as mending roads, embank the
fields, building bunds, digging drains, provide fresh drinking water, etc.

28
2. They can also serve as the schools of social service, health care, popular education and social
progress.
3. Panchayats are best fitted to be representative and spokesperson of the villa
73rd Amendment Act 1992
The 73rd Amendment to the Constitution enacted in 1992 added a new part-IX to the
Constitution. It also added a new XI schedule containing list of 29 functional items for
Panchyats and made statutory provisions for the establishment, empowerment and functioning
of Panchayati Raj institutions. Some provisions of this amendment are binding on the States,
while others have been left to be decided by respective State Legislatures at their discretion.
The salient features of this amendment are as follows:
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act was passed in 1992 but became effective from 20th
April, 1993 after being published in the Gazette of India. This was included as Part IX of the
Constitution of India. The rights and duties of the Panchayats have been included in schedule
XI of the Constitution.
The act has given a practical shape to Article 40 of the Constitution which says that, ‘The State
shall take steps to organize village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority
as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government’. This article forms
a part of the Directive Principles of State Policy. The act gives a constitutional status to the
panchayati raj institutions. It has brought them under the purview of the justiciable part of the
Constitution.
The act is a significant landmark in the evolution of grass root democratic institutions in the
country. It transfers the representative democracy into participatory democracy. It is a
revolutionary concept to build democracy at the grass root level in the country.
Majors Features of The Act
 Three Leveled Systems: The Legislature of a state may, by law, make provisions for three
leveled system of panchayat at village level, intermediate level and district level.
 The tenure of Panchayati Raj institutions is five years, if dissolved earlier, fresh elections
to be held within six months; and
 Reservation of Seats: Some seats in the Panchayat shall be reserved for the Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Women. The number of reserved seats for Schedules
Castes and Scheduled Tribes will be proportionate to the ratio of population of SCs and

29
STs to total population of the Panchayat area. One third of the total seat will be reserved
for women. It will include the reserved seats for SCs and STs.
 Minimum age for contesting elections to the Panchayati Raj institutions is twenty one
years.
 The post of Chairman at the District and Block levels should be filled by indirect
election.
 Responsibility: Panchayats have two main responsibilities:
1. To plan for economic development and social justice.
2. To implement these plans.
 Powers and Authorities: According to the Constitution, Panchayats shall be given
powers and authority to function as institutions of self-government.
The following powers and responsibilities are to be delegated to Panchayats at the
appropriate level:
1. Preparation of Plan for economic development and social justice.
2. Implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice in
relation to 29 subjects given in Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution
3. To levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees.
 It may also provide the Panchayat for making grants-in-aid to form the
Consolidated Fund of the State. These funds can be used for implementing the
plans.
Three-tier / Structure of PanchayatiRaj
The structure of Panchayati Raj (PR) varies from state to state. Some states have three-tier
structure (Gram Panchayat at the village level, Panchayat Samiti at block level and Zilla
Parishad at district level), whereas some have two-tier structure (Gram Panchayat at village
level and Panchayat Samiti at block level). A few states have only single-tier structure at the
village level.
In Rajasthan, the Panchayati Raj model is of three levels, viz., Gram Panchayats (village level),
Panchayat Samitis (block level) and Zilla Parishads (district level). The chairperson of Gram
Panchayat is known as Sarpanch, of Panchayat Samiti, Pradhan and of Zilla Parishad, Zilla
Pramukh. Their nomenclature, composition and tenure vary from state to state. The structure

30
and functions of the PRIs in terms of Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad are
spelt out as under:
The Panchayati Raj system, as established in accordance with the 73rd Amendment, is a three-
tier structure based on direct elections at all the three tiers: village, intermediate and district.
Exemption from the intermediate tier is given to the small States having less than 20 lakhs
population. It means that they have freedom not to have the middle level of panchayat.
There is provision regarding reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes.
However it should also be noted here that one-third of total seats are reserved for women, and
one-third for women out of the Quota fixed for Scheduled Castes/Tribes.
Gram Panchayat:
Gram Panchayat is the base or bottom tier of the PR system. It is the first executive tier having
jurisdiction over a village or group of villages. The members of the Gram Panchayat are 1.
Panchas and 2. Sarpanch (chairman) and they are directly elected.
Their number in each panchayat varies from 5 to 31 according to population of the concerned
village (s). In addition to the elected Panchas and Sarpanch, there is a provision for co-option of
two ladies, and one SC and ST member each, if they have not been elected as Panchas.
The main functions of the Gram Panchayat are:
I. Preparation of annual plans for the development of the village Panchayat;
II. Removal of encroachment on public properties;
III. Mobilizing relief in natural calamities
IV. Maintenance of statistics of village
V. Maintenance of peace and harmony in the panchayat circle.
Panchayat Samiti:
It is the middle tier of the PR system—between Gram Panchayat and Zilla Parishad. This tier
was coexists with the tehsil or taluka. This is composed of Sarpanchas (ex-officio members) of
all the Gram Panchayats within a block along with MLA of the area (without right of vote). In
addition to these ex-officio members, there are some co-opted members—two women, one SC
and ST representatives each, if they have not already been elected as primary members.

31
The chairperson of the Panchayat Samiti is called Pradhan. He is elected by the members of the
Panchayat Samiti amongst themselves.
The main functions of the Panchayat Samiti are:
(i) Agriculture—formulation of plans of development of agriculture, tree plantation and soil
conservation.
(ii) Animal husbandry.
(iii) Health and sanitation.
(iv) Education—running primary schools.
(v) Communication—construction and maintenance of inter-panchayat roads, etc.
(vi) Co-operation—promotion of co-operative societies;
(vii) Development of cottage and small-scale industries; and
(viii) Miscellaneous work.
The main sources of income of Panchayat Samiti are annual grants by state government, share
from land revenue, proceeds from taxes, fees and loans, contributions, etc.
Zilla Parishad:
It is the apex body of the PR system located at the district level. It is also known as District
Development Council in some states (such as Tamil Nadu).
It is composed of:
(i) Chairpersons/Presidents of Panchayat Samitis within its jurisdiction
(ii) MPs, MLAs, and MLCs of the area;
(iii) Members repre¬senting women, SCs and STs are co-opted if they are not otherwise
members
(iv) Representatives of co-operative societies, municipalities of the area; and
(v) Some persons having experience in the field of administration, public life or rural
development are also co-opted.

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The membership of the Zilla Parishad remains in the range of 40 to 60 persons. The elected
head of Zilla Parishad is known as Zilla Pramukh (President). He is elected either directly or
indirectly from amongst the members of the Zilla Parishad. Zilla Pramukh works through
committees which look after specific works like education, planning and finance. The main
sources of income of the Zilla Parishads are grants-in-aid from the state government, share in
the land revenue and other taxes like the cess.
The above structure and functions of all the PR bodies have been changing over the years. It has
aroused a spirit of self-help to some extent among the rural people.
The process of decision-making has come close to the rural people. It has also helped in the
emergence of a new democratic leadership at the local level. But, the competitive elections have
politicized the environment of all villages.
Functions of Zilla Parishad:
At this level, the major responsibility of general administrative function is of overall
supervision, coordination; consolidation, integration and implementation of development
schemes at block and district levels. Preparation of plans for economic development and social
justice of the entire district and securing the execution of plans, projects, schemes or other PS
works were commonly found in almost all the states. Amongst the developmental variety the
agriculture including extension and horticulture, animal husbandry, dairying and poultry, social
forestry, fuel and fodder education were quite common among all the states. Health, and
hygiene and family welfare, medical and sanitation were only responsibility of maintenance
variety performed commonly performed by two or three levels of PRIs in most of the states. In
case of maintenance variety of functions the situation ids slightly better as compared to the
development and social. Most of these functions are performed by the GP only. In sum, with
respect to development and social variety of functions the demarcation of the areas of
responsibilities in the state Acts are not defined clearly.

33
74th Constitutional Amendment
This Act has added Part IX-A to the Constitution of India. It is entitled as ‘The Municipalities’
and has inserted provisions from Articles 243-P to 243-ZG. In addition, the Act has also added
Twelfth Schedule to the Constitution. It contains 18 functional items of municipalities listed
under Article 243-W.
It gives constitutional status to the municipalities and has brought them under the purview of
judicial review. In other words, the state governments are under a constitutional obligation to
add this new system of municipalities in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The Act
aims at strengthening the urban governments so that they may function as effective units of
local government.
The salient features of the Act are:
1. Three Kinds of Municipalities for every state.
I. Nagar Panchayat: A Nagar Panchayat is for those areas which are transitional areas i.e.
transiting from Rural Area to Urban areas. “Governor” will by public notice, will define these
three areas based upon the population, density of population, revenue generated for local
administration, % of employment in Non-agricultural activities and other and other factors.
Further, a Governor may also if, he fits it necessary, based upon the industrial establishments,
can specify the Industrial Township by public notice
II. Municipal Council: A Municipal council is for smaller urban area
III. Municipal Corporation: A municipal Corporation for Larger urban Areas
2. Composition:
I. All the members of a municipality shall be elected directly by the people of the municipal
area.
II. For this purpose, each municipal area shall be divided into territorial constituencies to be
known as wards.
III. The state legislature may provide the manner of election of the chairperson of a
municipality. It may also provide for the representation of the following persons in a
municipality
3. Wards Committees:

34
This provides for constitution of Ward Committees in all municipalities with a population of 3
lakhs or more.
4. Reservation of Seats:
The Act provides for the reservation of seats for the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes in
every municipality in proportion of their population to the total population in the municipal
area.
Further, it provides for the reservation of not less than one-third of the total number of seats for
women (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the SCs and the STs).
The state legislature may provide for the manner of reservation of offices of chairpersons in the
municipalities for the SCs, the STs and the women.
It may also make any provision for the reservation of seats in any municipality or offices of
chairpersons in municipalities in favour of backward classes.
5. Duration of Municipalities:
The municipality has a fixed term of 5 years from the date appointed for its first meeting.
Elections to constitute a municipality are required to be completed before the expiration of the
duration of the municipality. If the municipality is dissolved before the expiry of 5 years, the
elections for constituting a new municipality are required to be completed within a period of 6
months from the date of its dissolution.
6. Disqualifications:
A member is disqualified to be chosen as a member of municipality if he / she is disqualified
under any law to be elected as MLA. The minimum age to be qualified as a member is 21 years.
7. Finances:
The state legislature may:
Assign to a municipality taxes, duties, tools and fees levied and collected by state government;
Provide for making grants-in-aid to the municipalities from the Consolidated Fund of the state;
and
Taxes, duties, fees, etc. which would be levied and collected by the State Government and a
share passed on to the Municipalities

35
8. Finance Commission:
The Finance Commission constituted under Article 243-I to review the financial positions of
Panchayati Raj Institutions shall also review the financial position of the municipalities and will
make recommendations to the Governor.
The recommendations of the Finance Commission will cover the following:
• Distribution between the State Government and Municipalities of the net proceeds of the
taxes, duties, tolls and fees leviable by the State
• Allocation of share of such proceeds between the Municipalities at all levels in the State
• Determination of taxes, duties, tolls and fees to be assigned or appropriated by the
Municipalities
• Grants-in-aid to Municipalities from the Consolidated Fund of the State
• Measures needed to improve the financial position of the Municipalities.
9. Audit of Accounts:
The maintenance of the accounts of the municipalities and other audit shall be done in
accordance with the provisions in the State law.
10. Functions:
The Twelfth schedule contains the following 18 functional items placed within the purview of
municipalities:
I. Urban planning, including town planning.
II. Construction of buildings.
III. Planning for economic and social development.
IV. Roads and bridges.
V. Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes.
VI. Public health, sanitation, conservancy and solid waste management.
VII. Fire services.

36
VIII. Safeguarding the interests of weaker section of society, including the handicapped and
mentally retarded.
IX. Slum improvement and up gradation.
X. Urban poverty
XI. Provision of facilities such as parks, gardens, playgrounds.
XII. Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects.
XIII. Burials and burial grounds, cremations.
XIV. Vital statistics including registration of births and deaths.
XV. Public amenities including street lighting, parking lots, bus stops and public conveniences.
XVI. Regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries.
Urban Local Government
Urban Local government implies the governance of an urban area by the people through their
elected representatives. 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 provided constitutional
status to local urban bodies.
Type / Structure / of urban governments
There are eight types of urban governments in India.’
Municipal Corporation: Municipal corporations are created for the administration of big cities
like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and others. A Municipal Corporation has three authorities
namely, the council (legislative wing of the corporation), the standing committee (to facilitate
the working of the council) and the commissioner (chief executive authority of the
corporation).The council consist of councillors directly elected by people and is headed by a
Mayor while the Commissioner is appointed by state government and is generally an IAS
officer.
Municipality: The municipalities are established for the administration of towns and smaller
cities. They are known by various other names like municipal council, municipal committee,
municipal board, borough municipality, city municipality and others. In composition they are
quite similar to municipal corporations except that head of council is called President /chairman
and in place of commissioner they have a chief executive officer/chief municipal officer.

37
Notified Area Committee: A notified area committee is created for the administration of two
types of areas- a fast developing town due to industrialisation, and a town which does not yet
fulfill all the conditions necessary for the constitution of a municipality, but which otherwise is
considered important by the state government. It is called so because it is created by a
notification and unlike the municipality it is an entirely nominated body, i.e. all members,
including the Chairman, are nominated by the state government. Thus, it is neither a statutory
body (created by law) nor an elected body.
Town Area Committee: It is a semi municipal authority constituted for small towns, and it
exists in several states out of which Uttar Pradesh has the largest number. The members may be
partly elected and partly nominated by the state govt. or wholly nominated or wholly elected. It
is assigned a number of functions like street lighting ,drainage, roads, conservancy, etc. The
District Collector in some states has been given powers of surveillance and control over the
TAC.
Township: PSUs are set up by the govt. and housing colonies have been set up around them for
the staff and workers. These draw people from rural as well as urban areas and this develops
into a kind of a very small town, therefore it is named as a Township. These townships are
administered by the Municipal corporation or Municipality under which it falls which appoints
a Town Administrator for this area who is assisted by a few engineers and technicians that
handle functions like water, electricity, roads, drainage, markets, parks,etc. The expenditure on
such townships are shared equally by the urban local govt. as well as the respective Industry.
CANTONMENT BOARD:
When a Military station is established in an area, military personnel move in and to provide
them facilities for everyday life the civilian population move in like markets, colonies, etc. To
administer such areas, the Cantonment boards were set up. There are 63 cantonment boards in
India at the moment. These boards are centrally administered by the Defence Ministry. Board
consists of elected and nominated members and the officer commanding the station is the
President of the Board. An elected member holds office for three years whereas the nominated
ones continue as long as they hold office in that station.
Port Trust: The port trusts are established in the port areas like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and
so on for two purposes: (a) to manage and protect the ports; (b) to provide civic amenities. It is
created by an Act of Parliament and it consists of both elected and nominated members.
SINGLE PURPOSE AGENCIES

38
These agencies are set up as government departments or as statutory bodes under separate Acts
of the state government. Some such agencies are housing boards, pollution control boards and
water supply and sewerage boards. Such bodies are set up, even though other municipal
agencies exist for the same area, since there are certain activities which require expertise,
concentrated attention and special skills which the municipal bodies do not possess. Besides,
the municipal bodies are already over-burdened; they lack the requisite administrative
machinery and the necessary resources in order to deal with problems arising out of rapid
urbanization.
Municipal Governance - Main Features:
The purpose of municipal governance and strategic urban planning in a country is to create
effective, responsive, democratic, transparent, accountable local governance framework
To provide responsive policy guidance and assistance to sub-national entities;
To strengthen the legal, fiscal, economic and service delivery functions of municipalities; and
To foster greater citizen participation in the governance of local bodies.
The Nagar Palikas/Municipals are to work as instruments of development and planning and also
to handle funds for local activities.
Municipal Corporations Finance –
(a) Non-tax Revenue : The non-tax revenue includes fees and fines, grants and contributions
from the Government. Among its extraordinary sources may be listed loans, deposits, receipts
on capital account, grants for capital works, etc.
(b) Tax Revenue : The major proportion of income of corporations flows from taxes. It ranges
from anything between two-fifths and three-fourths of total income. A corporation generally has
the power to levy the following taxes :
• Property tax
• Tax on vehicles and animals
• Theatre tax
• Tax on advertisements (other than newspapers)

39
• Profession tax
• Education tax
• Entertainment tax
• Tax on consumption and sale of electricity

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