public administration unit-37 citizen and administration

5/27/2018 Public Administration Unit-37 Citizen and Administration

UNIT 37 CITIZEN AND ADMLNISTRATIONStructure

37.0 Objectives37.1 Introduction

37.2 Relationship Between Citizen and Administration37.3 Citizen-Administration Alienation37.4 ChannelslInstitutional Device for Redressal of Citizen's Grievances37.5 Redressal through ParliamentILegislature37.6 Judicial Remedies

37 6 1 Public Interest Litigation37 6 2 Administrative Tribunals

37.7 Problems of Corruption in Administration37.7.1 Central Vigilance Commission

37.8 Ombudsman37.8.1 Lok Pal37.8.2 Lok Ayukta

37.9 Redressal Machinery in MinistricsDepartments37.10 Conclusion37.11 Let Us Sum Up37.12 Key Words37.13 Some useful Books37.14 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

37.0 OBJECTIVES

This Unit deals with the important issue of relationship between the citizens andadministration, factors responsible for their alienation, difk ren t avenues/institutionaldevices available to the citizens for redressal of grievances against administration.After you have read this unit, you should be able to:

explain the relationship between citizen and administration

discuss the factors responsible for alienation of citizens from administrationdescribe the existing channels-legislative and judicial for redressal of citizensgrievances against administration -analyse the problem of corruption in administration and the role of CentralVigilance Comn~iss ionin maintaining integrity in administration

@ explain the importance and functionsof Indian Ombudsman Lok Pal and Lok Ayukta

discuss the redressal machinery functioning in various MinistriestDepartments.37.1 INTRODUCTION

In a democracy, the task of Public Administration is to serve the people. Commitmentto the ideology of democratic Welfare State throws new tasks and it adds to theexpanding responsibilities of the government, This is a phenomena observed, in mostof the countries in the world today. In modern Public Administration two noticeableissues have emerged in recent times. Firstly, there has been a large growth in the sizeof governmental administration as well as vast expansion in its powers and activities, 3Secondly, in the wake of spread of general education, political and social awakening, I , )

, there has been a rise in the expectations of people from administration.

Of late, the issue of interaction and relationship between the citizens andAdministration has become a focal point of discussion among the politicians,administrators, jurists etc. Though ideally speaking, the interaction is suphosed to betrustworthy and fu~.nctionalin reality, it is seen that this is always plagued by conflicts,stresses and strains.;.Citizens grievances against administration are on an increase andat the same time concerted efforts are being made by the government to reduce thegrowing discontent among the citizens by providing various channels for redressal oftheir grievances.


Concepts in rganisatlons Here, we shall discuss the relationship between the citizens and administration, factorsresponsible for citizens grievances against administration, existing channels/rernediesavailable to the citizen for redressal of grievances, other innovative measures that arebeing taken to strengthen the status of citizen vis-a-vis the growing powers of thegovernment and administration, with special reference to India.

37.2 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CITIZEN ANDDMIINISTR TION

The modern State has to undertake not only regulatory functions in the form ofmaintenance of law and order, but also has a more positive role to play. It has the majorresponsibilities of providing major amenities of life education, health, wideremployment opportunities, improved means of transport etc. All this affects th eindividual and collective life of a very large numbers of people concerned. There hasbeen a tremendous increase in the points of interaction between the administration andcitizen. ~ e n c e t h epattern of relationship between the administration and citizen isbecoming increasingly complex in nature and larger in scope.

~ e f o r ethe advent of th e democratic Welfare State, during the British period, publicopinion was not reflected a t all in the administrativesystem. The pattern of relationshipbetween the citizens and administration was characterised only by limited interactionswith certain administrative departments. The concept of ruler and the ruled masteredthe philosophy of British administration. So long as the citizen respected the publicorder by obeying the laws and paid his tgxes regularly, his contacts were only withspecific departments of the government. The administration also kept the citizeninformed only about certain major decisions which it considered desirable.This limited relationship has undergone a change with the progressive growth of thedevelopmental and welfare role of the modern State. With this transformation of thework of administration to achieve new and positive objectives, it has become nowabsolutely essential that t he administrator should have a spirit of service to the

community. You are aware that administration is there to cater to the needs of thepeople. The main objective should be promotion of citizen satisfaction, just as theconcept of consumer satisfaction governs the production and distribution of goods, ineconomics.

In practice it is seen that the administrators continue t o ~ b eauthoritative, paternalisticand the relationship between citizens and administration seems to have changedoutwardly and not in spirit. The citizen feels frustrated, dissatisfied, unhappy in hisdealings with the administration. The expansion of bureaucracy and multiplication ofadministrative processes have led to increase in opportunities for abuse of power anddiscretion. The impact of administrative standards and behaviour on the citizens andreasons for this will be discussed in the next Section.

37.3 CITIZEN-ADMINISTRATION ALIENATION

As said earlier, the citizen in day to.day life is constantly interacting withadministration. The purposes of contact with an administrative department or agencymay be for varied purposes, for example may be for getting general services like watersupply, electric connection, health services or for some general support and guidanceor for securing specificindividual assistance like loans, seeds, fertilisers etc. and so on.Th e increase in the occasions for such contacts is directly proportional to the increase

in governmental controls and regulations. It can be said that much of theadministrator's image is made or narrowed down during such contacls. As has beenpointed out by Jagannadhan and Makhija,"much of the administrator's image is madeor narrowed during such contacts. An air of conceit or arrogance, a show of irritation,misdemeanour, lack of proper response, a tactless 'no', procrastina.tions and delay, allthese may contribute to tarnish the image of administration in the e.yesof citizens"There are certain factors which are responsible for alienation of citizens andadministration, This could be due to individual human factor, or in[ the ~ r ~ a n i s a t i i i n a l

I, . ,


structure as such, or in the systems and procedures which guide the working ofadministration. Discontent among the citizens which is due to the result of a widedisparity between the performance of administration and popular expectations has

become a normal feature. This discontent often takes the form of grievances. Thismeans"a ground of complaint; a condition felt to be oppressive or wrongful". At timescitizens have grievances against the policies of the government as such if they affect the

interests of any organised sections of the society. But such grievances can be tackled,by bringing pressure on the government through various means lo change or modify thepolicies.

Another general feeling which persists among the people is that the policies are notbeing implemented properly. Administrative procedures, are found to becumbersome, or the processes of administration found unjust. Yet another importantproblem is the deterioration in the standards of honesty and integrity in both, politicsand administration due t o corruption. Rigid observance of rules and regulations, non-acknowledgement of complaints, representations from citizens, inordinate delay indisposal of various matters account for lack of faith of public in administration.

According to Mohit Bhattacharya, the general perceptions of the people aboutadministration include:

a) unhelpful attitude of officials especially lower level functionaries

b) citizens' ignorance about procedures involved in getting things done.

c) inordinate delay and waiting period

d) favouritism in administratione) corruption anlong officialsf) reliance of middlemen to get things done

g) rich-poor discrimination in administration : the rich having access to administration

and the general tendency of officials to avoid the poor and underplay their needs andinterests.

W.A. Robson says, "In mind of average citizen, bureaucracy still suffers fromtraditional defects associated with it. These are an excessive sense of self-importance on

the part of officials....

.........

or an undue idea of the importance of their Office, an

indifference towards the feelings or the convenience of the individual citizens, maniafor regulations, formal procedures .... a failure to recognise relations between thegovernors and the governed as an essential part of democratic process". But if citizens'dissatisfaction with the administration is allowed to mount up, it is likely to add to thealready existing social unrest and tensions. Also the cooperation of citizens in variousdevelopmental activities of the government is affected. Hence, keeping all theseconsequences in view, concerted efforts arc being made for providing propcrmachinery at all levels of the government for the redressal of citizens' grievances.

In India the Administrative Reforms Commission in its interim report on problems ofredress of.citizens griveances has remarked that if in the prosperity of the people liesthe strength of a government, it is in their contentment that lie the security and stabilityof democracy.

37.4 CWA NNELS INSTITUTIONALDEVICES FORREDRESSAL OF CITIZENS' GRIEVANCES

Till now, we have discussed the changing patterns of relationship between the citizens

and administration, factors responsible for their discorltent with administration. Assaid earlier, with the expansion of governmental activities, bureaucracy has become allpervasive. At the higher levels in government also, the problems of citizenadministration have attracted the attention from time to time and Committees andCommission have been set up to deal with them. For instance, in India, the SanthanamCommittee on Prevention of Corruption set up in 1962,was of view that thediscretionary powers exercised by different categories of govcrnrnent officials openedup"scope for harassment, malpractices and corruption" in the exercise of thosepowers. The Adminictrative Reforms Commission also took note of the complaints ofpublic about corruption in administration and existence of widespread inefficiency and


Concepts in rganisations l l the unresponsiveness of administration to publicneeds. In such conditions, what can acitizen do, when the administrator does not deal with him fairly or legitimately. A needis felt, forhaving proper channels for redressal of citizens' grievances and also creatingeffective institutional mechanisms to keep the bureaucracy in check and makeadministration responsive to the needs of the public.

In a democracy, elections are instruments of control in the hands of people. The rightto.franchiseguaranteed to the citizens is a powerful weapon, that can be used by thepeople t o vote out of power the ruling party that does not reach its expectations. As thiscan be exercised only once in five years, it ddes not help in immediate resolving of

problems faced by citizens.In India, there are mainly three important channels or methods through which citizenscan exercise control over administration. These are legislative, judicial, administrativedevices. Apart from this, to deal with administrative corruption and to redress citizens'grievances, certain instituti~naldevices have been evolved like the Central VigilanceCommission, Lok Pal and Lok 4yukta etc. We shall discuss about these in the followingsections of this Unit.

37.5 REDRESSALTHROUGHPARLIAMENT/

LEGISLATURE

It is an important feature of modern parliamentary democracies that people considerParliament/legislature as an important forum for the purpose of redressal of citizens'grievances. The Indian Parliament has served as a useful forum for discussion ofcomplaints affecting alarge group of citizens. Even at the State level, citizens resort tointervention by the legislature in speedy redressal of complaints. Theparliamentary/legislative channels of redressal include questions, special discussions,adjournment debates, legislative committeesetd. We shall discuss in brief now, aboutsome of the important devices.

a) Parliament Question: In a parliamentary form of government, the question hour.is .the occasion, which pravides opportunity for the people's representatives to highlightthe shortcomings of the functioning of the government. Wc see, that when Parliamentis in session, questions relating to many issues affecting the public like police excesses,tortures are raised, through questions. During the question hour, any question can beasked by the member in ParliamentLegislature seeking information on any matter. Itis an important device for ventilating the grievances of the community and these canrelate to national or state issues or matters of loch importance.b) Special discussions : It is through this that administrativc lapses, cases ofmaladministration, irlefficient functioningiare brought to light on the floor ofParliament.

c) Calling Attention Motion This is an important device through which the attentionof a Minister is drawn to a matter of urgent public importance. This helps in elicitinginformation on various issues and exposure of lapses in various governmental activities.Apart from these, the public grievances are also ventilated in debates on the budget 11ndpolicies criticised through various motions and resolutions. There is also a Committeeon government assurances, functioning since1953 which pursues the assurances givenby the Ministers on the floor of the House and reports about their implementation tothe Parliament. Apart from this, there is also a Committee on Petitions, whichexamines petitions submitted to the Lok Sabha and refers these to the rclevantMinistries and Departments for enquiry. This helps in focusing the attention of thegovernment on matters of public importance 0that quick action can be taken.The efficacy of some of the above-mentioned legislative devices lies in the fact that

' these can be utilised only when the Parliament is in session. Also individual grievancescannot be raised unless they involve-a quFstio nof general policy..

Check Your Progress 1 ,.

Note : i) Use the space below for your answers.ij Check yours answers with those given at the end of the unit;


1 Why has t h ew been an increase in interaction between citizens and administrationin recent times?

2 With the advent of modern Welfare State, what type of change has occurred in thepattern of relationship between citizens and administration?

3) List a few factors responsible for the growing discontent of citizens with

administration.

4) What do you understand by question hour?

5) Which oneo the following devices draws the attenti011of Minister towards a matterof Public importance'?

a) Special discussions

b) Budget discussions

c) Calling Attention Motion

d) Meetings of Com~n i t t c cof Petitions

37.6 JUDICIAL REMEDIES

.

itlzen and Administration

There has been a phenomenal increase in the activities of theState, which has conferredexe~ut ivepowers, authority and discretionary powers on the administration. This


Concepts in rganisations emphasises the need t o protec t the rights of the citizens against arbitrary administrativeactions. Judicia ry plays an important role in protecting the rights of citizens. AccordingtoL.D.White "the system of formal external control over officials an d their actsfalls primarily into two main divisions-that exercised by t he legisla tive bodies and thatimposed by Courts. Th e purpose of legislative supervision is principally to control thepolicy and the expenditure of the executive branch, the end sought by judicial controlof administra tive acts is to ensure their legality and thus to protect citizens against

unlawful trespass on their constitutional or other rights". Most of the citizensgrievances are due to the exercise of discretionary powers by th e administration.Judiciary interferes with administration ifany official acts in contravention of the scopeof his authority o r if h e misinterprets law and causes injury to any cit izen. Cases of abuseof power o r irregularities of procedures, also come under its purview.

Judicial in tcrver~t ioncan be in the form of suing tlie government or public officialconcerned against whom the citizen has any grievance. Judiciary has the power ofexamining the legality and constitutionality of administrative actions with regard totheir scope and form. The courts, then pass appropriate orde r o r direction to enforcethe right of an aggrieved person. But only such type of cases can be referred to the courts,where any administrative action is alleged to be malafide or hasbcen exercised in excessof powers given to the administrative authority or inconsistent with th e constitutionalprovisions o r law.

Certa in actions of administrative authorities can be challenged for damages: where theillegality o r unlawful act committed can be challenged as civil wrong.

Extraordinary Remedies

These are in the form of writs issued by the courts t o protect the rights of citizensviolated by the government o r public officials: Awrit is an order of the court enforcing

compliance on the part of those against whom it is issued. ~ h e s einclude:a) Habeas Corpus : This is an order which is used by the Court against a person who

has detained any other person unlawfully or illegally t o produce before the Court

and submit t o its order.

b) Mandamus : This is command issued by the Court asking a public official or any

inferior Court o r any authority to perform legal dutiesc) Prohibition : This is a writ givcn against any lower Court, tlot to do any acts in excess

of their jurisdiction.

d) Quo War r a n t o Th e Courts, through the use of this wrlr enquires into the legalityof claim of any person to public office.

e) Certiorari: It is a writ issued by a superior to an inferior court, requiring thecertification and re{urn t o the former of some proceedings then pending o r in caseswhere procedure is not according to the course of the common law.

But there a re certain liniitations of judicial control. All ad~ninis t ra t iveactions do notcome under the purview of judicial control and judiciary intervenes on requestsmadeby the aggrieved persons. Also the judicial process issaid to c slow, cumbersome andexpensive.

37 6 1 Public Interest LitigationA useful judicial innovation in Indiaawhich has developed in recent times is publicinterest litigation. This has been a progressive trend in judicial remedies againstcitizens' compialnts not only in our country, but also in various oth er countries like theU.S.A. and U.K. The Supreme Court in 1978, has propounded a liberal view ofstanding so as to provide judicial redress for public injury arising out of any breachof

public duty or from violation of the Constitution. Complaints involvingmaladministration, like patients not getting proper medicines in government hospitals,

inefficient administration of prisons, failure of administration in chcckingenvironmental pollution, irregularities in the administration of educational institutionsetc, , are being challenged under the category of public interest.The rules of theSupreme Court which were revised, to bring in this provision, facilita tes any citizen orgr oup of cit izens to appeal to the Court, on behalf of any group of peoplc affected byany act of government. Soeven if the citizenhimself has no personal conlplaint againstth e administration, he can still lodge a complaint against administra tive injustice which

according t o him is being done.


Jus tice ~h agw at i hassaid that since in India access to justice is restricted by social andrestraints, it is necessary to democratise judicial remedies, remove technical

barriers against easy accessibility to justice and promote public interest litigation, sothat the large massesofpeople belonging to the deprived and exploited sections of thehumanity may be able to enjoy th e socio-economic rights granted to them and theserights may become meaningful fo r them instead of remaining mere empty hopes. In hisview,"if public duties are to be enforced and social, collective, diffused rights andinterests are to b e protected, we have tout i i~sethe initiative and zeal of public mindedpersons and organisations by allowing them to move the Court and act for a general orgroup interest even though they may not be directly injured in their own rights."

So far as India is concerned, to f ight the maladministration in the country, such a liberalrule of standing is essential so that public spirited persons and bodies may come forwardand through the courts expose maladministration or vindicate some cause. An example

of Public Interest Litigation is furnished in a case.which occurred in 1982 (Munna vs.State of U.P.)where a writ petition filed in the Supreme Court by a social worker whosought relief in respec t of certain juvenile under trial prisoners. The petition was based

on serious allegations made in a newspaper report about the maltreatment of childrenaccused lodged in Kanpur Central Jail. The Supreme Court gave.directions in thismatter. This policy has tended to provide additional protection and securing social

justice to citizens in India especially to the poor and illiterate.37.6.2 Administrative Tribunals

Besides the regular Courts of Law, in some countries, administrative courts andtribunals are functioning to deal with the complaints lodged against administrativeaction. For example in France, administrative Courts are there to deal with dispulesbetween the administra tion and individual citizens wherein public officials performingany acts in thcir official captteity which has affected any citizen, are sued. Heredecisions are taken as promptly as possible; it is less expensive than ordinary courts andis considercd an effective devicc for prompt redressal of grievances.In India, there are Administrative Tribunals established under various Acts to dealwith specific kinds of citizens' grievances. Some of these Tribunals include IndustrialTribunals, Income Tax Tribunals, l iailway RatesTribunals etc . These Tribunals whichadjudicate upon disputes between the citizens 2nd administrative agencies are said tobe inexpensive, efficient than ordinary courts and being headed by experts areequipped with greater technical knowlodge. Thc tribunals perform quasi-judicialfunctions whereas a Court exercisesonly judicial funclions. They are administrativeauthorities performing judicial functions. For example, matters like determination of

electiondisputes, assessment of tax, adjudicationof industrial disputes etc, are dealt bythe different typcs of tribunals.Apart from the redressal machinery which would look illto the citizens' grievancesagainst administration, a need was also felt for creation of machinery which will dealwith the service matters o government en~ployees .With this objcctive in view, theAdministrative Tribunals Act 985was passcd. This provided for setting up of CcntralAdministrative Tribunal t o provide speedy and inexpensive relief to the government

employees. Administrative Tribunal will deal with thesei-vicematters of persons of AllIndia Services whereas State and Joint Administrative Tribunals deal with the servicematters of persons of Slate Services.

The tribunals have been set up only in a few areas of economicadmiaistration. TheARC Study Team on Administrative Tribunals has urged that the system ofadministrative tribunals should be extended to cover scveral new areas, as review ofadministrative decisions by an agcncy outside the aclministrative apparatus will bringthe required relief to the citizen.In India, very recently a new approach for dealing with disputes between citizens andadministration ha s been adopted in certain departments. Lok Adalats (Peoples Courts)have been set up to deal with the ordinary complaints of citizens, againstadministration. Apa rt from the simple and inexpensive procedures followed, this helpsin quick dispersal of complaints l ike pension, utilities, telephones, compensationclaims etc. In case the decision of Lok Adalat is not acceptable to either the citizen oradministration, the matter may be taken up to the regular Courts of law.

Citizen and dminbtration


Conceptsin rganhtions37.7 PROBLEMS OF CORRUPTION IN

ADMINISTRATION--

The problem of corruption in administration is as old as administration itself. The vastexpansion of governmental tasks has resulted in multiplication of volume of work,where administrative power and discretion are vested at different levels of hierarchy.Proper exercise and supervision of such powers would not lead to the infringement ofcivil rights or liberties of citizens. But since no administration is perfect, there is always

arbitrary exercise of such powers. The Law Commission pointed out in its fourteenthreport that there is a vast field of administrative action in India where authorities mayact outside the strict scope of law and propriety without the injured citizen beingdn aposition to obtain effective redress.

- Keeping in view the increasing malpractices and corruption in administration in 1962,the Central Government appointed a Committee on Prevention of Corruption underthe Chairmanship of K anthanam to review the existing arrangement for checkingcorruption in the public services and to suggest remedial measures. This Committeecreated in the Government greater awareness of the extent of prevalence of corruptionin administration at all levels. It was of view that it would not be possible to completelyeliminate discretion in the exercise of powers of administration but there is a necessity

to devise adequate methods of control over exercise of discretion. This Committee inits report gave special attention t o create a machinery in government which wouldprovide quick and satisfactory redressal of public grievances.

37.7.1 Central Vigilance Commission

A special machinery, on the basis of the Committee's recommendations, was createdin the form of Central Vigilance Commission to deal with grievances of citizensinvolving corruption and lack of integrity on the part of government servants. TheCommission is headed by Central Vigilance commissioner who is assisted bysecretarial and technical staff.

The jurisdiction and powers of the Central Vigilance Commission extends to matters

relating to executive powers of the Central Government. It undertakes an inquiry orinvestigation in matters of corruption, misconduct, any type of malpractices on the partof public servants: The Commission receives complaints from individual persons andalso from other sources like press reports, audit reports, reports of parliamentarycommittees etc. On receiving the complaints, the Commission may entrust the matterfor enquiry to the concerned administrative MinistrylDepartment or may ask theCentral Bureau of Investigation to investigate the matter. The role of the Commissionis advisory in nature and is responsible for advising the MinistriesIPublic Undertakingsin respect of all matters pertaining to maintenance of integrity in administration.

In order to strengthen the vigilance organisation in each MinistrylDepartment, anofficer is designated as Chief Vigilance Officer. He is responsible for coordinating and

guiding the activities of other vigilance officers in his MinistrylDepartment. All PublicSector Undertakings and Mu nici palCorporations have vigilance set up in theirorganisation.

37.8 OMBUDSMAN

A sdiscussed earlier, with the advent of Welfare State, administration has come to playa decisive role in influencing and shaping the socio-economic order in the society oftoday. I t cannot be denied that vesting of vast powers in the administration has given

way to abuse and misuseof powers, maladministration and corruption. You have read

earlier about legislative and judicial channels through which an aggrieved citizen cansecure redressal of grievances. But there are certain limitations of these methods, likefor example, the tedious and lengthy procedure, involved in Court methods. Similarry,thebparliament also cannot directly control the administration, except that the memberspressurise the ministers with their demands or complaints.which are directed,to theconcerned department. Hence a need was felt jn many countries for the creation of anindependent institution which would supplement the efforts of the already existingmachinery in meeting the demands of the citizens and ensure them an impartial andclean administration.


Concepts l ganhUons U Secretaries and other senior officers. This was followed by other States likeRajasthan,Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Biharbtc. There is another persondesignated as Upa-Lok Ayukta who deals with complaints against other officials.LokAyukta on conducting investigation of the complaints shall forward a copy of it toconcerned public servant and the competent authority. The time frame for compliancewith regard to report in case of an allegation, has been three months from the date ofreport.

The effectiveness of this institution for undoing of any administrative injustice to the

citizen depends largely upon the calibre, competence, character of persons selected asLok PaIlLok Ayukta. This would help not only in prompt and proper handling ofpubliccomplaints and grievances, but also at the same time protect public officials in cases offalse or baseless complaints.

37.9 REDRESS L MACHINERY INMNISTRIESIDEP RTMENTS

Now, we shall discuss about the redressal machinery which is present in some of the

Ministries I3epartments dealing directly with citizens grievances. Keeping in view thedeficiencies in the functioning of public administration and witha vicw to strengtheningeffective machinery for public grievancesin organisations which have large publicdealings, a separate Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievanceswas set up in March1985.Grievance Cells have been ,set up in offices and departmentswhich have large public dealings, with a senior officer designated as GrievanceOfficerlDirector of Grievances. Steps are taken in dealing with public grievances indifferent Ministries/Departments through regular meetings between the Departmentof Administrative Reforms Public Grievances and respective Ministries/Departments

A number of measures were initiated towards strengthening of relationship between

citizens and administration. These include, providing on the spot redress of grievancesas far aspossible, provisionof public assistance counters, streamlining/simplification ofwork procedures etc. Efforts are made at the Centre and State Government levclstowards activating public grievance machinery and also devising innovative methodsand procedures. Telephone Advisory Councils areformed,+vhcre representatives ofpublic and administration interact at regular intervals,which helps in solving manyproblems. Similarly, in the Emigration Division of Ministry of Labour, a new deviceofpublic hearing system has been in operation for the past few years. T otackle theproblem of publicgrievances, thrice a week, public hearing is conducted where peoplehaving complaints or problems approach the officials. It was observed that most of thecases barring a few were disposed off quickly.In about 80% of the cases follow upaction is taken within24hours. Similar method was in practice in ~ k l h iDevelopmentAuthority (DDA) which receives a wide variety of complaints, as it has a virtualmonopoly over land management, house construction, planning and development ofmetropolis. Similarly in many nationalised banks centralised customer services are setup a t various centres, which receive and look into the complaints made by the clientele.against any of the banks.

At the State level also, necessary steps are taken for redressal of citizens' grievances.Special Committees and Advisory bodies have been set upcpmprising the electedrepresentatives of thepublicto deal with publicgrievances and provide redress. In theState of Uttar Pradesh, a Public Grievances Directorate is set up directly under theChief Minister's Secretariat. In Punjab, for quick redressal of grievances, recently, anew system has been introduced where the general public can approach theAll India

Radio for specific grievance against the functioning of the government.

It d a y be mentioned that the importance of voluntary organisations is realised whichcan supplement the efforts of the Government in bringing out suitable administrativereforms and redressal of grievances. Standing Committees of Voluntary Agencies(SCOVA) have been formed in some Departments like Health and Family Welfare,Pension and Pensioners Welfare etc.

In recent years, media has come to play an important role in influencing public opinionand building social awareness. Newspapers have become an important,pdwerful


channel to air grievances which focuses attention on contemporary issues which are Citizen and dministrstionfollowedup by the concerned administrative department. Many facets of law and order~ituation,any arbitrary adpinistrative action, demands for better facilities etc. arebrought to the notice of the concerned authorities through newspaper reports. ApartfromPress, theT.V. and the radio also provide important avenues for getting to knowthe reactions of citizens through the functioning of administration and also in theredressal ~ grievances.

, heck Your ProgressNote : i) Use the space below for your answers.

ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of this unit.

Habeas Corpus is a writ issued by the Court

a) asking a public official or any authority to perform legal dutiesb) enquiring into the legality of claim of any person to public officec) asking a person who has detained any other person unlawfully or illegally to

produce before the Court

d) against any I?wer Court not to do any acts in excess of their jurisdiction2 In Public Interest Litigation

a) only an aggrieved person can approach the Court for redress

b) Public officials can approach the Court for wrong allegations imposed againstthem

c) only certain social welfare organisations can approach the Court for seekingjustice on behalf of aggrieved citizens

d) citizen as well as any public spirited organisation can lodge complaints in Courtagainst administrative injustice being done to other people or a group or acommunity

13 Whar are the functions of Central Vigilance Commission?

4............................................................................................................

4 The institution of Ombudsman was created first in

a) Denmark

b) Britain

c) New Ze'alandd) Sweden

5 What do you understand by the institution of Lok Pal?

............................................................................................................

37.10 CONCLUSION

With growing consciousness of citizens about their rights and privileges, we arewitnessing an increase in people's demands on administration. Although many effortsarebeing made by the government to meet the demands, yet the wide gap which existsbetween the expectations and performance gives rise to grievances. It is absolutelynecessary, that the concern for their redressal in any organisation should percolate


Concepts in ganlsations - J down to the lowest administrative units as the interface between administration andpeople is more a t that level. Apart from strengthening the redressal machinery at alllevels it is essential that participative administration be encouraged which to certainextent would lessen the frictions between citizens and administration. Also there is aneed to educate the citizens regarding their social responsibilities and also reorient theattitude of the officials. Amere change in rules, regulations, procedures e t c . is not anend in itself. There is a need to change the administrators' attitudes in their dealingswith the people. Unless suitable attitudinal changes are brought about on a prioritybasis, all other measures to deal with the problem of citizens' grievances will meet withlittle success.

37 111 LETUS S TM UP , .We have discussed the important issue of interaction between citizens andadminis t r a t i~nwhich has increased in recent times due to the acceptance of WelfareState ideology by the governments of many countries. The relationship which wascharacferised by limited interactions in our country during the British period hasundergone achange with the expansion of governmental activities. In his day to day lifethe citizen constantty interacts with administration for many services. But there areseveral instances of citizens getting frustrated, dissatisfied with their dealings withadministration- There are many factors responsible for this like delay in transactions,unhelpful, unresponsive attitude of administration towards citizens, corruption etc. Aneed is felt to have proper channels and other devices through which the citizcn canhavqredressal of his grievances against administration. Parliament provides an

important channel through devices like Question Hour, Calling Attention Motion,Special Discussions, etc. through which the problems of citizens can be brought to light.Judiciary also plays an important role in democracy in protecting the rights of citizensthrough judicial review, issuing various types of writs ctc. Public InterestLitigation in securing social justice to the aggrieved citizens against malndrninistratioriis a progressive trend among the judicial remediesavailable to the citizens.We have examined the need for institutional arrangements to deal with cor rup t io~lndadministrative injustice. The constitution of Central Vigilance Comrnissivn andVigilance Cells in various MinistrieslDepartments is another sl cp in this direction. Theinstitution of Ombudsrnanin India in the form of Lok Pal and ok Ayukta ensurcs acertain degree of administrative efficiency in dealing with citizens' grievances fairly andpromptly. Further, administrative arrangements have been made in various Ministriesfor prompt redressal of public grievances through grievance cclls custumek scwicccentres, public hearing system etc which could help in sustaining public faith inadministration.

37.112 KEYWORDS

Alienation : Estrangement, keeping aloof

Ombudsman : An Officer of Parliament or any designed authority independent of theexecutive who investigates complaints of citizens regarding unfair treatment to them,meted out bygovernment departments and suggests suitable remedy if the complaint isjustified.

Quasi-judicial functions : An administrative authority performing functions of a Law

Court.

Writ : An orderof the.Court enforcing action on the part of those against whom it isissued.

37.13 SOMEUSEFULBOOKS

Avasthi A Maheshwari, S.R., 1984. PublicAdministration;Lakshmi NarainAgarwal: Agra.


Barnabas, A.P., 1969.Citizens' Grievances and Administration;IIPA, New Deihi.~hattacharya,Mohit 1987. Public Administration-Structure, Process andBehaviour;The World Press Ltd., Calcutta.

ChaturvediT.N. Sadasivan S.N. Eds), 1984. Citizen and Administration;IIPA :NewDelhi.

Dhawan R.K., 1981. Public Grievances and the Lok Pal-A Study of Administrative. Machinery for Redress o f Public Grievances;Allied Publishers Private Ltd.,

New Delhi.

MalhotraM.L. , Redress o f Public Grievances; Indian Journal of PublicAdministration; V0i. XXXIV No. 4, October-December, 1988.

Narayanaswamy R, Redressalo f Public Grievances;Indian Journal of PublicAdministration, Vol. XXXII, No. 2, April-June 1986.

Saxena,D.R., 1987. Ombudsman (LOK PAL)Redress o fCitizel~sGrievancesinIndia; Deep Deep Publications: New Delhi.

Shukla K.S. Singh, S.S., 1988. LOkAyukta-A Socio Legal Study (Ombudsman inIndia); IIPA: New Delhi.

37.14 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES

Check Your Progress 1

1 See Section 37.22 See Section 37.2

; 3 See Section 37.34 See Section 37.55 d

Check Your Progress 2

i I c

2 d3 See Section 37174 d

5 See Section 37.8

Citizen and dminktration

public administration unit-37 citizen and administration

Documents

public administration

task of public administration

modern public administration

redressal of grievances

alienation of citizens

citizens andadministration

redressal oftheir grievances

lok ayuktadiscuss