Abstract
A District Collector or District Magistrate (DM) in India is a well-known office of administration. While a general perception and understanding is that of immense power vested with the person at this position, the expectations from the person both by the citizens as well as higher levels of government end up putting so much on the plate that the DM often ends up in a ‘fire-fighting mode than in a systematic, planned manner’. This book by Amar KJR Nayak and Ram Kumar Kakani, titled Critical Perspectives on Public Systems Management in India Through the Lens of District Management, is a unique attempt to bring out the immense complexity that district administration entails, and propose a direction that this critical aspect of public administration could take up in a very different world that exists today and is likely to evolve into in the days to come.
The authors begin by elucidating their choice of the district administration as the basic unit of public administration. They compare and contrast this, the third level of administration, in different countries, particularly in terms of geographical area and population. This juxtaposition helps position the context across different kinds of administrative structures across the world. The first chapter traces the evolution of the ‘district’ historically from the Mughal Empire, through the East India Company, the British rule and Independent India. Through the centuries, the chief responsibilities and accountability of the district administrator undergo tremendous change, whereas the unit of administration largely remains the same in terms of geography, even as the population and matters of governance have broadened. A striking feature in this part is the presentation of a regular workday in the life of a DM. The elaborate set of activities highlight the meticulous shadowing effort put in by the authors, simultaneously exposing the enormously diverse and complex tasks attended to by the DM, the variety of people that the DM interacts with and the stretched work hours in a seemingly non-exigent situation. To understand and analyse such public administration, along with its inherent challenges using extant frameworks of public administration and examine the scope of a new framework aligning constitutional requirements with emerging needs of ‘complex public or open systems management’, are what the authors underline as the prime objectives of this book. Further strengthening the case for the theme, the authors describe the different perspectives—efficiency, effectiveness, anthropocentric sustainability and a seemingly ‘futuristic’ all interacting systems science—that have been used to examine public administration.
The book includes two detailed case studies—one of an urban district, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, and one rural district, Osmanabad, Maharashtra. Each case study starts with a historical account, geography and socio-politico-economic aspects of the district. Administration of the district under the leadership of the DM is then described focusing on law and order, followed by implementation of a few major schemes of the government and rounding the case study off with a brief analysis of the beneficiaries, their perception of the district administration and the impact of a few schemes. The law and administration instances covered in the Bhopal case study are very insightful. While one deals with a farmers’ protest, the other is that of communal strife. In both cases, the active involvement of the DM, his coordination with line departments, close collaboration with the police department, engagement with different stakeholders, being accessible to subordinates, keeping in constant touch with political leaders and motivating the government machinery as a team player are worth mentioning. Though the case study analyses the administration of the DM using the POSDCORB framework and competency assessment framework, what comes across implicitly and is left to the understanding of the reader is the assessment using the perspectives mentioned in the second chapter. Under different situations, the DM prioritises effectiveness, efficiency and anthropocentric sustainability. In the case of the Kisan Andolan [farmer protest] presented in the Bhopal case study, the DM’s objective was to ensure peace and avoid any scaling up of protests in the state capital. When the Chief Minister decided to sit on an indefinite hunger strike to express solidarity with the farmers, there were various logistical, administrative and security issues that were needed to be tackled in parallel. The DM showed tremendous alacrity and mustered up all powers vested with him and succeeded in avoiding any escalation of tensions. Of the various arrangements, those made at the actual venue of the fast, such as ‘entry, exit, and office space for the CM and senior bureaucrats, restrooms, the area for farmers to sit, distance between the stage and the crowd of farmers and general public, the location of the media persons, the location of police force’, bring out the nitty-gritty that the DM has paid attention to. Notwithstanding the fact that the DM has a vast official setup to support him, the objective of effectiveness comes out vividly. In the Osmanabad case study, the administrative acumen of the DM from the perspectives of efficiency and anthropocentric sustainability is evident in the sections on Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan and Baliraja Chetna Abhiyan (BCA), the former aimed at watershed development and management, while the latter for arresting farmer suicides through an awareness campaign. The Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan was critical to support the agrarian economy of Osmanabad, which ironically depended on low rainfall and falling water table. The allocated budget for the scheme was insufficient at INR 250 million. The DM managed to ramp up this by almost five times by engineering a convergence of various schemes and donations from individuals and politicians. A systematic and scientific approach to rainwater harvesting and watershed management led to raising groundwater level by 3–3.5 metres, and the net sown area increased by nearly 2,000 hectares on account of the availability of irrigation. The BCA, on the other hand, could mobilise nearly 85% of the farmers in the district, and despite numerous programs and efforts, the absolute number of farmer suicides continued to be high. The authors raise questions about the agro-climatic conditions as well as socio-cultural issues that need further inquiry. While these grey areas are well-presented, particularly in the Osmanabad case study, the Bhopal case study is more positively disposed towards the administrative efforts of the DM.
Through the meticulous case studies, the authors manage to showcase the diligence of the young administrative officers, their intent in working towards betterment and upliftment of citizens, which the authors claim can be largely generalised to most officers in the cadre, based on their stint at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. Even as questions about such generalisation are natural, there are two aspects, beyond doubt, which the book attempts to drive, first, the DMs end up doing firefighting most of the time, and second, they handle an immense diversity of tasks and activities, much beyond say provisions of public goods and services. Even where certain government programmes are long-drawn campaigns, the challenges that come either in the form of political interference or inertia of the line staff, the DM has to shift focus to the present, at the risk of compromising on the future. This strengthens the argument of the authors that heavy pulls and pressures of administration render DMs to just follow guidelines rather than to ensure the intended outcomes. Thus, the role of a DM might get restricted to being transactional rather than being transformational. However, for a transformational orientation, there is a dire need to revamp the structures and systems such that the transformational competencies which result in outcomes over a period of time.
In the last chapter, the authors debate the level of public management and ponder over a more systemically robust and sustainable micro-watershed approach as the unit of administration, with the office of the DM being a facilitator and coordinator whilst the gram panchayats (GP) or wards, blocks or sub-divisions, being the unit for developmental planning. Links between micro-watershed and GPs or blocks are established to logically support the argument. The authors propose an ecological system framework for this reinvention of public systems administration. Thus, they lay out a broad map for an all interacting systems science perspective of administration that meets constitutional requirements, besides fulfilling Sustainable Development Goals. The proposed framework consists of six concentric circles with relationships at the core, and institutions, production, organisations, governance and ecology being the outer circles from the core in the order. A facilitative and oversight role is assigned to the district administration in this model, whereas planning and implementation are decentralised to the GP or ward, which is the ‘local ecological or community system’. Effectively, a case is made for the greater devolvement of powers and decision making for local, social and ecological aspects at the GP or ward level, while large-scale and indivisible aspects remain under the purview of the state and federal governments. In this way, it appears that the authors root for stricter but scientific implementation of provisions of the 72nd and 73rd Constitutional Amendments.
The arguments in favour of decentralisation and the district collector’s office playing a facilitative and coordination role are logical and strong, and though the proposed framework appears theoretical as of now, there is no evidence from either of the case studies to understand the DMs’ view in this matter. DMs in the two case studies come across as upright and well-intentioned officers whose performance stands out through the POSDCORB framework analysis. Though it may not be in the purview of the DMs, it would have helped to know their views when it comes to devolving powers versus delegating responsibilities. This angle would have reinforced the authors’ reasoning for the ecological system framework. The book also leaves a lot to a discerning reader to draw her own inferences. Some editorial fine-tuning, especially in smoothening the language of the two case studies would have enriched the reading experience.
Overall, the book presents a unique perspective of public systems management or administration with the DM as the focal point, even as it drives home the complexities that are becoming an order of the day for this crucial function. Through well-researched case studies based on shadowing the DMs, and other examples, the complications of the position of a DM are presented, where the person-in-charge faces an arduous task of being accountable to the people, higher-ups in the bureaucracy as well as political masters. Subtly, the shortcomings of this structure of administration are conveyed, and measures for a holistic approach are proposed. The book successfully builds robust bridges between the management paradigm, as is known in corporate parlance, and administration, which is typically associated with discharging public services. It is a useful addition for researchers and academicians in the area of public systems management and public administration, which presents a rare, first-hand and in-depth perspective of district administration. The book is also a pertinent reading for aspirants of the civil services in India, presenting what one could look forward to and expect when in the saddle.
