Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission
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Karnataka
Administrative
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interim Report
January 2001
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KARNATAKA ADMINISTRAJTVE REFORMS COMMISSION
INTERIM REPORT
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COMPLIMENTS
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L\THA KRISHNA RAO, IAS
SECRETARY
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Karnataka
Administrative
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Interim Report
January 2001
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CHAIRMAN
HARANAIIALLI RAMASWAMY
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MEMBERS
S.B.MUDDAPPA
Former Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka.
BLASIUS.M.D’SOUZA
Former Law Minister, Government of Karnataka.
SECRETARY
G. LATHA KRISHNA RAO, IAS
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© Copyright 2001
Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission
Government of Karnataka
No.9, 3“* Floor, 5,h Stage, M.S. Building, Ambedkar Veedhi, Bangalore-560 001.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior permission
of the Government of Karnataka
Design and layout : Akshara Advertising, Bangalore.
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Extract of Budget speech of
Hon’ble Chief Minister
Sri S.M.Krishna
on 27/03/2000
“I am determined to usher in a new work culture in
all government departments. I would like the
government to be more polite to people, clear the files
faster and deliver better service. I am also aware of
the complex rules and regulations under which the
government functions. A typical file in Vidhana
Soudha may have to be seen by 15 to 25 levels for
the final decision to reach the citizen. The
government will set up an Administrative Reforms
Commission to recommend steps to offer better
service to Karnataka citizens.”
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Extract of speech of Hon’ble Chief
Minister at the time of Inauguration
of Administrative Reforms
Commission on 08/05/2000
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“There is a dire need for effecting Inndamental and
thorough changes to the present system of administration,
which has become obsolete, and our government will use
the tools of modern technology at all levels of
administration in the process of change.”
“The modern technological tools like Information
technology, video conferencing and data collection were
not available about a decade ago. Now there is a need for
effectively adopting these technological tools in
administration.”
“People expect only solutions to their problems and are
not bothered about the movement of files.”
“The Government has therefore constituted the
Administrative Reforms Commission and I am happy to
inaugurate the Commission this day at the conference
Hall of Vidhana Soudha.”
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Extract from the speech of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar before the
Constituent Assembly on 25-11-1949
/‘Will history repeat itself ? It is this thought which fills me with anxiety.
This anxiety is deepended by the realisation of the fact that in addition
to our old enemies in the form of castes and creeds we are going to have
many political parties with diverse and opposing political creeds. Will
Indians place the country above their creed or will they place creed above
the country ?. I do not know. But this much is certain that if the parties
place creed above country, our independence will be put in jeopardy a
second time and probably be lost for ever. This eventuality we must all
resolutely guard against. We must be determined to defend our
independence with the last drop of our blood.”
“In the interest of overall welfare of State, I have to emphasize on one
aspect - whatever I do or you do will be of interest to the welfare of the
public and that is our duty. It is essential that all the employees should
co-operate with each department and also with the public and create
harmonious work culture. The programme, the assurances given should
be based on truth and be treated as a debt to the people. Our primary
duty is to spread knowledge among the people and take up responsibility
and complete the work. There is lack of efficiency in our people. There
are three people for every work whereas one person can complete the
work in other countries”
“My Memories”
SirM. Vishweswaraiah
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My Dear Chief Minister,
I am presenting herewith interim report of the Karnataka Administrative Reforms
Commission. The terms of reference as given to the Commission focus on making the
Government more responsive and people-friendly while bringing in greater levels of
efficiency, accountability and transparency in Government functioning. Apart from the
above, the Commission was also expected to look into strategies for reduction of
corruption in the Government. The members of the Commission, Sriyuths S.B.Muddappa,
Former Chief Secretary of Government of Karnataka, Blasius M.D’Souza, former Law
Minister and the Chairmen, members of the 3 sub committees constituted by the
Commission have, after detailed discussions, made various recommendations. The
Secretary of the Commission, Smt. G.Latha Krishna Rao, IAS, has commendably drafted
and researched the entire report.
The Commission, after due deliberations, decided to submit an interim report covering
three strategic levels of governance. The Commission has examined the administration
in Secretariat, all levels within District and also studied critical areas of good governance
covering areas of recruitment, transfers, civil service reforms and anti-corruption
institutions. The interim report of the Commission contains specific recommendations
on the above three areas.
The other terms of reference would be examined subsequently and would form part of
the final report. For study of the Secretariat reforms and at the district level, the
Commission has focused on two to three departments and given specific recommendations
for improving their functioning. In order to examine several other areas in greater depth
and cover all the other departments of the Government, the Commission is also
contemplating a functional review of all major departments in the State, covering all
hierarchical levels. Such a study has so far not been done in the Government and is very
critical to assess the needs of the people vis-a-vis the present policies and functions of
department, the quality of implementation within the department and where department
needs to do things differently to make it more effective and responsible to the people.
The Ford Foundation, New Delhi, has expressed its desire to support the Commission in
the conduct of such a functional review and we are examining the matter.
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All the recommendations as given in this interim report are the outcome of series of
discussions, workshops, meetings, held with senior bureaucrats, employees’ associations,
elected representatives, not only at State Head Quarters but also at district and village
levels where the Commission had extensively toured.
For the purpose of the interim report, a survey was also taken of the emjjloyees of 10
Secretariat departments to ascertain their views on various aspects of governance reforms.
The findings of the survey form part of the interim report and I am sure would be very
helpful to the Government in implementation of the Commission’s recommendations.
On behalf of the Commission, I hope that the recommendations in the interim report
would be accepted and implemented expeditiously by the Government.
With regards,
Yours sincerely,
Sri S.M. Krishna,
Hon’ble Chief Minister,
Government of Karnataka,
Vidhana Soudha, Bangalore.
(HARANAHALLI RAMASWAMY)
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KARNATAKA ADMINISTRATIVE
REFORMS COMMISSION
SUB COMMITTIEES:
I) SUB COMMITTEE ON SECRETARIAT LEVEL REFORMS:Chairman
Dr. M.R. Tanga, MLC.
Members
1) Sanjay Kaul, IAS.
2) C.S. Kedar, IAS.
3) Prof. M.C. Shanthamurthy, Secretary,
Institute of Parliamentary Affairs, Bangalore.
11) SUB COMMITTEE ON DISTIUCT/TALUK LEVEL BEFOHMS
Chairman
Ramesh Kumar, Former Speaker,
Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
Members
1) K.P. Pandey, IAS.
2) M.R. Srinivasa Murthy, IAS.
3) D.R. Patil, MLA.
III) SUB COMMITTEE ON GOOD GOVERNANCE
Chairman
Members
Dr. Siddalingaiah, MLC.
1) Dr. S.N. Sangita,
Professor and Head of Department,
Development Administration Unit,
Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore.
2) M.S. Padmarajaiah,
Bar-at-Law, Bangalore.
VI
Preface
The main objective of the Commission is to bring in good governance through a new work
culture by enhancing transparency, accountability and professionalism in the civil service.
Also it is the endeavour of the Commission to usher in a people-friendly administration at all
levels of governance. Simplification of procedures, prompt delivery of various services to the
people with maximum efficiency and minimum cost is also critical factor in governance reforms.
Rationalisation of the civil service to reduce the wage bill is also an important aspect of civil
service reforms.
The general perception of the people about the working of the government is negative. In a
democracy, the government should be “of the people, by the people, and for the people”. The
third element appears to be absent and the people generally do not feel that the civil service is
working for them. In a democratic system of government, while policy is determined and laid
down by the Cabinet which is responsible to Legislature and ultimately to the people, the civil
service has to implement the government’s policies and therefore, it is essential that they are
honest and experts in their respective fields capable of advising the government.
The only method of having such an expert, honest and committed civil service is to pay special
attention to their recruitment and training. In modern times, governance is not only an art, but
also a science and to that extent, the business of experts. Therefore, care should be taken that
the army of people in government service should not convert the system into bureaucracy and
officialdom.
Personal integrity and high moral values of the civil society will alone lead to good governance.
People at higher levels should set examples by their personal conduct. In our country, the life
and work of those in power always set an example. The proverbial sloka in the Bhagavadgita,
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setting high standards of public morality by both politicians and bureaucrats. Honesty and
integrity along with efficiency and expertise are the basic factors for a trustworthy, people
friendly governance. Any amount of progress in technology can be of little benefit if the moral
standards of those in charge of Government are deplorable or people as a whole arc dishonest
and self seeking. There are well known guidelines in order to make a person follow the path of
virtue. One of the basic instincts of man is 'fear’. The most important aspect of fear is that of
ones own ‘conscience’ which always informs what is good and what is bad. In order to activate
our intellect which controls our senses, one has to have proper culture and education. One has
to have the concept of sin and good deeds. This needs a spiritual attitude to life. The second
Tear’ should be that of the people i.e. society. For this, we should have an enlightened society
consisting of people who are prepared to defend their rights and fight against injustice. The
third fear is that of law of the land. Unfortunately, on account of the present judicial system,
it has become almost impossible to get speedy justice. Therefore, major steps will have to be
taken to tackle the evil of corruption.
Information Technology is changing the very basis of the present system of administration.
The file system, the army of clerks, the movement of files has no relevance these days. All
information required by the Secretary or Head of Department will be available al the tip of the
finger through computers and Internet services. Having these factors in mind, we have tackled
the subjects with the clear objectives for making the Governance simple, transparent, clean
and professional.
Keeping these general ideas in mind, the Commission has interacted with all levels of
administration, public and institutions along with the experts and has prepared these reports
on the three issues of reforms, at the Secretariat level, at the District, Taluk and Village levels
and Good Governance.
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Dr. M.R. Tanga, MLC, Sri Ramesh Kumar, Former Speaker, Legislative Assembly, and
Dr. Siddalingaiah, Author and MLC, were appointed Chairmen of the three sub-committees
respectively constituted by the Commission.
The Commission visited the districts of Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Dharwad, Mysore, 1 lassan,
Kolar, Mangalore, and Mandya and had discussions with officials, people’s representatives at
all levels, NGOs etc. During the tour, the Commission visited several villagers and directly
interacted with the people about their problems and their perceptions about governance reforms.
The Commission had individual discussions with several Secretaries, experts, leaders of the
opposition, members of Parliament, representations of Government Employees’ Associations,
KAS Officers Association and other officers associations.
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With the support of Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) and Indian Institute of
Public Administration (IIPA), two seminars were organized by the Commission. The Hon’ble
Chief Minister, Sri S.M. Krishna inaugurated the Seminar at ISEC on 4-10-2000. Sri Madhav
Godbole, former Home Secretary, Government of India, delivered the keynote address.
Sri Satish Chandra, former Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka and former Governor of
Goa, Sri Veerappa Moily, former Chief Minister, Government of Karnataka and Sri M.Y.Ghorpade,
Minister for Rural Development & Panchayat Raj presided over three technical sessions.
Sri S. Ramanathan, IAS (Retd), Chairman of Karnataka Unit of Indian Institute of Public
Administration organized a one day brain storming session on 16-10-2000 which was attended
by many senior administrators and experts. The discussions in both the seminars were very
useful.
The Commission also had several rounds of discussions with the World Bank team members on
good governance. The Commission received a number of representatives from several
organisations, individuals, professionals and common people, in response to the notification
issued by the Commission in the newspapers.
We shall tackle the problem of work study / functional review / performance review of all
departments and posts to assess the utility of these posts. Rules of Business and government
servants Conduct Rules are to be reviewed to improve the system. Also items No. 4, 5, 6, 9 and
10 of the terms of reference will also be taken up for study and report shortly together with
further reference to the three subjects which this interim report is being prescribed.
An honest attempt is made by presenting this report which the Commission hopes will be
acceptable to the Government and the people.
(HARANAHALLI RAMASWAMY)
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CONTENTS
Ancient Wisdom
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Secretariat Reforms
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Reforms in District Administration
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Good Governance
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Summary of Recommendations
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List of Annexures
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Ancient Wisdom
Administration of State - Ancient wisdom
Thoughts concerning political administration have developed in our Country from the days of
Ramayana and Mahabharata. The question posed by Yudhistira to Bheeshma in Mahabharata
is a fundamental one. "Hon' can a person having physical prowess and mental caliber similar to
all other men rule the other people?" The term ‘raja’ or ‘King’ as a synonym of administration is
very ancient. The natural question that presented itself is, whether the Kingship is a divine
sanction or a system evolved through the consensus of the Society. The ancient thinkers
however did not regard it as a divine sanction. That it was is a concept that emerged only in
the mediaeval period. The thoughts about Administration reached a mature and significant
stage in Kautilya’s "Artha Shasthra" (The science of polity and economic welfare).
It is natural that it is not possible for the King all by himself to look after the welfare of the
State An administrative outfit had to be developed to work on his behalf. To achieve the
multitudinous facets of welfare of the people such as the economic, social, religious, material
and spiritual, administration itself had to become multifaceted with competence handle the
different details of administration like the social stratification in terms of professional and
craft-groups policy-decisions regarding political programmes and objectives, legislative system
establishment of law and Judiciary, the departments of executive different echelons of
administration, defense, etc. But if all these things remain centralised and vested entirely in
the monarch, the administration cannot be effective, stable or honest, though the ultimate
responsibility of administration lies with the King the intended supreme benefit of administration
is the all round development of all the citizens, unto the last.
The tenth century work "Neethi Vakyamritha" discusses in detail the nature and scope of
administration. The author of this work is a Jain Poet Somadeva-soon. The very opening
words of this work are interesting.
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(I bow to the Kingdom, which bestows the fruits of good conduct, wealth and pleasures of life).
He begins his work, bowing reverently to the Kingdom itself. He clarifies in the very beginning
that it bestows the benefit of achieving all the, purusharthas (life-goals) of all people.
if the administration has to be good, admirable and has to win the approbation of all the
people, a mental resolve and attitude to look after all the people on an equal footing should
take root in administration. To quote the words of Somadeva-soori:
The philosophy of ^Equality of all living beings" is not only important in the field of religion,
but also relevant for good governance for the maintenance and stability of the society. The
administration has to uphold this cause. Somadeva-soori also states that it is the duty of
administration to assist each and every citizen to achieve equally all the three Purusharthas,
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Artha, Kama and Dharma.
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It is the responsibility of the Administration to fulfill the normal and legitimate desires of every
citizen, provided that they do not interfere with the Dharma or Artha in vogue. That is why the
dual function of administration is recognised as protecting (shista-rakshana) the good and
punishing the evil (dushta-shikshana). He, who does not protect the valid interests of the
citizens, is not a King at all.
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To discharge these two responsibilities the Administration should have discipline and order
as well as firmness and courage.
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There should be an order (Krama) in the administration to protect the honest and good citizens.
It includes social stratification, judicial system, legislative system, division of the Executive,
selection of counselors and ministers (Amathyas) as defined by Kautilya and others. Kaulilya
suggests a department of administration called “Kantakia-shodhana”. This is a department,
which will “remove thorns (hurdles) and make the path of administration easy and smooth”.
The hurdles in administration include attempts to disrupt peace politically and socially, dishonest
and cruel officers; officers who engage in misconduct with utter disregard to their responsibility,
selfish officers who neglect the interest of people, Kautilya includes thieves, dacoits, murderers
and tormentors of citizens also in their group. Fie suggests that to supervise this department
three Pradeshtris (meaning Ministers or Amathyas) should be appointed, and that a judicial
body should back them. Fie hopes that this system will help mitigate quickly the malpractice
in administration; and corruption among officials and misconduct of the officers would
effectively be curbed.
We should note that Somadeva-soori states that along with this “Krama” there should also be
“Vikrama”. Kautilya too supports dhe same idea and has said that the essence of state
administration is its penal code. The administration must have the responsibility to punish the
guilty, whether he is a citizen or an officer of the Government. He suggests that along with
Sannidhatta (An officer who remains close to the King and who always considers the welfare of
the Kingdom or Slate), there should be an officer called Samahartha (Collector-General). He is
similar to the present Revenue Secretary. The above said Pradeshtri works as his Assistant. He
is similar to the present Commissioner. Since they are expected to be distinguished by their
honesty, courage, ability, direction, diligence and efficiency, the term “Vikrama” employed in
the context comprehends all these qualities.
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Kaulilya remarks: “Like unto a cart with but one wheel cannot move on, the King without the
assistance of others cannot rule the Kingdom ”. I le indicates that the King’s assistants should be
designated as Amathya, Mantri or a Member of Mathriparishad. He further suggests that the
number of members in the Council of Ministers (Manthriparishad) should be in accordance
with necessity. While referring to the appointment of twelve, sixteen or twenty members by
the earlier Kings, he feels that usually three to four Members would suffice. It is his opinion
that with a limited number of officers, the administration will be smoother, better streamlined,
clean and orderly; and that thereby the interests of the citizens would be achieved best.
Kautilya says that there should be one Superintendent (I lead of Department) in each Department
of Administration, assisted by clerks, scribes, storekeepers, additional spies, supervisors and
temporary officers as heads. 1 he prosperity of the Kingdom shall be their sole aim. He suggests
that it is effective to bring five or six villages under one group, designated as a Unit, which shall
be headed by an officer called Gopa, who is appointed by the King. A Gopa will be assisted by
Sthanikas each of whom will look after the Janapada or a quarter of the above-mentioned Unit.
Though the King appoints all of these officers, they do not come under the category of salaried
staff, because, it is the villagers who select them and look after their financial requirements.
An officer designated as Gramika is the head of each village in the Unit and he too is not a
salaried employee.
This in fact is the concept of “Village State” (grama-rajya). It signifies the element of local self
Government at the village level, where villagers play the major political and administrative
role. 1 he administration by King is only in principle. The King is of course the nucleus of the ,
State. But he does not have a direct, effective, or independent role to play in the administration.
Accoiding to Kautilya, the King by himself is not the Stale; he is but one of the organs of the
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State. Like a body having different organs working in unison, a State is also composed of many
organs like the King, Minister, Nation, Treasury, Judiciary and army. The King being the main
organ, his function is to deploy officers as other organs to function independently, properly
and efficiently. Each organ is free to function effectively in its own administrative area; and
care is taken that no other organ will interfere in its work. But either the King or the council of
ministers shall monitor their activities and guide them work towards the progress of the entire
country.
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Financial self-sufficiency was given top most priority in the organized system of administration
of that time. That is why all the professions, crafts and occupations (craft-guilds called sreni)
were strictly controlled and supervised by the State. In such an administrative system, there
Was not much of variance between the Judiciary and the Executive. The role of local and
intermediatory bodies was significant in both. Though the main objective of the Slate was to
maintain peaceful, disciplined and well regulated social order, the objective of prosperity and
Welfare was latent in it. Mann says that the King or the administrator should be well versed in
the science of polity called; Arthashastra and that he should always be keen to enhance the
natural and human resources of the State. According to him, the State’s attention should be
focused in agriculture; forests should be preserved, highways shall be well maintained, and
safety of the citizens should be ensured; efforts should be made for utilizing waste-lands for
agriculture; wild elephants should be captured, tamed and harnessed for public utility; proceeds
from the mines should be increased (7,156), so that the coffers of the state are enriched.
The authors of the ancient and medieval law-books called Smrithis suggest that in addition to
the penal code, the country’s defense, education of the citizens, religion of the masses, morality
of individuals and groups, family, economy of the country and culture of the community shall
also be included within the ambit of the duties of the King and the officers of State. Since
administration touches each and every aspect of public life, every aspect of public life will
become relevant to administration. Thus, honest, efficient and wise statesmen are of supreme
importance in the administration which strives to achieve the all round welfare of the individuals,
as well as the well being of society. Hence, Somadeva-soori observes:
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It is better for the State to be without a King than to have a King one who is not prudent,
discrete, farsighted and selfless.
In Kautilya’s Arthashastra and in several Smrti texts, the King is not depicted as a man indulging
in a luxury and wallowing in wealth. These texts lay down a tough daily routine for him.
According, Io Hkisi1 works, life must be his incessantly work-oriented. No other officer of the
Slate or a private citizen works .is hard as he does. This concept of duty on the part of royalty
vanished gradually, giving place to a concept that royalty is for the King’s personal benefit and
aggrandizement and for the benefit of his family members; and this thus altogether negated the
sole purpose of Artha-Shastra which was the science of political, economic and material
prosperity of the whole stale. Consequently, the relevance of Artha-Shastra was lost to the
succeeding generations. But the need of the present day is to recover this relevance, and
realise that the ruler or the administrator as the first servant of the nation should be selfless,
honest and efficient. With regard to Kautilya’s Artha-Shasthra, the role of the spies in
administration is considerable. He speaks of deploying spies at all the echelons of the State
administration and this is held out as an undesirable prescription. We should not forget in this
context that Kautilya lays greater emphasis on efficiency than on the moral code. The spies of
Kautilya shouldered the responsibility of secretly finding the merits and demerits omissions
and commissions, negotiations and strategies, of all the Officers, right from the Minister to the
last official in administration, and recording these details for the benefit and guidance of the
King. Kautilya thought that unless the Officers had this fear instilled in their heart, they would
not perform their duties honestly and effectively. This observation of his is interesting.
“To ascertain the amount of money swallowed by an Officer out of the money that should
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really go to the State Exchequer is as difficult as to ascertain the amount of water a fish swimming
in water swallows”. That is why every officer is subjected to the watchful eye of a spy, and this
helps achieving efficiency in administration. We should not forget that the spies are also
officers of the administration, although they constitute a separate cadre.
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Whether such an administrative system of the medieval times was proper or not it is important
to recognise that the different Artha - Shasthras held the interest of the state above the interest
of a person, be he the king or Officer or a private citizen. In fact, the policy of any administration
should also be the same. The interest of an individual is not entirely dependent on the interest
of the State. The values for an individual are different from those for the State. This is true for
economic pursuits, social activities sports, religious behaviour and power solicitation. I hey all
differ from person to person. But the state should transcend these differences. Efforts of an
individual may even be directed towards some spiritual benefit. But normally this can be of no
interest to the State. But when the ideals of administration become progressive all the legitimate
interests of the individual (even the spiritual) should necessarily be comprehended within the
ambit of the State’s administrative organisation. And in an enlightened State, administration
should also work within an all-inclusive spiritual framework. This only means that the morality
of the King and his officers should not be quite contrary to that of the common people. “Public
Morality” and transparency in one’s conduct as defined by Gandhiji are important in any
administration worth its name. The financial restraints frequently observed by the common
people should also be observed by the State. The State administrative machinery should take
care to ensure that its structures and functions would not be felt as a burden by the common
people.
It is the prevailing doctrine in the Artha-Shastra that good administration (surajya) is ensured
only when the administrative machinery appreciates that the State is not there to serve the
private interests of the Kings and his officers, but that the Kings and his -.officers are there to
accomplish the welfare of people. An administration which only exploits and deceives people
cannot be expected to establish a Surajya. In our Nyaya Shastra (jurisprudence), there is a
technical term ‘Laghava Tarka’, which means that if a work can be done with less effort, we
should not resort to more effort. A work, which can be accomplished by some simple procedure,
should not needlessly be complicated to entail a more elaborate one. Ten people should not be
employed on a work, which can be done by one person. Not only will this involve unnecessary
expenditure for the public exchequer but there will be a likelihood that the work would be
spoiled or delayed. We can notice that this principle was adopted in our Artha-Shastra. Kautilya
finds greater efficiency in a Council of Ministers consisting of only two or three Ministers, than
in a Council of Ministers consisting of twelve to sixteen members, aS for the practice in earlier
days. The King or the administrative head should concentrate on the total quantum of work
which needs to be done; the number of the officers should be only in due proportion with the
requirement of the quantum. The principle should rather be “an officer for the job” and “not a
job for the officer”. The citizens pay the tax for the administrative set up in the mediaeval
times. The payment of one sixth of their crop by the citizens is in consideration of the work to
be done by the King for them, and it is not to be utilised for fostering the officers. The ArthaShastra makes this point very clear. The Officers should not become burden to the people;
their superfluous number and disproportionate expenditure on them would go against the
‘Laghava-yukti’ that is advocated in the Smriti texts and Artha-Shastra. The welfare activities
would then be severely handicapped, and the deal of ‘Surajya’ is there by given up. There is a
heavy encroachment on the State exchequer, without corresponding benefit to the people.
It can thus be seen that the ancient and medieval political acumen and administration wisdom
can be a beacon light to a considerable extent for achieving an effective administration and for
establishing the Surajya of our traditional ideology.
Courlcsy:
Professor S. K. Ramachandra Rao
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Secretariat Reforms
The Secretariat consists of the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister, the Secretaries
to Government, and the staff. It functions as the nerve center of Government. The business of
the Government is transacted in the Secretariat. It is here that all policies and programmes get
formulated and executive ideas originate. It also provides overall supervision, guidance and
leadership, to the field functionaries. The Secretariat services the Cabinet and sets the pattern
for overall efficiency in every part of administration. The efficiency of the Government as a
whole depends largely on the effectiveness of the Secretariat. Since the Secretariat has such a
crucial and seminal role to play in the overall functioning of the Government, the Commission
felt that it is necessary to deliberate and include recommendations on Secretariat reform in the
interim report itself.
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Therefore, briefly the important functions of the Secretariat are •
Obtaining decisions on policy matters and enunciating policy decisions in clear language,
so that the field functionaries can implement the decision of the Cabinet.
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Overall planning and finance.
•
Legislative business.
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Personnel management policies.
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Legal advice.
•
Coordination among administrative departments of Secretariat.
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(:oinnnini( .ilion with tin* Centre and other State governments.
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Overall evaluation, supervision and control and coordination of the work being done by
the field departments.
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The Karnataka Government Secretarial is run on the basis of Secretariat Manual of Office
Procedure. The first edition of the Secretariat Manual was issued in 1904. Consequent to the
formation of the Karnataka State in 1956, the Manual of Office Procedure for Secretariat was
brought out in 1958. This has been revised in 1967 and subsequently in 1985. Secretariat till’
today follows the Manual of 1985. The revisions of the Manual over time have been generally
cosmetic, have not helped improve Secretariat efficiency and have not incorporated the changes
in administration over lime.
F
The Karnataka Government Secretariat functions under the over all administrative control of
the Chief Secretary. The Chief Secretary is assisted by Secretaries heading various departments
who work directly under his control and supervision, lb assist the Chief Secretary in regular
monitoring and supervision of departmental activities, there are Additional Chief Secretaries
who monitor and supervise certain departments.
The staff structure in Secretariat is pyramidal in nature. A section is headed by a Section
Officer, and generally comprises of one Senior Assistant, two Assistants, one Junior Assistant,
one Typist and one Dalayalh. Each Under Secretary is generally in charge of two sections.
Each Deputy/Additional/Joint Secretary is generally in charge of two Under Secretaries and
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four sections.
The Secretariat today has a sanctioned strength of 4G35 employees against which 3873
emplovees are working. 1’his includes 610 employees working in the Chief Minister s Secretariat
and Ministers’ establishments. The largest employee component in the Secretariat comprises
of 800 Group-D employees (peons, Attenders etc), 524 Assistants, 371 Section Officers, 347
Senior Assistants, 237 Junior Assistants, and 222 Stenographers.
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Amongst the Government departments also, 79% the employees of Revenue Department 77%
in Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, and 63% in Health and Family Welfare
Department were happy in general with infrastructure facilities, while satisfaction levels were
low in the departments of Education (42%) and Agriculture and Horticulture (44%).
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The crucial factor in enhancing the employees motivational levels is training. 79.50% of all the
employees felt that the training given to them on policies and procedures of the Government,
inter-personal skills, computer skills were inadequate. 80% of the officers felt that their
subordinates were very poor in inter-personal skills and attitude towards work. Since the
employees motivational levels are low, this also contribute to the lack of work delegation by
the superiors leading to further lowering motivational factors.
Reduction/Redeployment of staff
82% of employees (officers and staff) agreed that the Government is currently over staffed.
On being asked whether the Government should reduce its employees strength, 89% of the
staff and 78% of the officers believed that this is necessary. The employees felt that the
strength could be reduced particularly at the levels of Joint Secretaries/Secretaries and GroupD employees. The Secretaries felt that 50% of the employees strength could be reduced al the
Assistants level. 77% of the staff members preferred the Voluntary Retirement Scheme and
23% suggested freezing of recruitment as preferred mechanism to reduce employees strength.
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As part of this study, each employee was made to assess the quantum of work being done on an
average in a day. There is no set parameter for the number of files that an employee can attend
to in a day. It was felt that an employee should at least be able to see a minimum of 10 files a
day. lherefore, the employees were asked to assess the number of files being attended to by
them in a day in terms of less than 5, 5-10, 10-20 and 20 and above. Amongst the officers who
responded to this question, 17 of them (Under Secretaries, Section Officers) were seeing less
than 10 files a day. Amongst Assistants, 59 of them were seeing less than 10 files a day. The
staff who work in Protocol, Receipts and Issues and Training Institute who would normally not
have to see many files and lherefore, their quantum of work cannot be assessed based on the
number of files attended by them in a day. All such names have been deleted from the list. The
Government has to seriously consider redeployment of these people who do not have adequate
work at all.
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Efficiency
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Employees at the staff and officers level were asked to write their inputs in the file in terms of
quality on a scale of 1-5, one being low and 5 being high. The staff rated their input on an
average 3.4 whereas the officers were rated at 3.9. Both these ratings are a major areas of
concern as it shows there is not enough value addition is taking place as the file moves in a
particular department, this is also validated by the Secretaries who stated that there was
hardly any value addition to the files in the hierarchical chain.
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Punctuality is a crucial factor which affects efficiency. The survey found that more Ilian 20%
of the employees arrive late to the office (at least by 30 minutes). On arrival, about another 30
minutes is spent on socializing and trivia. By the time the employees get down to work, it
would already 11.00 AM.
Even though the Government has introduced the smart card system to monitor punctuality and
attendance, this has not been effective for the following reasons: i)
The data from the system is not monitored on a regular basis by the Secretaries or superiors.
2)
Departmental heads themselves do not adhere to punctuality norms.
3)
I here is no consequence for not swiping the card since the manual attendance registers arc
still being maintained.
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4) There is no consequences for not carrying the card.
5) More importantly, there are hardly any consequences / action taken against the employees
who walk in late.
6) Even though Photo Identity Card is given, yet since this is not linked to the computer
monitor al the access control point, cards are exchanged with impunity and friends happily
swipe cards of their colleagues, who are expected to be late or even absent, to keep them in
good terms.
It is also noticed that during the survey, the employees working in Vidhana Soudha would
swipe their cards at MS Building readers at the correct time and would gradually reach their
sections much later and vice versa. Until and unless this punctuality monitoring system is
connected to the attendance data bases and it is also ensured that proxy swiping cannot take
place, the punctuality monitoring system would not be successful.
!
61% of the employees favoured 5 days week and 66% of them were willing to work in new
timings if offered, from 9-30 am to 6-00 PM.
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Outsourcing
More than 60% of the employees felt that the Government could outsource certain functions
to the private sector. The following functions were recommended for outsourcing: -
•
Recruitment of personnel.
•
Building maintenance.
b
Services of drivers.
Services of Attendcrs.
•
Services of Security personnel.
•
Services of computer operators.
Garden maintenance.
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Corruption
The response to this varied depending upon the department and the personnel. Some of the
Secretaries felt that corruption is so strong that eliminating it would be an extremely difficult
task.
However, overall the Secretaries gave the following reasons for corruption:
•
Complicated policies and procedures.
•
Lack of information sharing with the public.
•
Lack of accountability and responsibility with the staff - this ensures that they delay
activities for as long as they want.
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Attitudes of individuals.
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The current anti-corruption mechanisms of the Government (Lokayukta) have not been
effective in checking corruption.
•
Failure of the senior officers to check it.
On accountability and transparency, most of the Assistants stated that they were not clear
about their roles and responsibilities and also not clear about the expectations from them by
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their superiors. Both secretaries to government and Secretariat employees felt that not enough
information was being shed with the public leading to lack of transparency. Both officers and
staff felt that complicated rules and procedures within the Secretariat also led to lack of
transparency.
On efficiency, 71% of the staff felt that they were effective in their roles whereas the officers
felt that only 30% of the staff were effective. When asked to rate their input to a file on a scale
of 1 to 5, Assistant level employees rated their input at 3.4 whereas officers rated their input as
3.9. These ratings are a major cause of concern since it indicates that there is not enough value
addition to file as it moves in a particular department. 59% of the work done in the departments
where the survey was conducted was found to be largely repetitive in nature comprising of
memos, internal communications, repeated reminders etc. which had a negative impact on the
efficiency levels of staff and officers. 66% of the employees also were in favour of merger of
departments. The maximum openness to merger was from the Agriculture Department
(83%),Revenue (73%) and HEW (68%).
Regarding outsourcing more than 60% of the employees felt that the government could outsource
certain functions. Maintenance of buildings is the first task of the government which could be
outsourced as per the employees opinion. Employees also felt that security services, maintenance
of gardens, could be outsourced. Since they had not been given adequate training they felt that
even data entry operators etc. should be taken from private agencies. A fairly large percentage
of employees also felt that recruitment could also be outsourced instead of entrusting it to
government agencies.
Motivation levels amongst the staff were found to be fairly low. Lack of hygiene factors like
clean toilets, neat canteen, comfortable chairs and tables to work in, and infrastructure facilities
(transport, inadequate seating space) were found to be major contributing factors to low levels
of motivation among the employees. Another important area is the complete lack of a planned
and established process of skill upgradation for the employees. The critical skill areas where
the employees desired training inputs are in personality development, inter-personal
communications, attitudinal change, work related training, and computer skills. Lack of adequate
training in the above areas has been a major contribution to low efficiency as also lack of work
delegation especially to the lower levels. In fact, more than 80% of the officers felt that the
employees are poor in inter-personal skills, attitude towards work and work related knowledge.
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Staff and officers were asked to give their views on the major causes for corruption. Their
responses were to be given to an open-ended question. The following reasons were given for
prevalence of corruption
(a) complicated policies and procedures
(b) lack of information sharing with the public
(C)
.
lack of accountability and responsibility with the staff
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(d) attitudes of individuals
f
(e) lack of a regulated anti-corruption mechanism and the failure of Senior officials to check
it.
Majority felt that reduction in government expenditure could be brought about by a reduction
of staff size in the Secretariat. 89% of the staff and 78% officers believed that the government
should reduce its employees strength. The staff felt that employee reduction should take place
at the levels of secretaries and additional / joint secretaries as also group-D employees. The
officers felt that reduction of employees should take place at the level of Assistants and group-D
employees. Methods for reduction favoured were voluntary retirement scheme (77%) along
with freezing of recruitment. (23%)
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The employees’ views as stated above have formed the basis for several of the forthcoming
recommendations.
File processing
While the Secretariat has expanded a great deal, its staff structure and methods of work have
remained unchanged for many years. The Secretariat departments examine proposals received
from the field departments on the following criteria: -
(1) Proposals are examined with reference to the approved policy of the government and
implication of such policy.
(2) To verify the proposals in order of priorities and to coordinate the proposals in case of
inter-departmental consultations.
(3) To verify the proposals in terms of previous references, precedents, budgetary allocations.
The processing of the file on any or all the above parameters generally takes a long time. This
is because of the levels of file processing, inadequate knowledge of the Assistants who undertake
the initial scrutiny of the files. Files of such nature generally contain repetition of matter to an
incredible degree. The contents of the departments’ proposals are often reproduced several
times in the noting section of the file before the decision is obtained. The file, therefore,
generally gets bulky and tends to hamper the decision making process.
The levels of file movement within the Secretarial should also be reduced. Presently in cases
of DO letters, they are directly received by the personal section of Deputy Secrctary/Secretary
and then move right down to the level of Assistant, who would then put up the file through the
channel of Section Officer, Under Secretary, Deputy Secretary/Joint Secretary/Additional
Secretary and then to the Secretary. This results in loss of valuable time and there is invariably
not much value addition to the file except, beginning at the level of Under Secretary. For faster
file movement and improved efficiency, it is imperative that the levels of file movement be
reduced.
I
ADMINISTRATIVE
DEPARTMENT
Proposal through D O.
DPAR
(.1“ Stage)__________
ADMINISTRA n
FINANCE DEPARTMENT
ADMINISTRATIVE
T1VE
v
DEPARTMENT
( 2-* Stage)_____
(FOR OPENION)
DEPARTMENT
U.S. (F.D. - Expdr.) -1/2 day
Section Officer - 1/2 day
Junior Assistant - 1/2 day
U.S.(FD-Services) - 1/2
Tappal Sla^e
Secretary - 1 day
Deputy Secretary - 1 day
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Undersecretary-1/2 day
Section Officer -1 day
Junior Assistant- 2 days
(for entering S.D. &
giving case worker)
Case Worker -5 days
Section Officer-2 days
Junior Assistant -1 day
Under Secrctary-2 days
Suction Officer-1 day
Junior Assistant - I day
(mark to Dy.Secy.)
Dy.Secretary-2 days
Secretary - 3 days
Secretary. DPAR -1/2 day
Jl.Secy.(DPAR SR)-l/2 day
Under Secy.(DPAR-SR)-
1/2 day
Jr.Asst.(Diary Work)-1 day
Case Worker-5 days
Section Officer-2 days
Under Secy.(SR)-2 days
Jt.Secy.(DPAR-SR)-3 days
Secretary (DPARJ-3 days
Jt Secy. (DPAR-SRJ-1/2
day
Under Secy. (SR)-1/2 day
Junior Assistant-1/2 day
Typing-1/2 day
U.S.(SR) for signature-1/2
day
Under
Secy.(Admn.D
opt.)-1/2 day
Section
Officer-1/2 day
Junior
Assistant-1/2
day
(3nl Stage)
day
Section Officer - 1/2 day
Junior Assistant - 1/2 day
4-"»
Case Worker - 5 days
Section Officer - 2 days
Under Secretary - 2 days
Deputy Secretary - 2 days
Secretary (Resources) - 3
days
Deputy Secretary - 1/2 day
Under Secretary -1/2 day
Junior Assistant -1/2 day
U.S.. (F.D. -Expdr.) - 1/2
day
Junior Assistant - 1/2 day
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Case Worker for
submission
of draft - 5 days
Section Officer - 2 days
Under Secretary - 2 days
Deputy Secretary - 3
days
Secretary - 3 days
Return Journey
Deputy Secretary -1/2
day
Under Secretary -1/2
day
Section Officer -1/2 day
Junior Assistant - 1/2 day
Typing - 1 day
Multigraph Section - 2
day
Jr.Asst.for issue
days
Jr.Asst, for issue - 1 day
day
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Under Secy. - 1/2 day
Section Officer - 1/2 day
Junior Assistant -1/2
Typing - 1/2 day
U.S..(Expdr.) for sign. 1/2
- 1/2
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R&I Section -1 day
Genl.Depatch Sec. - 2
days
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File movement in Secretariat is vertical, horizontal and trajectorial. Innumerable back references
in the files make them move vertically up and down several times. Since opinion of Law/
DPAR/Finance has to be obtained on several occasions, files move horizontally, trajectorially
to several sections and in many cases such files get lost or result in excruciating delay in getting
the final decision. Files are tossed between the administrative departments and referral
departments at all conceivable levels. The fault generally lies with the administrative departments.
This happens because of lack of delegation of adequate powers to the departmental Secretaries
and inadequate interest of the Secretaries in Secretariat functioning.
If at all any file moves faster, it is only those cases where the Secretary takes personal interest.
File chasing is a common practice in the Secretariat, involving innumerable phone calls to
every desk through which the file has to traverse and if the file is of an urgent nature invariably
deputing an official or two from the department to “follow” the file. There are many Heads of
Department who informally nominate one or two people from their office to regularly “chase”
Secretariat files, since they would be aUthe receiving end if they do not get their schemes
approved on time.
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Generally the back references on the Secretariat files are a result of the inability of the Secretariat
staff to appreciate the technical aspects of proposals submitted by the field departments. There
J is also a widespread feeling among field departments that Secretariat staff do not appreciate
the urgency of the proposals sent for clearance/approval. While there is definitely a need to
have relevant Secretariat input on proposals from the field departments in the release of funds,
on legal matters and certain service matters, it would be most appropriate if proposals of a
technical nature sent by the field departments are expedited by the Secretariat since field
departments are technically more competent.
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In order to reduce the delay in scrutiny of proposals from the field departments it is suggested
that a single file system should be adopted in the Secretariat from the Heads of department to
Secretary. This single file system should exclude cases where -
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financial implications are involved, to examine whether sufficient budget provision is
available or not,
•
legal aspects,
•
inter-departmental issues
•
service matters,
•
recruitment,
•
new schemes.
..
Even in the above matters the matter could be processed in the field office and sent on single
file to the Secretary. Depending on the nature of the matter and the Secretary’s discretion the
file could be cleared at the Secretary’s level or sent down to the Deputy/ Under Secretary. The
greatest advantage in this system is that it would dispense with the section [since the file need
not be built up in the Secretariat] all the information as required from the field department
would be available [time would not be wasted in back references] and speed up file movement.
In order to introduce single file system, Heads of Departments of the super-time scale should
be designated as Ex-officio Secretaries / Special Secretaries to Government depending on their
Seniority. Only such a Secretariat position would facilitate the single file system. Though
DPAR (AR) had suggested such a procedure and issued an order sometime ago, there has been
resistance to adopt this system by the Secretariat. There has been no follow up by the
Administrative Reforms department also.
The single file system will bridge the knowledge gap in terms of procedure and subject matters
in the field departments as well as in the Secretariat. In the Secretariat, it will build capacity in
duo course without extra effort and in a sustainable manner. The common complaint that
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Secretariat officials do not have field knowledge would gradually reduce. At a t™6
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information about the subject after the final decision is taken in the matter.
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t rnmnlpte the check-list which would contain the details of budget provision,
To™.XsX
departmental er legal implications
e“ RespecUveXp.rtm.nts could work out f.n.l details. Such check-lists would also en.b e
the Secretariat staff to understand the components of the particular programme/scheme before
it is put up to the Secretary for approval and ensure that all these parameters ave e
the concerned Head of Department,
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system would be one method to bring in level jumping into the Secretaria .
i
Junior Assistant, l he Sectio
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discretion to give up the system,
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Officer system.
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Section Officer/Senior Assistant/Assistant/Jumor Assistant.
"» b. H Xd“ Desk Offlcers and given .» lb. powers .1 Desk Offlcen
^he Desk Officer should be a separate, distinct post and should not just be another designation
o the Schon Ofto Either Government could consider promoting the Section Officer as
Desk oX ?n alserrate scale of pay or given them sizeable special allowance which would
give them motivation to work as Desk Officer.
Each desk Executive Assistants would work not only as Steno/PA to the Desk Officer, but also
combL functions of Assistant/Junior Assistant. Available Assistants should be suitably tram
for the job and be re-categorised as Executive Assistants to Desk Office .
The following are the recommendations
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Introduce single file system between Head of Department’s and Secretariat
•
Designate super time scale HOD’s as ex-officio Special Secretaries to Government
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Pendency of Files
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While delayering, introduction of desk officer system and delegation of powers would help in
quick disposal of fresh files, yet unless a conscious effort is made, there would not be much
progress made in the disposal of old and pending files. It is generally stated that file pendency
in the Secretariat is due to service and court matters. But it is also due to lack of interest in file
clearance at all levels by all concerned. Several times vested interests play a key role in holding
up files, and sheer lack of accountability as far as file pendency is concerned is a crucial reason
STATEMENT SHOWING THE DISPOSALS OF FILES AT SECRETARIAT DEPARTMENTS
os on 31st October 2000
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Department
No.
Balance
al the
end
of the
One
year
Stages of Pending Tiles
Pending with Depts. Central Courts
Pending
Balance
% of
Above
1 year
Adm.
S<x. al
Other
Sec.
al
Pleads
Tiles
after
Tiles
Sect
at Seel.
of Depl.
outstand
Above
2 year
Above
3 year
Govt.
month
)_ ________ 1________
1
2
3
Minor Irrigation
Revenue
4
Husbandry & F.,S.
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6
7
8
9
10
1654
1150
300
800
82
1534
1.29
1517
1215
7167
346
2
35
120
8193
100
1137
104
12062
1066
3448
10996
4.50
1481
1156
148
142
35
201
53
8
139
1080
1342
5.36
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12
13
1545
1028
347 ,
101
69
950
139
25
287
1401
6.72
2935
1728
800
254
153
940
106
25
43?
1433
2504
6.95
729
346
109
117
157
442
42
0
207.
38
522
6.95
3321
2081
636
301
303
1792
324
111
309
785
3012
7.29
158
~22
958
1542
3175
8,63
225
6
91
1737
58
3032
584
1 1.11
Forest &
Eco & Env.
4133
2840
695
340
258
1238
237
Major Irrigation
10 Energy
3257
2324
512
536
170
227
125
29
12
1169
491
104
29
9
678
9.76
11 Agriculture &
Horticulture
2759
1853
421
218
267
1099
149
0
50
1461
2709
11.21
12 Education
11987
7305
1027
643
4749
588
75
4884
1691
7103
11.35
13 Health & EW.
4 <165
2775
3042
1207
371
612
2268
430
101
342
1824
4623
11.40
415
297
60
40
18
382
12
0
0
21
415
11.51
14 Information
1
Technology
15 Home &
Transport
ii:
10065
5756
2008
1075
1226
3249
505
684
2615
3012
7450
11.83
16 RDPR
4396
3573
611
120
92
2438
171
31
661
1095
3735
13.00
17 Public Works
3570
2654
419
202
295
1555
232
55
773
955
2797
13.27
18 DPAR
9233
6124
1875
690
544
6723
842
205
329
1134
8904
13.39
19 Co-operation
2659
1732
411
313
203
960
111
~7T
575
9<)2
2084
15.01
Civil Supplies
943
457
204
131
151
694
59
0
0
190
943
15.20
21 Information,
Tourism & Y S.
1024
694
269
34
27
527
73
18
49
357
975
15.22
20 Food &
22 Planning
IFS & S & T
1145
784
229
82
50
790
21
0
5
329
1140
15.49
2189
1621
318
152
98
1127
67
18
293
684
1896
18.38
3621
2429
743
257
192
1520
270
2
1052
711
2569
20.22
435
12783
304
110
3277
__ 17
___ 4
260
146
£
0
21.76
1338
1184
2656
79
0
9346
. 29
702
435
6984
3437
26.28
27 Kannada &
Culture
429
326
__ 54
__ 41
46
_ 26
1284
665
312
170
___ 8
137
240
28 Finance
747
167
_ 37
117
191
312
1093
___ 5
20788
___ 2
8971
___ 0
45
47219
0
0
__ 0
_0
__ 45
33.62
37.04
40.00
5430
1665
24975
26453
80767
12.29
23 Labour
24 Urban
Development
25 Pari i men tary
Affairs
26 Law
29 Infarslurclure
45
38
GRAND TOTAL:
105742
67729
8254
18
___ 0
142
1
1i
1
I
11___
650
Commerce &
Industries
8
5
Housing
Department.
7
4
Animal
£ Social Welfare
6
ing W.Ps
___ 3^
Women &
Child Welfare
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for the present level of delays in file clearance. In the first place disciplinary action against
Sccretaiiat staff is rare, and disciplinary action for delay in file submission is generally nevci
taken. So also is the case at higher levels. Again file clearance should not be construe!Ho ineau
a mechanical perusal of the file, simply initialing and passing the file up or down in the hiera cl y
to Im a value addition, a positive contribution to the file so as to enable a considered
(Incision to bo taken, expeditiouslyThere were a total of 1.05.742 files pending in the Secretariat as on Qctober2000. Of this, the
largest pendenev of 12,703 files was with Law Department. The second largest pendency o
files is in Revenue Ileparlimml, winch had 12,062 files pending, and the hducatmn Depa. tment
with 11 087 files. In Law Department, of the 12,783 files pending, 2656 were pending m the
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atlminiHrative Secretariat, 9346 were pending in Courts. Also in Dome
there were 10.065 files pending, out of which 3249 are pending with the admn stra ive
Secretariat. 684 with the Central Government, 2615 with Courts and 3012 with Heads
li
Departments.
24,975 files are shown as pending due to High Court cases.
‘‘There has been no reconciliation of such files with the actualI cases disposed of by the High
the Karnataka High Court has disposed off a very large number of
Court. In recent years
pending cases Most of the pending litigation relates to cases filed after 1998. 1 he Secretariat
depaSX however continue to show a large number of cases as pending rela mg to even
before 1995 A large number of such cases have, in fact, been disposed olf. 1 here has been no
Ttemnl to inlerai? with the Registrar, High Court to reconcile the f.gures In most of the
departments mdv some recent cases get attended to. In most other cases, there has been. n
action on the files lor months together; such files roulmely bemg shown as pending in High
C ourt' i'ach Se. relarv needs to ascertain the stage of each case, and record the next date of
hearing. If this exorcise is done, and the information documented, usmg the software already
developed, the number of actual pending cases may come down by as much as 60-70/o.
Ifl.
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To speed up action in I ligh Court matters, a fairly large number of'legal cells' have been created
p? serve the Secretariat "departments. Unfortunately, in actual practice the legal cells hav
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been reduced to giving advice on whether an appeal is called for in respect of„ordeis of the
High Court received by them. The legal cells do not handle ‘active cases at all. The entire
purpose of setting up the legal cells has therefore been defeated, 1 hcy ^^^“Xrved
performing the function which the Law Department was earlier doing, and have not se vc
•ilher to improve the qualitv of responses to petitions filed, or to support the depaitments
interacdug with the Government Advocates to help in defending the Government. There a e
twelve legal cells functioning now. It would be better if the number ol legal cells are
Also the fcgal cells should be able to monitor the stage of cases in the Courts and ensure <
the pendency of cases is reduced.
There is no reason why old matters and old files should be kept pending. In many cases, the
Situation has changed so radically that no decision is at all required and several old hies can be
Hosed To have immediate visible impact, Secretaries should be ma. e responsible for tak ng
final decisions on all files pending with them for over a year. 1 his will include files refeue I
other departments. In such cases, Secretaries must interact with lho “ne<
and obtain their views so that final decisions can be taken. In respect of High Com matteis
also on each pending file Secretary must record the next dale ol hearing ensme 1 aia-wise
remarks have been filed in the Court and interact with the Government advocates^legularly.
Unless file disposal is taken up in a campaign mode the impact will be marginal and Secietanes
will end up saying they are so busy (attending meetings) they cannot attend to such rot
matters as file disposal.
Chasing of files in the Secretariat by the general public in connection with their grievances is
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disposal of files mid unless the file pertains to matters pending in court or sei vice matters,
19
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must be disposed of within a matter of 2-4 weeks. Time limits for file disposal have also to be
fixed for the Ministers too. If the Minister holds onto a file nothing can be done by the Secretary
of the Department and vice-versa. Only then would the general public be able to get their
grievances redressed within reasonable time, proposals of the field departments cleared
expeditiously and Government appear to be serious about it’s work.
Therefore to reduce file pendency the following is recommended
•
A time limit must be fixed for file disposal at all levels
•
To clear present pendency of files, a file clearance week be declared
•
Secretaries must devote one day in a week for file clearance
•
The Cabinet must review file pendency once a month, including files pending in Minister s
offices
•
Delegated powers must be exercised, this would reduce unnecessary movement of files
pt-
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• , Prompt disciplinary action must be taken for delays in file movement
Amend the Manual of Office Procedure where presently the file is permitted to be at each
•
level for five days.
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• ’ Legal cells to monitor cases and reduce pendency of cases in Courts.
Reduction in Meetings
Secretaries like to imagine that they are performing an important task of governance by
conducting meetings. Many secretaries spend many days moving in and out of meetings. In
many cases they come unprepared, the meetings have no definite agendas, and decisions either
do not get taken or could have been taken either by speaking to the concerned officer on the
telephone or by spending an extra ten minutes on understanding the issue placed on file. 1 he
KDP/MMR meetings have also ceased to serve much purpose, and the review is very often
repetitive and routine. What is worse is that each time the Secretary convenes a meeting; the
HoD as well as his subordinate officers invariably end up spending a lot of time in attending the
meeting. Often the departmental officers have to wait needlessly because the “saheb is busy
at another meeting. There is lack of clarity on the review that should be done by the 1 loD; 1 he
Secretary has usurped the BoD’s role in many cases. However, secretaries very rarely do an
internal review of matters pending in their Secretariat, perhaps because it is more mundane and
not interesting enough. Few secretaries are aware of how many sections they have, where they
are located, and what files are pending and since when.
Meetings when absolutely required must be held with a specified purpose and with a specified
agenda. They should ordinarily last not more than one hour. Several matters to be discussed
with HoDs can be kept together so that the Head of the Department does not have to come
frequently. All meetings should be held only on two days a week. The remaining days should
be focused on file disposal and on other Secretariat matters. Secretaries should spend one full
day on reviewing files pending within the Secretariat taking up one or two sections each week
and record their decisions on files then and there.
•
There should be a specific day fixed for meetings
•
Meetings should be called for only with a specific agenda
•
Secretaries must compulsorily take internal review meetings of the Secretarial once a month
•
Less meetings would give more time to the Secretaries and the Heads of Department to
tour and make field inspections
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Rationalisation of Secretariat Departments
An efficient and effective Secretariat would necessarily mean that the size of the Secretariat be
limited to the needs of the administration. A reduction in the hierarchical levels and introduction
of desk officer system would bring in rationalisation at the lower levels. But unless the number
of deparlihents in the Secretariat is reduced, it would not be possible to reduce the overall
strength of the Secretarial, t hough the work in the Government has increased, the expansion
in the number of departments is not strictly in proportion to the growth of responsibilities
assumed in a welfare State.
H
The size of the Council of Ministers itself should be compact and limited to the needs of
administration. Departments have been created over the years to support/justify the Cabinet
Ministers and Ministers of State with independent charge and also provide places for posting
for several officers. Therefore, any effort in the rationalisation of departments will not succeed
or have any impact till the Cabinet is right sized.
In 1967, there were 13 Secretariat departments and 59 field departments, which have increased
to 28 Secretariat departments today as per the Transaction of Business Rules of the State
Government. But if the definition of a department is taken to be a department, which is
headed by a secretary, then the number of departments as on today would be 39. While the
different functions of the Government and liberalisation have necessitated the need to create
some new departments such as that of Environment, Information Technology, and to balance
gender, that of lhe Department of Women and Child Development, yet there has been needless
bifurcation of certain departments which has not served the Government any useful
developmental purpose. Another reason for lhe proliferation of departments is the insistence
of the Government of India to set up an administrative apparatus, on the similar pattern, as
prevalent in Government of India. Sometimes departments have been bifurcated on the premise
that having an independent department would ensure greater focus and attention to the policies
of that department, but unless there is a fundamental change in the way Secretariat works this
would not really happen.
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excessive creation of posts in the departments especially at the higher levels.
•
Law and Parliamentary Affairs prior to bifurcation had 4 Additional Secretaries, which
has increased to 7 after bifurcation.
•
14 departments in the Secretariat - Agriculture, Medical, Health, Urban Development,
Forests, Irrigation, DPAR. Revenue, Commerce & Industries, Finance, Education, Home
and Transport, Law and Parliamentary Affairs all have two to three Secretaiies.
•
In Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Department, 7 Under Secretary level officers in
1992 have increased to 17 today. Section Officers have also increased from 11 to 18
during the same period.
•
Planning Department has substantially increased the Under Secretary level officers from
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16 to 29 from 1992 to 2000.
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A proliferation of departments has also led to overlapping of work, schemes, waste of resources,
and confusion in the administration. Take the case of the grant of scholarships. Earlier, only
the Education and Social Welfare Departments were handling this subject. Today, Education,
Social Welfare, Department of Women & Child Development, Department of Backward Classes,
and Department of Minorities - all grant scholarships/grant-in-aid to children and the amounts
are similar. The public perception is that there is rampant corruption in the administration ol
these scholarships.
The creation of separate departments has also resulted in the creation of separate cadres. And
in most cases, small
tall departmental cadres develop pressure for more positions and higher posts
21
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The bifurcation of several departments and creation of new departments has resulted in: -
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leading to undue expansion of the department, higher expenditure and red-tapism.
Some of the new departments deal mostly with a few sections of activities, which fell previously
within the purview of a former Department, like the Department of Medical Education created
out of Health & Family Welfare Department, or Horticulture from Agriculture Department
In some of the departments, which have more than one Secretary, there is no clear delegation
of powers. The manner in which the powers are to be delegated is left to the discretion of the
Senior Secretary amongst the Secretaries. As a result in some Departments, the presence of
another Secretary instead of helping to expedite the work has created another level through
which files have to move. In only three departments, Agriculture and I lorliculture and Commerce
& Industries Department and I lealth and Family Welfare and Medical Education, do the Secretaries
have independent areas of work. In the departments of Urban Development, Home and
Transport, Irrigation, Education and Revenue, while each of the secretaries independently attend
to certain work, yet service matters, cabinet papers, and other files pertaining to policy have to
be routed through the Senior Secretary. Government should therefore issue clear orders on the
delegation of powers between the two Secretaries and not leave it to the discretion of the
Senior Secretary.
Also when it comes to giving a reply to a question on the same subject before the Legislature,
if the question pertains to a girl child who is from the Scheduled Caste, the question gels tossed
between the Department of Education, Social Welfare and Women & Child Development, before
some department decides to take responsibility and furnish a reply.
Therefore the Commission recommends that the following Departments be merged:
•
Medical Education with Health
•
Horticulture with Agriculture
•
Planning with Institutional Finance
•
Legislative Assembly and Council Secretariats into a common Secretariat
•
Reduction of one post of Secretary each in Finance. Revenue, Health and Medical Education,
I’orest, Ecology & Environment, Urban Development and Irrigation.
•
Clear delegation of work and powers in the departments where there is more than one
Secretary so that each functions independently.
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Delegation of powers
There has been a significant increase in the size of the Secretarial, brought about by the growing
volume of work that is being transacted in the Secretariat. While the increase in the work load
has generally been met by a commensurate expansion of staff, there has not been any attempt
to question whether the additional work that is being taken over by the Secretariat properly
belongs to it and could not be better entrusted to the heads of departments.
Every Secretariat Department should make a conscious effort to transfer such executive
functions to the heads of departments under it. Il is only then that the Secndariat can concentrate
on its legitimate function of exercising general supervision over execution. Such rationalisation
in the delegation of powers would ensure that the Secretariat remains a small and compact
body capable of prompt action by confining itself to staff functions and general direction.
There should also be uniformity in the powers delegated to the heads of departments. In
several departments powers have been delegated to the head of department in respect of a
single matter and similar powers have been delegated in varying limits to different heads of
departments of more or less equal status. While there may be special needs for certain
departments, yet uniformity in the powers delegated to all heads of departments would ensure
that there is less confusion between heads of departments.
22
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It is also essential that delegation of powers is made effective at all levels and the delegated
powers are fully exercised. The present tendency among heads of departments to make
references to the Secretariat, and of Deputy Secretaries and Under Secretaries to put up every
file to the Secretary, even where powers have already been delegated to them should be actively
discouraged. This tendency to play safe in the use of such powers would hamper administration
and negate the main purpose ol delegation of powers. Action should be taken by the secretaries
against those heads of departments and other officers in the department who do not exercise
powers delegated to them.
Delegation of powers should also be made between the Heads of Departments and District
Level Officers. While reviewing such powers, special attention should be given to the needs of
large departments like Education, Health and Police where the personnel working in the field
are in large number. Suitable delegation of powers would reduce to a great extent the numbei
of sanctions that are to be received by the heads of departments from the government and
consequently from the heads of departments to district level officers. 1 his would ensure speediei
implementation of Government programmes.
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Another important reason for delay in decision-making at the Secretariat level is the time taken
in the process of inter-departmental consultations. Several proposals of the field departments,
after scrutiny by the administrative departments in the Secretariat, are referred to other
departments like Planning, Finance, and Law and in service matters and recruitments, to the
DPAR for their opinion/concurrence. In each of these departments, the scrutiny ol these
proposals is al the lowest level i.e. case workers and they move up to the level of secretary to
government before the views of other departments are communicated to the administrative
department and this would be in instances where no observations / queries arc made. If any
department raises a query on the administrative departments proposal, this file goes in a spin
resulting in several back references to the field departments. Thus there are numerous examples
in the Secretarial where proposals would be under scrutiny for several months and sometimes
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even years.
On an average a file where inter-departmental consultation is required lakes about four months.
In the first stage it takes a month in the administrative department, another one month in
hPAR for concurrence, returns to administrative department and is processed there for another
Couple of days. The file then proceeds to Finance Department for concurrence and is delayed
by another month, brom here it is sent back to the administrative department for issue of the
Order, which requires another one month. This is the average time taken for a file, which requires
the Secretary’s approval at certain stages. In this case, the file has' not been delayed at any
Stage, it was constantly on the move. The multifarious levels of file processing and inadequate
delegation of powers arc responsible for such delays in file processing.
The present system of inter-departmental consultation is thus counter-productive and needs to
be revised. For certain departments, committees have been set up either headed by the
administrative or Finance Secretaries which include officials of the Planning Department, to
Clear and sanction new schemes. Yet even after approvals have been accorded in the above
committee files have to be sent again to Finance department. If in the constitution ol the above
Committee, the order specifically states that the decisions of these committees are deemed to
have been taken with the concurrence of both Finance and Planning then the files need not
have to send back to those Departments. Also Committees headed by the Secretary of the
Administrative Department with the Head of Department as the Member-Convener and officers
of the Planning and Finance Departments as Members should be constituted for all departments
where all plan schemes are to be discussed and approval accorded. If a service matter is involved
then DPAR should also be a member. This would help reduce the delays in inter-departmental
consultations and also bring in transparency in the Secretariat functioning. Also it gives an
opportunity to head of department to explain the proposal that is under discussion to both
Finance and Planning Departments in case they have any questions. It would also enable the
Heads of Department to appreciate the government perspective in the formulation of
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departmental programmes.
23
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2
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More importantly it is necessary for delegation of powers within departments to have a more
efficient Secretariat and speeding up decision making processes. Section Officers as Desk
Officers and Under Secretaries must be delegated more powers so that routine administrative
matters can be dealt with them at their level and need not go to the level of Secretary. Inter
departmental delegation of powers would mean giving departmental secretaries more financial
and administrative powers.
While a Secretary has to send files to the Finance Department for concurrence on several
developmental schemes, he would also have to send several files pertaining to personnel matters
of employees’ viz. medical reimbursement/HBA/MCA etc. Once the policy has been approved
by the Government and when a sanction is to be made according to parameters as laid down in
the policy, there is no need for the secretary to again send files to the Finance Department.
ll
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The delegation of powers is placed entirely on the trust placed on officers at all levels. This
system is based on implicit encouragement to accept responsibility. Disciplinary action should
be taken against such officers who shirk their delegated responsibility.
Ir
’'J
The following are the recommendations -
•
, I
•
IJ
•
2
•
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2
Greater delegation of administrative, financial powers between Secretary and Heads of
Departments
Greater inter-department delegation of powers between Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries
and Under Secretaries to Government.
Constitution of inter-departmental committees headed by administrative secretary for each
department.
Constitution of committee to sanction plan schemes under Finance Secretary for each
department. Government Order should be specific that powers are deemed to be vested
with this Committee for clearances of all plan schemes.
Greater delegation of powers between Finance Department and other Secretariat
departments.
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Revision of the Office Manual
The pendency of the paper work is a major problem in the Secretarial. The Secretarial Manual
of Office Procedure Para 67 on spotlighting delays states that “ dealing hands should dispose of
all receipts/files within 5 days of their receipt and officers at all levels should attend to the
cases submitted to them similarly.” If in the Manual itself it has been prescribed that at each
level a paper can be kept for 5 days, and there are 5 levels for the file movement, one can only
conjure that it would take 25 days for a single paper to move. This situation is when all the
officials at all levels are available, not on leave or busy in meetings or on lour.
The greatest defect in the Manual of Office Procedure is that no time limits have been set any
where in the Manual, either for distribution and diarising of tappal, and the actual movement
of files. This has led to certain categories of employees exploiting the situation and unnecessarily
delaying work. Since no time frames are indicated, this also hampers the conduct of disciplinary
enquires against the staff, especially those belonging to the clerical cadres.
Para 67 on spotlighting of delays in the Manual states that if the dealing hands do not attend to
their receipts within five days of their receipt, then “the concerned official/officer will be required
to explain his failure to do so to the next higher authority”. But the manual does not suggest
any action for such dereliction of duty.
The following paras of the Manual need to undergo a revision:
Once the Desk Officer system is introduced, the sections would get abolished and this would
involve thorough revision of the Manual. Levels for diarising, receipt, registration, arrangement
and maintenance of files would all have to undergo a revision.
24
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The procedure of inspection as envisaged in the Manual is now purely cosmetic. Inspection is
largely done by means of a prescribed proforma, which is invariably filled up by the personal
staff of the officers. Personal inspection of the sections has not been made mandatory. This
needs to be revised.
Para-279 of the Manual is on divulging information and unauthorized use of official documents:
- “Members of the Secretariat establishment must remember that they are subject to the
provisions of the Indian Officials Secrets Act, 1923, and the Karnataka Civil Services (Conduct)
Rules, 1966 and are precluded from divulging to outsiders or to other Government servants
any information whether expressly marked confidential or not, that may come to their knowledge
in their official capacity. Their attention is particularly invited to Rule 12 of the Karnataka
Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1966”.
After the Government has introduced the Right to Information Act, this provision in the Manual
is not in consonance with the provisions of the Act. Therefore, this provision needs to be
revised to provide flexibility for the officers to divulge information to the general public as per
the provisions of the Act.
Para 293 of the Manual stipulates that the Accepting Authority of Annual Confidential Report
(ACR) for the Section Officers is the Minister in charge of the department, where the Section
Officer is working. So also is the case with the Under Secretaries. It is suggested that this
provision be revised so that the Accepting Authority for both the Section Officers and Under
Secretaries could be the Secretary in the department where they are working or the Additional
Chief Secretary to the Government.
Para 270 of the Manual prescribes how discipline and attendance is to be maintained in the
Secretariat. Il prescribes that an attendance register to be kept by every Section Officer, the
number of officials who are to sign in the attendance register etc. With the introduction of
computerized punctuality monitoring system, such a practice of maintaining attendance register
must be dispensed with. If this continues to be maintained, it only leads to duplication and the
computerized punctuality monitoring system would not really serve its purpose.
There are also detailed procedural guidelines on the use of the typing pool, multigraph, telex
etc. These have all fallen into disuse today.
’ • an
The Manual should incorporate the procedure of working under
< officer oriented system,
how computers can be
1 effectively used, and be able to pinpoint responsibility on officials for
dereliction of duty.
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Therefore, the Manual needs to be revised on the following lines -
•
Incorporate efficient mana;igement and secretarial practices to professionalise the Secretarial
functioning.
•
The entire orientation of the Manual should be towards an officer oriented functioning of
the Secretariat.
•
Specify a time frame for file processing for all levels.
•
Delete all references to the use of typewriters, typing pools and Typists.
•
Incorporate how Information Technology can be utilized in the Secretariat, especially foi
sending meeting notices, tracking file movements and keeping a record of all circulars/
orders issued by the Government
•
Amend Para 279 to bring it in conformity with the Right to Information Act
•
Amend Para 293 to make the writing of ACR’s of Section Officers and under secretaries
more simple
25
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More importantly it is necessary for delegation of powers within departments to have a nioie
efficient Secretariat and speeding up decision making processes. Section Officers as Desk
Officers and Under Secretaries must be delegated more powers so that routine administrative
matters can be dealt with them at their level and need not go to the level of Secretary. Inter
departmental delegation of powers would mean giving departmental secretaries more financial
and administrative powers.
While a Secretary has to send files to the Finance Department for concurrence on several
developmental schemes, he would also have to send several files pertaining to personnel matters
of employees’ viz. medical reimbursement/HBA/MCA etc. Once the policy has been approved
by the Government and when a sanction is to be made according to parameters as laid down in
the policy, there is no need for the secretary to again send files to the Finance Department.
The delegation of powers is placed entirely on the trust placed on officers at all levels. I his
system is based on implicit encouragement to^accept responsibility. Disciplinary action should
be taken against such officers who shirk their delegated responsibility.
The following are the recommendations -
• / Greater delegation of administrative, financial powers between Secretary and Heads of
Departments
• Greater inter-department delegation of powers between Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries
and Under Secretaries to Government.
• Gonstitution of inter-departmental committees headed by administrative secretary for each
department.
• Gonstitution of committee to sanction plan schemes under Finance Secretary for each
department. Government Order should be specific that powers are deemed to be vested
with this Committee for clearances of all plan schemes.
Greater delegation of powers between Finance Department and other Secretariat
departments.
Revision of the Office Manual
The pendency of the paper work is a major problem in the Secretariat. The Secretariat Manual
of Office Procedure Para 67 on spotlighting delays states that “ dealing hands should dispose of
all receipts/files within 5 days of their receipt and officers at all levels should attend to the
cases submitted to them similarly.” If in the Manual itself it has been prescribed that at each
level a paper can be kept for 5 days, and there are 5 levels for the file movement, one can only
conjure that it would take 25 days for a single paper to move. This situation is when all the
officials at all levels are available, not on leave or busy in meetings or on tour.
The greatest defect in the Manual of Office Procedure is that no time limits have been set any
where in the Manual, either for distribution and diarising of tappal, and the actual movement
of files. This has led to certain categories of employees exploiting the situation and unnecessarily
delaying work. Since no time frames are indicated, this also hampers the conduct of disciplinary
enquires against the staff, especially those belonging to the clerical cadres.
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Para 67 on spotlighting of delays in the Manual states that if the dealing hands do not attend to
their receipts within five days of their receipt, then “the concerned official/officer will be required
to explain his failure to do so to the next higher authority”. But the manual does not suggest
any action for such dereliction of duty.
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The following paras of the Manual need to undergo a revision:
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Once the Desk Officer system is introduced, the sections would get abolished and this would
involve thorough revision of the Manual. Levels for diarising, receipt, registration, arrangement
and maintenance of files would all have to undergo a revision.
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The procedure of inspection as envisaged in the Manual is now purely cosmetic. Inspection is
largely done by means of a prescribed proforma, which is invariably filled up by the personal
staff of the officers. Personal inspection of the sections has not been made mandatory. This
heeds to be revised.
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Para-279 of the Manual is on divulging information and unauthorized use of official documents:
- “Members of the Secretariat establishment must remember that they arc subject to the
provisions of the Indian Officials Secrets Act. 1923. and the Karnataka Civil Services (Conduct)
Rules, 1966 and are precluded from divulging to outsiders or to other Government servants
any information whether expressly marked confidential or not, that may come to their knowledge
in their official capacity. Their attention is particularly invited to Rule 12 of the Karnataka
Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1966’’.
After the Government has introduced the Right to Information Act, this provision in the Manual
is not in consonance with the provisions of the Act. Therefore, this provision needs to be
revised to provide flexibility for the officers to divulge information to the general public as per
the provisions of the Act.
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Para 293 of the Manual stipulates that the Accepting Authority of Annual Confidential Report
(ACR) for the Section Officers is the Minister in charge of the department, where the Section
Officer is working. So also is the case with the Under Secretaries. It is suggested that this
provision be revised so that the Accepting Authority for both the Section Officers and Under
Secretaries could be the Secretary in the department where they are working or the Additional
Chief Secretary to the Government.
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Para 270 of the Manual prescribes how discipline and attendance is to be maintained in the
Secretariat. It prescribes that an attendance register to be kept by every Section Officer, the
number of officials who are to sign in the attendance register etc. With the introduction ol
computerized punctuality monitoring system, such a practice of maintaining attendance registci
must be dispensed with. If this continues to be maintained, it only leads to duplication and Hie
computerized punctuality monitoring system would not really serve its purpose.
There are also detailed procedural guidelines on the use of the typing pool, multigraph, telex
etc. These have all fallen into disuse today.
The Manual should incorporate the procedure of working under an officer oriented system,
how computers can be effectively used, and be able to pinpoint responsibility on officials for
dereliction of duty.
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Therefore, the Manual needs to be revised on the following lines •
•
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Incorporate efficient mana;tgement and secretarial practices to professionalise the Secretariat
functioning.
The entire orientation of the Manual should be towards an officer oriented functioning of
the Secretariat.
•
Specify a time frame for file processing for all levels.
•
Delete all references to the use of typewriters, typing pools and Typists.
•
Incorporate how Information Technology can be utilized in the Secretariat, especially for
sending meeting notices, tracking file movements and keeping a record of all circulars/
orders issued by the Government
•
Amend Para 279 to bring it in conformity with the Right to Information Act
•
Amend Para 293 to make the writing of ACR’s of Section Officers and under secretaries
more simple
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Amend Para 270 pertaining to maintenance of attendance registers, which becomes redundant
after the introduction of the computerized punctuality monitoring system.
Human Resource Development
The Secretariat employees lack exposure to departmental activities. They suffer complete
lack of relevant and suitable training programmes and also insensitiveness by the DPAR to
proper career placement of the Secretariat employees. The fast changing requirements of the
field departments functioning have not been internalised in the Secretariat.
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Training imparted by the Secretariat Training Institute to say the least is extremely outdated,
uninteresting and serves more to demotivate the staff rather than motivate them. Invariably
the officer in charge of this Institute do not have aptitude for training. Instead of running such
an institute, it would be appropriate if the government identifies certain good training centers
who have the trained personnel for such tasks, jointly work out a syllabus which would be
useful for employees. Training to Secretariat employees should not only include imparting
them knowledge about Secretariat rules and procedures, but must include field visits to see the
implementation of major schemes of some departments. Training must be given to all personnel
staff in the Secretarial on better secretarial practices.
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Of the 280 working days in a year, the Secretariat training institute is not permitted to conduct
any training during assembly sessions. Normally assembly sessions last for 100 days. Therefore,
only 180 days are used for conducting various programmes. During 1998-99, 26 courses were
conducted and 788 officials were trained. During 1999-2000 28 courses were conducted and
918 officials were trained. As per the feedback received by the Secretariat training institute
from the participants, there is a need to
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(a) increase the duration of training
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(b) have better resource persons as guest faculty
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(c) give practical training on computers
(cl) improve infrastructure in the institute basically seating, sound proof lecture hall etc.
A laige pai t of the budget provided for this institute is utilised onlv towards salaries. In 199798, l\s.7.61 lakhs was used for salaries and Rs.1.39 lakhs for training purposes. In 1998-99,
l\s.9.8G'lakhs was utilised for salaries and Rs.1.46 lakhs for training. In 1999-2000, Rs.12.34
lakhs was used for salary and Rs.2.43 lakhs for training. The figures speak for themselves
regarding the expenditure that is being incurred on actual training for the employees. It would
therefore be in the best interests of the Secretariat employees that the training be outsourced.
As is done for the All India Service Officers, there should be regular induction, mid-career
tiaining for all the Secretariat staff. In the mid-career programme, there should be horizontal
and vertical training so that in each of these trainings segments, the Secretariat officials would
have the opportunity to interact not only with their immediate colleagues but also with their
seniors across ranks in the Secretariat. The training should be so scheduled so that every
Secretariat employee compulsorily attends a training programme at least once in three years.
The DPAR must bring out at the beginning of every year a calendar of training programmes for
all Secretariat employees and ensure that it is communicated to all of them. While giving
opportunity to those employees who wish to obtain specialized training, this would enable the
employees to opt for training within or outside of the Stale at a suitable time convenient to
them and their families. Overall training should be perceived as an enjoyable, educational,
learning experience which would motivate the staff to work belter, and not as a boring activity
to be avoided, as is the norm today.
Io stienglhen IIRD in the Secretariat, tin? following actions have! to be taken
•
training at all levels lor all Secretariat staff to be made compulsory.
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Every employee to be slotted for a refresher course compulsorily once in 3 years.
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Training should be in vertical horizontal batches.
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DPAR must identify good training institutions within Slate and outside and have regular
tie-up with them.
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An annual calendar of training programmes to be prepared and widely circnlaled.
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The Secretariat 'training Institute under DPAR to be abolished.
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Computer training to be made compulsory for all the staff.
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Adequate budget provision be made for training
Information Technology and Automation in
Secretariat
Automation and the effective use of Information Technology would lead to a reduction in
paper work. A local area network in the Secretariat should be utilized to send meeting notices
along with accompanied agenda notes (especially KDP meetings where the meeting notes are
bulky.) Each secretary could then print out only what is relevant to his/her department. Casual
leave applications could be sent on the IAN and sanctioned. Periodical reports from the districts
and other field offices should be sent by e-mail The Commission was also surprised to learn
that DPAR Accounts, which handles pay and related matters of the entire Secretariat, including
that of the Ministers’ establishment, was not computerized. There is not a single computer in
these sections. Ledger entries are made manually, and at the end of the month taken to
Directorate of IT and fed into the computer. 'Phis is only duplication of work. 'This is one area
in the Secretariat, which should be fully automated and computerized.
Even though an internal LAN was set up for the Einance department, yet this is not being used
for the reasons that the offices of the finance department are scattered over various buildings
in the Secretariat.
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The work carried out by the Revenue Department in the use of file tracking software in their
Department is noteworthy of emulation by the Secretariat Departments. Apart from this
Government should have only electronic movement of files. The Desk Officer system would
facilitate this, of course with suitable training to all the officers and officials. Government
could engage the services of professionals to develop such software or customize existing
software for this purpose.
Government should also issue clear directions regarding which Department is responsible for
imphmmnlalion of computerization in the Secretariat. Should it be the I 1' Department or the
DPAR {AR}? Committees headed by the administrative Secretaries have been set up, but these
are only for procurement of hardware. Unless common software is used in respect of file tracking
and file movement, the settingup of a LAN would not be useful and Departments would not be
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There is a phenomenal
phenomenal use of paper in the Secretariat. Paper work must be reduced in the
Secretarial and in other government offices too to bring in greater transparency and reduce
delays. Streamlining file movement, reducing the number of monthly, quarterly, half-yearly
returns, can bring about this reduction in paper work. Review of various forms to reduce
information that is required whether from the public or internally to the minimum and above
all, use of information technology at all levels in the Secretariat is necessary.
Therefore for the effective use of IT and automation in the Secretariat, Government should
•
Give responsibility for computerization of Secretariat to a single Department
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Immediately set up the LAN for the Secretariat
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Use common software for file tracking and file movement
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Completely computerize areas dealing with accounts, grievance redressal, reception,
pensions
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Build up a database of the civil service
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Disciplinary matters, property returns
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Legislature Secretariat to have database of all questions asked, answered so that same
questions need not be repeatedly asked.
• Each department Secretary should review all periodical returns and reexamine whether
their periodicity could be made longer or even whether the returns could be made simpler. If a
monthly return is converted into a quarterly return, it would reduce paper work by two-thirds.
Office modernisation
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Presently, most of the government offices have a number of individual rooms which are occupied
by employees on account of their position of prestige or sometimes because the work demands
higher level of concentration or their work is confidential in nature. This concept of private
, rooms is changing and the image of prestige and status of separate rooms has also to be
abandoned because this hinders close supervision of subordinate staff. Accordingly office
space should be so designed so that all the staff are able to sit in a common hall, t or limited
privacy modular lintel level partitions can be provided. Adequate lighting, ventilation, proper
* acoustics are a must for good office. Mobile racks should be used for storing files in the
section. Mobility permits easy cleaning of the offices. The Personal Assistants need not be
given a separate rooms but should be placed in foyers outside the officers chambers while
Secretaries to Government may be given individual rooms, yet here too flexible partition should
be provided so that if permits changes in office spaces as and when required.
Office decor is very important for providing a pleasing working environment. Most of the
government offices lack in these areas. Better quality-coordinated furniture should be provided
with potted plants, wall clocks, curtains etc. If the government finds it expensive to provide
the above amenities to all the offices at a time, it would be worthwhile to pick up one Secretariat
department in the government and restructure and reorganize the department on the lines
mentioned above and judge improvements in the performance and motivation levels of the
employees.
The KGS functions from the Vidhana Soudha, MS Building and also from VV Towers. Secretariat
departments in the government notably DPAR and Finance Department are scattered not only
within the department, but also from one building to another. A detailed statement is placed
al ANNEXURE (Page 135). This inhibits supervision by the concerned department secretary
and leads to a lot of delay in file movements. It also leads to loss and misplacement of files at
certain times. As part of office reorganisation and administrative reforms, it would be better if
government embark upon an exercise and locale all the Section Officers of a concerned
department within one building only and where the offices are scattered amongst several floors
in a particular building, bring them together on consecutive floors.
Everyday one observes large number of Secretariat employees shuttling to and fro, from the
Multi Storeyed Buildings to Vidhana Soudha. Come rain or shine, these employees would be
moving around carrying large volumes of files and also spending a lot of time at the inter
sections trying to cross the road. In addition, there would be several other officers who would
also be shuttling back and forth between the two buildings, but in their office vehicles. A
proposal was earlier made for an underground passageway between the multisloreyed buildings
and the Vidhana Soudha to reduce inconvenience caused by this type of movement. The
Government is now planning to construct another Vidhana Soudha and it is learnt that this
building would have an underground passageway to the existing Vidhana Soudha. The
Commission reiterates that Government should seriously consider the matter and have a
connecting passage way between all the three buildings.
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Offices should be so designed so that all the staff are able to sit in a common hall.
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Adequate lighting, ventilation, proper acoustics should be provided.
•
Introduction of modular design blocks for offices.
•
Introduction of mobile racks.
•
Better quality coordinated furniture with potted plants, wall clocks, curtains to be provided
to the offices.
•
As far as possible, all the Sections of the same department should be made located in
consecutive rooms or in the same floors.
•
A passage way between MS Building and Vidhana Soudha to facilitate quick and safe
movement.
□ PAR & Finance Departments
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Tile largest departments in the Secretariat today are the DPAR and Finance Department. There
must be greater delegation of powers between these Departments and other Secretariat
departments. Since the manner of functioning and powers exercised by these two departments
has significant impact on the functioning of the other departments of the Secretariat, the
Commission felt it necessary to study in detail the working of these two departments.
DPAR
The DPAR in 1999-2000 was split into two departments viz. DPAR and DPAR (AR), both headed
by individual secretaries who report to the ACS and work under the overall control of Chief
Secretary. 'The DPAR has staff strength of 891 out of the total Secretarial strength of 4,035.
Secretary DPAR has under him 6 officers - one Joint Secretary and 5 Deputy Secretaries. DPAR
gives opinion on service rules matters to all Secretariat departments, is responsible for daily
maintenance of the Secretariat and supply of equipments and furnitures to Secretariat
Departments etc., protocol and service matters of AIS, KAS, Heads of Departments and High
Court Judges, all the accounts pertaining to pay and allowances of the Secretarial employees
and service mailers of all Secretariat staff is also handled by the DPAR.
There is also a Special ()fl icer in I he rank of Deputy Secretary who is responsible for recruitment
of Stenographers Ix pisls lor the entire State. This recruitment is need-based. Therefore, for
the better pari of the year the Special Officer and his staff do not have any work. This Special
officer has under him a total staff of 14. It would be most economical if this particular
recruitment cell is wound up and work entrusted to KPSC. All the staff could be more
purposefully employed in other departments of the Secretariat.
The DPAR (Isxeculive) is headed by a Deputy7 Secretary with 2 Under Secretaries. They employ
222 sanitary workers/sweepers and watchmen, 36 lift operators, one clock mechanic, one
carpenter, two senior health inspectors amongst other supporting staff. The detailed working
strength of DPAR (Executive) is al ’ANNEXLIRE (Page 136). Presently when these services are
available al competitive rales in the market, there is no need to fill up posts of clock mechanic
or carpenter when they superannuate. Though the sweepers, sanitary workers and watchmen
are expected to work in shift basis and report for duty before 9-00 AM on a working day, it
invariably does not happen. Cleaning common toilets in the Secretariat, which is to be done 34 times a day, is generally done only once in morning. For the rest of the day, sanitary workers
ahd sweepers do not have any work al all. These services urgently need to be privatised. The
existing sanitary workers/sweepers could be more usefully deployed in Bangalore Mahanagara
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Therefore, the I)P/\R lias a coordinating and house-keeping role for the Secretariat. Several of
the functions of the DPAR mainly accounts and maintenance of individual files or personal
29
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matters of the employees could be done more effectively and efficiently and with less staff if
the relevant sections, especially accounts and administration were to be computerized and if
certain house keeping services of the DPAR were to be outsourced, it would further rationalize
the staff in DPAR.
DPAR (AR)
The Secretary, DPAR (AR) basically looks after administrative reforms in the State including
modernization of offices, reduction of staff in the government, work study, inspection of all
departments and field offices, political pensions, public grievances and also the Secretariat
Training Institutes. The detailed staffing pattern of the office of the DPAR (AR) is given al
Annexure (Page 134). Ironical^, there are 2 under secretaries, but no work-study is being done
as none of the staff posted here have any experience/training in the conduct of work-study.
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A Deputy Secretary heads Public Grievances Cell, which is situated in VV 'lowers and he has
under him 2 under secretaries and 7 Section Officers. From 1.4.1998 to 31-3-1999 22,851
petitions were received and 22,441 were ‘disposed’. So also from 1-4-1999 to 31-3-2000 there
were 22,240 petitions received and 21,849 treated as ‘disposed’. After the petition is received
and once it is referred to Heads of Deparlments/Secrclariat Departments, petition is treated as
‘disposed’. May be such type of disposal satisfies the Riblic Grievances Cell but this will
definitely not satisfy the general public. While there is pressing need to have an efficient
grievances redressal system, such type of Public Grievances Cell only further compounds the
problems by such mechanical disposals of grievances. Primarily, the Public Grievances Cell
must be completely computerized and comprise of staff well trained to work on computers.
The number of sections have to be reduced to one section and all the other staff redeployed
elsewhere. It would also better if Public Grievances Cell function from the same building
where the Secretary functions, rather than from the different building.
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Similar is the case of political pension unit. Two sections and an Under Secretary Io process
political pensions is a waste of human resources. If this unit too is fully computerized, one
Under Secretary with some supporting staff can more efficiently handle few cases that are still
to be processed.
3 r
Finance Department
The Finance Department is the second largest department in the Secretariat and responsible for
revenue collection, expenditure and economy in the government. It would be in the fitness of
the things if pruning down of Secretariat departments begins with the Finance Department.
Today there are 4 Secretaries in Finance Department, one Principal Secretary and 3 Secretaries
to Government. They are Secretary (Resources). Secretary (Expenditure) and Secretary (Plan
Monitoring Unit). Prior to 1995, Finance Department had only nine posts of Deputy Secretaries,
which has increased to 16 Deputy Secretaries. Also there were 17 Under Secretaries, which
increased by one post due to the constitution of the legal cell. There were 33 Section Officers
whose numbers have now increased to 36.
The Finance Department has such a huge contingent of staff because powers are centralized
and there is inadequate delegation of powers. No doubt the ways and means position of the
Government would come in the way of such delegation of powers, yet if a Deputy Secretary
can be enlrusled with and delegated powers for release of funds, the same delegation can be
made to the Secretaries to Government. This would reduce the centralisation of powers in
Finance Department, which would automatically result in a reduced staff strength. Introduction
of Desk Officer system would result in reduction of Section Officers and other staff, but there
is a need to reduce the number of Deputy Secretaries in Finance Department.
Only two posts of Secretaries in addition to Principal Secretary are adequate for Finance
Department. From amongst the 17 Deputy Secretaries, 3 posts of Deputy Secretaries could be
reduced. Deputy Secretary (DGIM cell) who looks after LIC, NABARD and other financial
institutions does not have full time work and this work could be clubbed with the Pensions
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section.. There was always only one Service Section headed by a Deputy Secretary. This is in
the year 1998 made into Services 1 and 2 headed by another Deputy Secretary. One post of
Deputy Secretary (Services) could be relocated. The Deputy Secretary who looks after I he
Finance Commission does not have full time work and this could be merged with the work of
another Deputy Secretary.
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There are 2 Under Secretaries in the PWD Cell. One Under Secretary would be sufficient here.
There are 2 Under Secretaries each for Computer Cell, ZP and Commercial Taxes. Since these
am the areas which have been well computerized in the Finance Department, one Under Secretary
each would be sufficient for the above four areas and surplus Under Secretaries could be usefully
redeployed to other departments.
Among 36 Section Officers, out of 4 from Services, 2 could be redeployed elsewhere. In the
Treasury Accounts Rides and Investment sections, 2 Sections coidd be merged into one section.
In the Pensions Section too, out of 3, it could be reduced to one section. Similarly, in the case
of PWD Cell, one section could be reduced. The BCG Section (Budget Compilation Committee)
can be abolished and merged with Budget 1 & II Sections. Services IV section, which deals with
amendments to KCSR rules, can be abolished since all amendments have been carried out. In
case of any further amendments, this work could be entrusted to the other Service sections.
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Therefore, it is recommended that
•
General Despatch section should be abolished.
•
Functions of the DPAR (Executive) such as sanitation of the Secretariat buildings, reception
must be privatized.
•
The number of sections in Public Grievances Cell must be reduced to one and this cell must
completely be computerized.
•
Political Pensions (iell is also to be pruned down to one section only.
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The posts of 3 Deputy secretaries, 4 under secretaries and 6 Section Officers with
concomitant supporting stall could be reduced in the Finance Department.
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One of the existing Deputy Secretaries in DPAR should be redesignated as Deputy Secretary,
Human Resource Development.
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Common facilities in the Secretariat
The Karnataka Government Secretariat is spread over 3 buildings - Vidhana Soudha, MS Building
add VV Towers. There are certain common facilities that which service all the departments of
the Secretariat. These facilities are
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General Despatch
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Library
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General Despatch
'I’lie general despatch section is headed by a Section Officer who works under the control of
Deputy Secretary (Administration), DPAR. There are 31 posts that are sanctioned for General
Despatch and out of which 21 are filled up and 10 are vacant. In addition, each Secretariat
department has its independent R&I (Receipts & Issue) section. These sections have 8 posts
each and headed by a SO, one Assistant, 3 Junior Assistants and 4 Dalayalhs.
From the General Despatch officials go everyday to the General Post Office (GPO) collect
letters and then arrange them department-wise in the pigeonholes in the General Despatch
(GD). Officials Fom each of the Secretariat departments are expected to regularly go to GD
and collect their letters. GD also is responsible for issue of the letters received from the Secretariat
departments. They also procure the maida paste from the Printing Press and distribute to the
various departments. Needless to say there is delay in the despatch and issue of letters from
the General Despatch. The General Despatch has become another tier in tappal disposal. There
arc instances where letters of certain departments remain in the General Despatch for upto 15
days. Presently, all the DO letters addressed to officers in any department are delivered directly
to the officers. DO letters are also despatched by the department's R&I section and not sent to
GD. Therefore, the utility of the GD is itself questionable and GD should be closed down.
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In order to enhance speedy disposal of tappal, it is suggested that all letters, DO or otherwise,
are received directly in each department’s R&I section and then distributed to departmental
officers. With the availability of fax machines in every department and also e-mail facility
these are used more often for communication. The number of letters that are being received
and issued by post has reduced.
Tappal meant for ministers could be handled by the R&I section of DPAR. To strengthen that
section one or two staff from the GD could be attached to that section to handle this extra
burden.
Secondly, the practice of obtaining maida paste from the printing jness and issue Io the
departments is archaic, messy and should be dispensed of with imniedialely. Letters can be
stapled or self-adhesive envelopes should be used in the offices. The stall working in (lie GD
section could definitely be more usefully deployed in other departments and the space presently
occupied by the GD would become available for alternate use.
GD also has 3 police constables provided with motorcycles functioning as motorcycle orderlies.
They carry the letters to the doors of the addressees. On special occasions, the services of
these persons are utilised by the protocol wing of DPAR and various oilier sections of the
Secretariat for personal despatch of letters
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Library
There is a fairly decent library in the Secretariat, which functions under a Committee headed
by the ACS. There is one branch of the library in MS Building while the main library is located
in Vidhana Soudha. Records in the library indicate that it was started somewhere around 1913.
At present the library has 1,12,091 books. The library gets an annual budget of around Rs. 12.00
lakhs. In addition certain departments like Law, Parliamentary Affairs, Planning, Finance, Energy,
Ecology and Environment maintain their own independent libraries. The library works from
10-00 AM Io 5-30 PM. Since the library is a facility meant for employees and also serves to
provide references for official use, it is suggested that the library limings be changed Io 9-00
AM to 6-00 PM. Apart from slocking books, the library should also stock video cassetles/( J)s,
which could be of educational and also administrative use. The Secretariat library by virtue of
its name provides membership only to Secretariat staff and other government employees working
in field offices in Bangalore are denied membership. It is suggested that they also be given
membership and access to the library.
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Stores
The DPAR (Executive) is the custodian of the Stores in the Secretariat and is responsible for
supply of furniture and other equipments to the Secretariat departments. But the DPAR (AR) is
responsible for office modernisation. Very average quality of furniture is supplied by the
Executive. A certain entitlement in terms of size and quality of tables, quantity and quality of
the chairs and other furniture has been worked out by the DPAR, which is in practice. ANNEXURE
(Page 147). No doubt this has been done to ensure some discipline and uniformity in office
setup, yet the entitlements seem rather archaic. With heavy pressure on space in the Secretariat,
the huge tables, which are prescribed for officials, especially, Under Secretaries and Section
Officers, prevent them from having any moving space in the room. It would be worthwhile if
DPAR (AR) and DPAR (Executive) work together to improve the working environment in the
office by providing comfortable, economic furniture to the employees and also provide such
equipments where necessary, which reduce office drudgery.
Canteen
The canteen today operates in 3 separate buildings was first started in 1956. Up to 1966, it
was under private management and alarmed at the declining quality and quantity, in 1974, the
Government constituted a Canteen Committee. Subsidy of Rs.25,000-00 was also given. While
this resulted in some improvement, yet over the years, again quality declined. In August 2000,
the Secretariat Association requested the Government to hand over the Canteen Management
to them, which was agreed to. Today the Government provides a monthly subsidy of Rs.
13,500-00 along with free buildings, electricity and water. The canteen employs 65 staff and
in order to improve the canteen services, the Government has also deputed 6 Assistants and a
Manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of the canteen. The canteen has a monthly
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income of about Rs.6.5 lakhs.
Several Secretariat employees commute daily from places such as Kolar, lumkur, Mysore and
surrounding villages to Bangalore. All these employees are dependent on the canteen for their
daily meals. It is suggested that the menu be made varied and canteen staff be deputed for
short-term courses in catering and canteen management. The canteen management should also
take the assistance of a qualified nutritionist/dietician who would suggest separate diet for
diabetics’ etc. so that they can also avail of canteen facilities. If catering of the canteen is
improved, definitely they would be able to cater to the several meetings, which are held in the
Secretariat.
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Reception
There are six receptions in the Secretariat - four in the Vidhana Soudha and two in MS Building.
These receptions are manned by the DPAR staff who undergo short term receptionist training.
Though the receptionists are expected to work in shifts from 9-00 AM to 5-00 PM and 1-00
PM to 7-00 PM, they are rarely available after 6-00 PM at the reception counters. It has been
very often observed that in spite of receptionists being present, vendors selling clothes, electronic
gadgets, snacks etc. have free access and enter into the government Secretariat at any time
while genuine petitioners are rudely turned away and denied access.
The receptionists should perform multiple tasks. 1 hey should also function as Grievances
Receiving Officials and receive grievances and complaints from the general public and send
them to the concerned departments. In addition, there are several government forms, Ads,
which members ol the genera! public might wish to obtain. Copies of these should be imide
available by the receptionists to the general public. The best way to streamline the function ol
the receptionists and ensure that the employees are not disturbed during working hours is to
introduce privatisation of reception counters. It is also common knowledge that the Class-IV
employees at the reception counters in MS Building and Police Constables in Vidhana Soudha
generally take money from the public who wish to meet officers/officials/Ministeis, especially
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if they come prior to general visiting hours.
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Any number of orders or circulars on how courteous an employee is to be in dealing with the
public have not resulted in inculcating the culture of courtesy amongst the officials. What is
required is a change in attitude, a realisation that the government exists for the people and it is
not that the people exist for the government. . The minimum courtesy required for every
official is to request the visitors to take a seat in his office and then make enquiries about their
problems. The visitors should be provided with necessary information. The positive approach
is to see every official should make an attempt to see how he or she could be of help to the
citizens.
Over the years, the size of the civil service has grown tc : ~e proportions that government
employees are so busy handling matters of other employees that the cause of general public is
forgotten. Developing a sense of courtesy towards the public as an attitudinal change can be
brought about completely in the long term, but immediately, the following steps could be
taken. It is imperative at this stage that a greater focus and orientation be given to all levels of
government employees on the necessity of Being courteous in dealing with the public. Making
the employees courteous in the behavior with the public though difficult task is not impossible.
•
A beginning can be made by ensuring that all officials are available during the visiting
hours.
•
In addition to the induction training there must be periodic refresher training programmes
for all officials on how to be courteous and all issues relating to interface with the citizens.
Such training must be made compulsory
•
Every department must commit to ensuring a courteous behaviour towards the public on
behalf of its employees and this should be the first commitment of a Citizens Charier.
•
An open door policy may be followed during visiting hours so that other office functionaries
do not provide incorrect information to the visiting public
•
No meetings should be scheduled during visiting hours as a general rule
•
Senior officials on tour must also ascertain the employees relationship with the public and
if it is found to be deficient, prompt action must be taken on the officials.
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Grievances Redressal
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A major cause of complaint and dissatisfaction with the government at all levels of district
administration was the inefficient and some limes non-availability of machinery for public
grievances redressal. Generally there should be no grievances arising out of the government
administration if the government officials would treat everybody alike without discrimination.
Giievances, especially at the district level arise when the rule of law is applied differently to
different individuals or when one s right is either curtailed or denied. A grievance also arises
when the dignity of the citizen and equality before the law is negatived and the rights of
citizens affected as a result of such administration. Exercise of arbitrary and discretionary
powers by the employees generally gives rise to grievances. Also undue delay in the process of
applications especially for caste, income and other land related documents are a major cause of
discontent for the general public. I he quality of service that is delivered to the public and the
manner in which it is delivered sometimes pul the citizens to shame for having to interact with
any government offices. '1’he aggrieved, helpless citizen has no other option but to escalate a
very small problem to higher levels, give repeated petitions to all levels, personally approach
several people and at times take the assistance of the middlemen. Repealed applications by
the same individual to several offices only result in increase in paper work in every office
without any redress for the individual’s grievances. This leads to frustration, disappointment
and discontent. Accumulated growth of such feelings becomes handv for opportunities for all
types of organisations to exploit the situation on personal and political grounds.
The expansion of the civil service especially in certain departments at the district level with
roles and responsibilities that lilave not been clearly defined and made transparent to the target
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group of beneficiaries is another cause for grievances. Take the example ol Agriculture and
I lorticulture Dept, Animal I lusbandry and Forest Department, where a large number of officials
seem to be doing the similar type of work. The beneficiary is shunted from one to the other
thereby very often driving him into the hands of private sector or the middlemen. Lack of
adequate training and proper skills to handle the job at certain levels in the government have
also led to the deterioration in the standards of staff competency. Inadequate delegation of
powers especially to the lower levels also ensures that for certain minor matters, the public
have to invariably approach the district offices or sometimes even the state headquarters.
All departments at the district level are very well aware of the common nature of grievances of
the public towards their departments. The grievances could be of an individual nature or the
grievances could be of particular group like in the case of Agriculture or Horticulture when the
quality of seeds supplied may be poor etc. Except Revenue Department at the district level
which has institutionalized the grievances redressal cell machinery by setting up of grievance
cells in the offices of Deputy Commissioners, none of the other departments have institutionalized
or systemized the same.
•
All development departments must necessarily set apart one day in the week to redress
public grievances and ensure that the district officers at various levels are available in
headquarters. While the government has issued orders making it necessary for the Deputy
Commissioners to be available on Mondays to hear the grievances of the public, this has
not been done for the other officers at the district level. It would be important the Chief
Executive Officer of ZP, the Superintendent of Police to follow the Deputy Commissioner
and remain in headquarters on a specific day of the week.
•
There should be no meetings scheduled for the day as far as possible.
•
The next step would be to ensure that grievances so made by the public are scrutinised and
proper reply within a specific timeframe is made. Computerisation of all the grievances
received must be made mandatory.
•
District level officers must review the grievances received in the subordinate offices.
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When secretaries from State headquarters tour the districts, they must review the quality
and quantity of grievances redressed.
Non-availability of officers
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There was a heartening plea made by the public that the Commission should make
recommendations to ensure that officials are available in their headquarters. The officials who
are to be stationed at the village/gram panchayat level viz. Village Accountants, Gram Panchayat
Secretaries, Veterinary Inspectors, Agriculture Assistants, Teachers, ANM’s invariably do not
reside in their official headquarters. Reasons like lack of infrastructure, non-availability of
accommodation or lack of security were given by the officers for not residing in their official
headquarters. Many of these officials do not give specific time schedule for their visits to the
villages. Adequate publicity is not given about their visit and even if there is a schedule, they
do not adhere to it. Il is the villagers who have to suffer in limes of urgency, or any sudden
illness either in their family or to their farm animals. Since very often they arc not aware ol
where the concerned officials could be contacted, they invariably go to private service providers
now so readily available al the village levels for their succour. This has gradually reduced the
relevance of the officials at the village level.
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There are also far too many numbers of meetings at the district level which hinders the availability
of officials to the general public. It is becoming increasingly difficult at the district level to
tour and inspect the various programmes of the department and interact with the beneficiaries.
This lack of accessibility of the officials at all levels in the district would also encourage
unscrupulous elements to indulge in malpractices. Lack of supervision by the senioi officials
bv means of louring etc. is also result for poor quality of work.
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Action must be taken by the Government to provide accommodation for the
who have the village as their headquarters.
•
A review must be made of the number of meetings which are to be attended, chaired by the
district level officers, and their periodicity and overall number of meetings reduced
•
The schedule for the officer’s visit must be announced well in advance and given wide
publicity.
•
Gram Panchayat should be treated as the lowest geographic unit for the purpose of posting
village level officials wherever such levels exist.
officials
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All such village level functionaries must attend the monthly meetings of the Gram Panchayat.
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Corruption
Decentralisation has been very often thought to be the panacea for all the ills at the district
level. It was also hoped that decentralisation would reduce the corruption. But in reality,
decentralisation has only helped to decentralise corruption. Time and again, during the field
visits, the Commission was informed about the various levels and means of corruption. The
'one area of corruption, which was constantly mentioned in all the districts the Commission
toured, was in award of contracts. Award of contracts either at the zilla panchayat or taluka
panchayat level came in for severe criticism by the public. They are all unanimous in their
opinion that piece work should not be given and any work which is to be taken up must be
'done only on the basis of proper tenders. They also stated that there was fixed percentage to
be paid by the contractors for each type of work. This affected the quality of work and results
in the same work being undertaken year after year.
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Il is hoped that when the rules under the new Act of Transparency in Procurement are prepared,
the above would be taken into account. Regarding other areas of corruption, they have been
discussed in detail under the Governance Reforms Chapter.
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Reorganisation of the district offices
Until very recently, almost 10 years ago, the administration at the district level was confined
only to the collection of revenue and maintenance of law and order. But today, with the
introduction of the zilla panchayats, the administrative set up at the district level plays a much
more crucial role because all the government plans and schemes for economic and social
development are to be implemented at the district level and village levels. While this has to a
certain extent led to the improvements in service delivery at the grass root levels, this has also
led to a tremendous increase in the number of government offices and officers at the different
district levels.
Today, there are several departments, Agriculture, Horticulture, Watershed, Animal Husbandry
etc; which in the recent past were looked after by one department only. Cooperation and
Industries departments, which were only minor departments earlier, have now become huge
organizations with substantial representation at the district and block levels. This increased
presence of civil servants within the district has brought with it problems of supervision and
coordination. Coordination is essential in cases where more than one department is involved
in trying to achieve the same result, e.g. scholarships under Social Welfare, Women and Child
Welfare, Backward Classes Welfare and Minorities etc.
Bifurcation of the departments and rapid expansion of the staff has not led to bringing the
administration any closer to the people. It has instead led to most departments building up
their own administrative hierarchy, to make it equivalent to other departments. Also the
administrative hierarchy in each district is almost similar, irrespective of the quantum of activities
of the department in the district. Another aspect is that in spite of increased activities in some
departments, the departments at the district level have tried to retain the basic structure without
any change notwithstanding the increase in the volume of work. Whenever a new item of
work or a new scheme is sanctioned to the department, invariably the work is got done thiough
a new section or a new wing created for this purpose without any attempt to alter the very
structure of the department Io suit the changing needs.
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The concept of specialization especially in the departments of Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal
Husbandry, Health, Irrigation, Forests, has been overplayed resulting in the creation of
innumerable isolated units within the department. Each of these units would be attending to
their own “specialized” line of work without any of officials, except the Head of Department
having an overall picture of the activities of the department. Striking examples are in the
existence of separate Deputy Conservator of Forests at the districland taluk levels for Working
Plan and Survey, Wild Life, Plan Monitoring Cell and Plan Monitoring Units and Joint Forest
Planning and Management. The Agriculture department also has separate Assistant Directors
of Agriculture at the district level called as subject matter specialists, and also separate agricultural
officers for Farm information and farm management schemes, for monitoring and evaluation
and for inputs.
The concept of functional jurisdiction or specialization in work has been carried out to the
extreme at the field level. As far as possible, specialization in such departments should be
confined ordinarily to research levels and higher levels of administration wherever necessary.
Therefore, functional jurisdiction should be replaced with territorial jurisdiction at the field
levels with specialization being confined to research fields and higher levels of administration
alone.
At present, most of the departments have the district as one of the levels of administration in
their hierarchies. This enables proper coordination of the activities of all departmental activities
at the district levels. The abolition of functional jurisdiction at field levels and redistribution
of workloads on territorial basis would enable the bigger departments to also have officers at
the Taluk levels. Having officers at Taluk levels in their administrative hierarchy would ensure
better coordination in the implementation of activities of the department.
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In any attempt at reorganization of the administration at the district level, top priority should
be given to reduction of administrative work at all levels through greater delegation of powers
as well as through simplification of rules. Service rules should be made flexible enough to
enable heads of departments as well as officers heading the departments at various district
levels to themselves fit in the cases of marginal deviation so that only extraordinary cases are
sent to the secretariat level for orders, concurrences etc. However, care should be taken to
ensure that discretionary powers must be reduced to the minimum. Also consistent with
delegation of administrative powers, there should be suitable delegation of financial powers. If
the above is done, this would reduce work loads considerably at the secretariat level and thus
enable the secretaries to government to devote more lime to policy formulation and laying
down guidelines for implementation of programmes and field officers would have more time
to tour.
As per the standard staffing pattern, most departments have staff at the district, taluk and gram
panchayat levels. Only the Revenue Department and the Police Departments also have staff at
sub-divisional levels and surprisingly the Information Department also has Assistant Information
Officers stationed at the sub-divisional level. Some departments also have officers at the
divisional level, like the horticulture department. While each department would have certain
unique needs and accordingly position staff, yet there has to be a certain standard pattern of
staffing and also equivalent designations. This is more so for the developmental depai Iinenls.
Having a very large hierarchy in several levels within a department would necessitate having
different designations, which would not be equivalent with that of other district officials
occupying similar levels of posts. “
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With the introduction of the zilla panchayat system and all developmental departments under
the control of the zilla panchayat either at the district or taluk level, for the concerned executive
officer, especially at the taluk level, to have effective supervision, monitoring and control over
the other officers, it is required that their seniority and designation be such that they are
subordinate to that of the executive officers.
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Also the concept of implementing works on the basis of functional and territorial jurisdiction
has also led Io undue expansion of staff in developmental departments. For the purpose of the
interim report, with the focus on reorganization of the departments to enable belter service
delivery the Commission has studied the staffing pattern and work at the district level of the
departments of Revenue, Agriculture and Horticulture, and Forests.
The basic principles in the reorganization of departments would be
•
Department restructuring should be on the lines of territorial jurisdiction rather than
functional jurisdiction.
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Functional jurisdiction should be only at the level of research and higher administration
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For new work entrusted to a department, new sections and posts should not be created,
but work must be entrusted to existing staff
•
Divisional level posts wherever they exist must be abolished
•
Have more officials at taluk and village levels rather than at the State and district
headquarters
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Not to have separate staff to implement slate and district sector programmes as in the case
of forest and horticulture departments
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Restructure departments to benefit the people, rather than to provide opportunities for
promotion
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Greater delegation of powers to field level officers
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Revenue Department
Historically the office of Collector/Deputy Commissioner may be traced to 1772. It was at this
time that the East India Company finally decided to stand forth as Deewan to carry out the
entire administration of revenue through the agency of the company servants. The Regulation
of 14-5-1772 provided for appointing of Collectors in each districts. Gradually the Collectors/
Deputy Commissioners’ authority and powers increased and he became centre of activity of
the district administration.
Various factors like the growth of communication, spread of education, the increase in
developmental activities and introduction of local self governing institutions have led to the
growth of multiplicity of several departments at the district level. All these developments and
increase in the government’s activities had an impact on the authority and prestige of the
Deputy Commissioner. The Dy.Commissioner was responsible for supervising all the officials
and their work in the district. When the Community Development Blocks were first formed,
the revenue department in the district was made entirely responsible for this work. The
Dy.Commissioner was also the Chief Planning Officer of the district. This situation underwent
a radical change with the introduction of panchayat raj.
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Consequent on the introduction of the Karnataka Zilla Parishads, Taluka Panchayats Act of
1983, the Deputy Commissioner, the Assistant Commissioner and lahsildars have been absolved
of the developmental functions from 1987 which were till then a part of their duties. The
deputy commissioners who were also the deputy development commissioners till the stai ting
of the zilla parishads, ceased to exercise such powers vested with them as the entire activities
of the District Rural Development Societies came to be transferred to the zilla parishads. 3 he
additional deputy commissioners’ posts in charge of the district rural development societies
were also abolished. No changes were made in the revenue and magisterial functions at levels
of either the Tahsildar, Asst.Commissioners or Dy.Commissioners.
Along with the Police, Revenue Department is the oldest department at the district level with
traditional functions of land revenue collection, land reforms, maintenance of law and order
and natural disaster management and protocol. The Revenue Department has a six level
hierarchical structure beginning with the Divisional Commissioner, followed by the Deputy
Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Tahsildar, Nad Kacheri Revenue Inspector and the Vdlage
Accountant. Today, with the changing administrative focus, there is practically no land revenue
collection but the maintenance of land records continues to be one of the critical areas oi
functioning of the Revenue Department. Land Record is the foundation of any proper revenue
administration in the district and the improper maintenance of land records is generally the
cause of most ol the litig.ilions. The land revenue today plays a very small part in the total
financial sources of the Slate.
The functions of the Revenue Department under the overall guidance and supervision of the
Deputy Commissioner at the district level are
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Providing relief during periods of natural calamities
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Administration of land revenue and land reforms Acts
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Land Acquisition
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Conduct of elections
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Conduct of census
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Maintenance of law and order
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Public grievance redressal
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Food and civil supplies
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Rehabilitation
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Administration of various pension schemes
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Magisterial matters
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Protocol
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Any other matter which the Government would entrust at any time
While the list outlined above may look impressive, yet several of the activities are seasonal, or
not routine Like elections, census, relief work and rehabilitation. Majority of the DC’s work
today comprises of protocol work, land acquisition, pension schemes and public grievance
redressal. But, still the DC commands high levels of respect and can exercise a formidable
amount of informal authority. The DC is considered to be the true representative of the
Government at the district level and the trust reposed in the DC by the people is still enormous.
The Government should take advantage of this situation by entrusting greater responsibilities
to the DC rather than allow the institution of the DC to be gradually eroded.
Earlier, the departments of Survey Settlement, Excise, and Commercial 'Faxes were all functioning
under the overall control of the DC in the district. With a desire to expand the relevant
departments, and exercise greater control from the state head quarters, more posts have been
created at the district level, with officers who report directly to the concerned head of department
at Bangalore. As a result several of (he powers, which were earlier exercised by the DC are now
being exercised by head of department who would be remote and away from the people. In
these matters, instead of decentralisation of powers, there has been a concentration of powers
especially in the heads of departments. The Commission therefore recommends that as all
developmental activities have been brought under the purview of the ZP, so also all regulatory
activities at the district level must be brought under the purview of the DC. This would bring
departments of Registration, Survey and Settlement, Excise, Commercial Taxes, under the direct
control of the DC at the district level. The DC should be the reporting authority for these
officers at the district level.
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The divisional commissioner is the head of the revenue administration in a division. He was
also the chief coordinating authority for all departments at the divisional level. With the
formation of zilla panchayats, with effect from 1-4-1987, the development functions of the
divisional commissioners have been transferred to the zilla parishads. Also the supervision of
development blocks, the reappropriation and general control over rural development has been
transferred to the zilla parishad from the divisional commissioner.
Over time, the post of Divisional Commissioner has been converted into one with ceremonial
and rubber stamp functions. Many of the appellate powers exercised by the DVC over both
rural and urban local bodies, in the jurisdiction of DVC, have gradually been withdrawn and are
now exercised by the concerned head of department. Posting a super time scale IAS officer as
DVC without any adequate work is sheer waste of human resources. Several studies have been
made in the past recommending that the post of DVC be abolished.
The practice of having a DVC is not uniform amongst all the Stales in the country. There have
been several states which have abolished the posts of DVC and have not felt any adverse
impact of such an abolition. The Commission would recommend that the posts of DVCs be
abolished. 'Fhe Revenue Department does not have any other field offici! to interact with the
deputy commissioners. 'Fhe appellate powers exercised under various revenue acts and laws
by the DVC could be delegated to either of the two secretaries in Revenue Department. Another
' alternative would be to create the office of Commissioner, Land Reforms and Land Revenue,
which would function as the appellate authority in lieu of the divisional commissioner. There
is also no need to continue two posts of secretaries in Revenue Department, one post could be
shifted and redesignated as that of the Commissioner, Land Reforms and Land Revenue.
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The Bangalore Divisional Commissioner’s office has 72 employees . The list of employees
working in the Divisional Commissioner’s office is as follows
Category of
the post
Group-A
Group-B
Group-C
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Group-D
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Name of the Post
—J------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Divisional Commissioner
2) Gazetted Assistant
1) Gazetted Managers
2) Gazetted Superintendent
3) Temporary Audit Officer
1) Manager (Revenue Section)
2) Revenue Auditors
3) Superintendents
4) National Extension Schemes Accountants
5) Audit Superintendents
6) Head Accountants
7) Loan Reconciliation Squad-AAO
8) FDAs
9) SDAs
10) Stenographer
11) Clerk-cum-Stenographer
12) Typists
13) Driver
1) Daftarband
2) Dafedar
3) Book Binders
4) Watchmen
5) Cycle Orderlies
6) Peons
7) Sweepers
____________ "
Total Group-A+B + C + D
Sanctioned
Strength
1
1
2
1
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1
5
1
1
1
3
3
22
19
2
2
6
1
1
1
1
2
2
8
1
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There are a substantial number of staff belonging to the treasury department and AG’s office in
the DVC’s office. The staffing pattern in the DVC’s offices is not uniform. At Mysore they have
88 posts, there are 80 posts in Gulbarga, there are 76 posts in Belgaum. Once posts of DVCs are
abolished, all staff attached to the DVC office would be surplus. They will have to be redeployed
to other posts by the government.
With an intention to decentralise the revenue administration in certain areas the Government
created the institution of Nad Kacheries as an intermediate level between the Taluk HQs and
the village level. As a result, these Nad Kacheries were established in hobli headquarters and
as of now there are 329 Nad Kacheries working in the State. Each Nad Kacheri has a staff of
four, a Nad Officer in the rank of Deputy Tahsildar, a Second Division Assistant, a Typist and a
peon. The present number of Nad Kacheries do not cover the entire State. The work in areas
where Nad Kacheries nave not been set up is presently being done by the Tahsildar and the
Revenue Inspector without any inconvenience to the public.
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The functions of the Nad Kacheries are
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Sanction of pension to the old and the physically disabled,
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Granting relief to victims of natural calamities,
Levy of water rates,
Disposal of mutation cases, and
Search and seizure of food grains etc.
The disposal of mutation cases has since been given to the Tahsildar. There are now very few
cases of fresh old age pensions and disability pensions to be sanctioned. Granting of relief to
victims of natural calamities is a seasonal work and can be handled by the Revenue Inspector.
There is hardly any levy worth collecting in the form of water rates. During the tours of the
Commission, repeated suggestions were made across districts and villages on the need to abolish
the Nad Kacheries since not much work is being done. If all the 329 Nad Kacheries are abolished,
the staff of 4 officials in each Nad Kacheri , total of 1316 officials would become surplus and
could be accommodated in vacant posts at district level.
The Revenue employee’s association had met the Commission and slated that most of the
powers delegated to the Nad Kacheries have over lime been given back to the Tahsildars and
the Nad Kacheries are unable to function properly. Their only concern was that the promotional
opportunities for the revenue employees would be reduced and this would bring down motivation
levels. To avoid such an apprehension, the Commission recommends to upgrade the posts of
revenue inspectors to that of Sheristedars / deputy Tahsildars. This would ensure the smooth
functioning of revenue administration at the hobli level and the public would not be put to any
inconvenience. This would also avoid apprehension amongst the lower level employees about
their promotional opportunities.
The village accountant continues to be a critical government functionary at the village level
along with the Grama Panchayat secretary. While there are 5659 grama panchayats in the
state, there are 8760 VA in the State. The jurisdictions of the VA and the GP Secretary are not
co-terminus. For administrative convenience and expediency, it is suggested that the jurisdiction
of Village Accountant should be limited to the Gram Panchayat area. 'Phis would resuTlin a
saving of 3101 posts to the government. The quantum of functions of the GPS and that of VA
are almost similar in nature and their jurisdictions could definitely be made similar. The cadre
and recruitment rules of GPS permit 20% of GPS to be appointed from the cadre ol VAs.
Excess VAs could be appointed to the vacant posts of GPS. The balance could function in the
various vacant posts in other district offices.
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Therefore, the Revenue Department could be reorganized on the following lines: -
•
•
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•
•
•
•
•
All the regulatory departments at the district level must be formally brought under the
control of the Deputy Commissioner.
Divisional Commissioners posts to be abolished.
All surplus staff in the offices of the Divisional Commissioners to be redeployed.
If all the regulatory departments at the district level are to be brought under the control of
the Deputy Commissioner, the office of the Deputy Commissioner requires to be
strengthened. Therefore, some of the surplus staff on abolition of the Divisional
Commissioners offices could be redeployed to the Deputy Commissioners offices.
Nad Kacheries to be abolished. Work presently being done by the Nad Kacheries to be
done by the Revenue Inspectors and Tahsildars. Post of Revenue Inspectors to be upgraded
to Sheristedars.
The number of Village Accountants to be limited to Gram Panchayat area.
3101 posts of Village Accountants would become surplus. Some of them could be redeployed
in the vacant posts of Grama Panchayat Secretaries.
There should be no further recruitment to the posts of FDAs/SDAs/and Tahsildars for the
offices of Deputy Commissioners/Assistant Commissioners/Tahsildars etc.
Powers over other regulatory departments given to the Deputy Commissioners must also
flow at the appropriate level to the Assistant Commissioners. If there is a need, offices of
Assistant Commissioners must also be suitably strengthened.
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Agriculture Department
The Agriculture Department has a huge paraphernalia of staff at the district level. The main
functions of the department at the district level are transfer of technology, supply of agricultural
inputs and quality control.
The Department is headed by a Joint Director of Agriculture in 16 districts and by Deputy
Directors of Agriculture in 11 districts. The schemes under the departments are categorised
under the State Sector, ZP Sector and Taluk Sector schemes. While it is stated by the department
that they do not have separate staff for the implementation of the schemes under the State and
ZP sectors, yet in the categorization of staff as given to the Commission, they have separately
shown staff under both State and ZP sector. There is no uniformity in the pattern of Joint
Directors of Agriculture. The Joint Directors at Haveri, Davanagere, Bagalkote and Chitradurga
have a total staff of 136 in each of their offices including 3 Assistant Directors, 3 Agriculture
Officers and 3 Assistant Agriculture Officers. The other district offices headed by Joint Directors,
have a staff of only 38. In the district offices headed by the Deputy Directors, they have a staff
strength of 30 officers and staff.
An Assistant Director in each of the taluk offices who in turn have under them Assistant
Agriculture Officers, Agriculture Officers, and Agriculture Assistants who comprise the technical
staff also assists the Joint Director in the district, apart from having technical and administrative
assistance in his office. For the entire State in the district sector, there are 16 Joint Directors,
40 Deputy Directors, 284 Assistant Directors, 2293 Assistant Agriculture Officers, 331
Agriculture Officers and 2724 Agriculture Assistants.
The Agriculture Assistants were till very recently were under the gram panchayat set up, but
now under the new scheme of Raitha Mithra, the headquarters of the Agriculture Assistants has
been shifted to I he hobli level. Under the scheme of Raitha Mithra, in six districts, two Assistant
Agriculture Officers are stationed in each hobli headquarters with a supporting staff of 4
Agriculture Assistants. The six districts are Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kodagu, Uttara Kannada,
Bangalore (Urban) and Chickmagalur. For the balance, 21 districts, 2 Assistant Agriculture
Officers in each hobli are supported by 5 Agriculture Assistants. The Raitha Mithra Kendras
are basically farmers contact centres.
At the Taluk Panchayat level, there are 3 schemes under Plan -• Green Manure and Compost,
Plant Protection, Agriculture Fairs and Exhibitions and under Non-Plan, 2 schemes of Plant
Protection, Agriculture Training Schools and transferred scheme of Farmers Training and
Extension Centres are implemented. There are 13 schemes under the ZP Sector under Plan and
under State Plan, there are 83 schemes. Several of the schemes under the State sector should
rightly be transferred to the ZP sector, examples are Seed Farms, Manures and Fertilisers,
Popularisation of Bio Fertilisers, all Plant Protection Schemes, Parasite Laboratories, all Insecticide
Control Laboratories, Development of Model Floriculture Villages, all Extension and Training
Programmes, including Training Schools. These are all activities which are district-specific and
it would be better if they are controlled and implemented at the district level itself.
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In addition to these officers, the Agriculture Department also has Fertiliser Control Laboratories,
Farmers Training and Education Centres, Rural Development Training Centres, Farm Management
Centres, Seed Testing Laboratories, Soil Survey and Minor Irrigation Works, scattered across
various districts in the State. Each taluk office is headed by Assistant Director who is supported
by one Agriculture Officer, one Assistant Agriculture Officer, and one Farm Woman. They have
also 68 Farm Management Centres, each centre headed by one Agriculture Assistant. These
Farm Management centres are being continued even after the introduction of the Raitha Mithra
Scheme. The Commission is of the view that many of these research centers would be more
effective and useful if they were to be managed by the Agricultural Universities.
At the Taluk Panchayat level, only 3 schemes are under Plan sector viz. Manures and Fertilisers,
Plant Protection and Agriculture Fairs and Exhibitions. Under Non-Plan schemes, 4 schemes
47
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arc under implementation with an outlay of Rs.4502.84 lakhs, of which Rs.4343.81 is loi
salaries and Rs.159.03 is for schemes.
The Horticulture Department is one of the few departments to have divisional level offices.
The Divisional Joint Directors of Horticulture are stationed at Bangalore, Mysore, Belgaum and
Gulbarga. At the district level, Deputy Director of Horticulture looks after the ZP Schemes of
Extension, Training and Implementation. There is also Senior Assistant Directors of Horticulture
who is responsible for maintenance of Horticulture Farms and Nurseries under the State sector.
He is also responsible for implementation of Central Sector Schemes. 1 he Horticulture
Department has 7 schemes under Taluk Panchayat sector, 9 schemes under the ZP and 28
schemes under the State Sector. It is suggested that the schemes such as Horticulture and
Vegetable Crops, Scheme for Integrated Control of Pests and Diseases for Horticulture Crops,
Extension Training to Farmers, Organic Farming and Horticulture, Vegetable and Vegetable
Cultivation under Green House Conditions all should be transferred to the district sector.
Therefore it is suggested that: -
o
Divisional level posts in Agriculture and Horticulture Department to be abolished.
•
Several schemes under State Sector in both the Departments must be transferred to the
Zilla Panchayat Sector.
• ’Agriculture Assistants used earlier to work in the jurisdiction of Grama Panchayats. I hey
have now been brought to the hobli level. They must work only at the Grama Panchayat
levels.
•
There are 68 Farm Management Centres. These could be merged with the Raitha Mithra
Kendras and agricultural assistants left to work at the village level.
•
Several of the posts in Agriculture Department have been created on the basis of functional
jurisdiction. This could be reexamined and reorganisation done on the basis of territorial
jurisdiction.
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Research projects should be brought under the control of Universities.
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Forest Departrment
The main activities of the Forest Department at district level are
(1) Management of Forests
(2) Conservation of wildlife and forests
(3) Social Forestry
(4) Soil Conservation
(5)
Protection of forests
(6) Supply of minor forest products like timber and firewood to the public.
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The department implements 100 schemes under the State sector and 7 schemes in the ZP
sector. There are also 2 central plan schemes, afforestation and ecology and integrated
afforestation and ecology being implemented in the ZP sector. For the year 2000-01, an amount
of 2139.82 lakhs is budgeted for the implementation of the schemes in the ZP sector. The
following are the schemes
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The Forest Department has several parallel establishments at the district level. Generally there
is Conservator of Forests in charge of one or two districts, and there are also Conservator of
Forests who have functional jurisdiction viz. for Wildlife, for Plan, for Training etc. In addition
to the Deputy Conservator of Forests who is responsible for implementing zilla panchayat
schemes, the districts like Shimoga and Uttara Kannada have 10 and 9 DCFs respectively. In
Shimoga District, in addition to DCF (ZP), there are also DCFs for Shimoga, Bhadravathi, Sagar.
There is a DCF (Plan Monitoring Unit) at Shimoga, DCF (Forest Management Studies) at Shimoga,
DC (Work Study and Survey), Shimoga, DCF (Wildlife), Shimoga, DCF (Joint Forest Plan
Management), Shimoga and DCF (T). So also in Uttara Kannada District. In addition to the
DCF (ZP), Karwar, there are DCFs at Sirsi, Haliyal, Yellapur, Honnavar and Karwar. There is
also a DCF (Joint Forest Plan Management), Sirsi, DCF (Plan Monitoring), Sirsi, DCF (Forest
Management Studies), Sirsi, and DCF (Wildlife) at Dandeli. While the higher extent of forest
cover in these districts may to certain extent is justified the need for having separate DCFs for
Wildlife, Plan Monitoring etc., having as large as 13 and 12 officers in one district seems
unjustified.
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(1) Buildings - 20.50 lakhs
(2) Soil Conservation (Afforestation) - 75.83 lakhs
(3) Forestry and Environment (Project for Eastern Plains, OECF) - 1447.76 lakhs
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(4) School Nurseries - 15.39 lakhs
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(5) Social Forestry (Non-OECF) - 233.94 lakhs
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*(7) Decentralised nurseries - 13.03 lakhs
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(8) Afforestation and Ecology - 111.67 lakhs
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(6) Minor Forest Produce - 11.70 lakhs
(9) Integrated Afforestation and Ecology - 210.00 lakhs
Total
2139.82 lakhs
59.51 % of the budget for the ZP sector (1273.55 lakhs) is meant for payment of salaries and
only 40.49% (866.27 lakhs) is earmarked for scheme implementation. Divided over 27 districts,
this would result in an allocation of only Rs.32.08 lakhs per district under the ZP sector for
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actual scheme implementation. Even among the schemes, Minor Forest Produce with 11.00
lakhs, Decentralised Nurseries with 13.00 lakhs and School Nurseries with 15.00 lakhs would
have hardly any money per district for any meaningful scheme implementation. As stated by
the Forest Department in their annual report for 1999-2000, funds under the district sector
schemes for forestry and environment project for eastern plains “the scheme mainly relates to
provide funds for administrative charges of the social forestry divisions working under zilla
panchayats”. Therefore, the entire money under the scheme is used lor payment of salaries.
Also the non-JBIC (OECF) schemes implemented in the district sector is to only meet the salary
expenditure of 146 staff, vehicle maintenance etc. Of the 38 schemes being implemented in
the State sector, the Forest Department could easily transfer the schemes such as Maintenance
of Teak, Matchwood and Sandalwood Plantations, all other Plantation Schools, Forestry,
Afforestation Programmes, schemes pertaining to Minor Forest Produce, Vana Mahotsava, etc
to the District Sector. While the construction of the building has been put under ZP sector, the
maintenance of the buildings has been put under State Sector. This would lead to anomaly and
it is better that all the building works be put in one sector itself. Transferring schemes from the
State to the ZP sector would also ensure that the officers at the ZP sector have enough work.
For the year 2000-01, the Forest Department has a budgeted outlay of Rs.28826.96 lakhs, of
this only 7.43% or Rs.2139.82 lakhs is allocated for the ZP sector. The balance 92.57% or
Rs.26687.14 lakhs remains in the State sector. Of the budget allocated for the ZP sector,
59.51% (Rs.1273.55 lakhs) is to be utilised towards the salaries. Therefore, a very small amount
of Rs.866.27 lakhs or only 40.41% of the ZP sector budget is to be utilised for the schemes. If
this is further broken up into the amount that each department would be entitled to do, only
Rs.32.08 lakhs devolves to each district. Several of the schemes implemented by the Forest
Department are purely seasonal in nature. Taking by the figures under consideration, it does
not seem justiciable to have one officer per district to implement schemes to the extent of
Rs.32.00 lakhs only. The Forest Department must take up a review of the large number of
DCFs in each district and rationalize their numbers. The large number of DCFs in every district
in the Forest Department is a result of the bifurcation made by the department into State sector
and District sector schemes. While the schemes target groups and intended outcome of the
schemes are similar, yet there are two distinct categories of officers for the implementation of
schemes at the district level in the Forest Department. If this artificial distinction is done away
with, this would actually help in reduction of the number of DCFs in the Forest Department at
the district level.
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Therefore, it is suggested that: •
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Multiplicity of parallel establishments under the Forest Department at the district level
must be reduced.
The DCFs (ZP) have no work in most of the districts since there is no money for
implementation. The Forest Department should examine the need of combining the work
of DCFs with that of DCF, ZP and abolishing the post of DCF, ZP.
Having separate officers to implement State sector and district sector schemes is not required.
It only leads to multiplicity of staff for implementing the similar schemes. Only one cadre
of officers is sufficient.
•
Several schemes listed for implementation in the State sector could bo transferred to the
district sector.
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Decentralisation
District Administration is the first level in the decentralized set up in public administration.
Decentralisation is a powerful tool for achieving developmental goals. Decentralisation is itself
not a goal of development, hut a means of improving public sector efficiency. But care has to
be taken so that decentralisation does not give more power and influence to the already
advantaged classes or richer section of society. To really benefit the poor people there must be
adecpiale safeguards and also processes to ensure a high degree of public participation in the
design and monitoring of programmes.
Karnataka has been praised for its policy on decentralisation - nationally and internationally.
Decentralisation here has succeeded in breaking the government into smaller administrative
units. The creation of new and smaller districts and the three tier set up at the district level,
(five for revenue - division, district, taluk, hobli and village and for ZP - three - District, Taluk
and Village) have to some extent increased the scope for interaction with the general public.
Fiscal control and financial autonomy to Zilla , Taluk and Grama Panchayats is critical for
them to plan their activities. Today, allocation for most schemes under each department, is
decided by Secretariat and Heads of Departments. Under the budget allocation for each scheme,
the district has to generally plan only for the number of beneficiaries and their allocation for
each administrative area. The allocation is usually based on the previous years’ performance.
The Chief Planning Officer (basically a statistician) in ZP as well as the ITesident/CEO, carry
out a mechanical exercise of equally dividing the funds so allotted to each taluk in the district.
Generally the CEO rarely formulates schemes for the district. Locally raised resources are
generally not adequate for the local bodies to plan their schemes. Therefore, they arc dependent
on government for devolution of funds. Enforcing hard budget constraints is necessary to
make them accountable. Participatory process at grama panchayat level not effective.
The history of Panchayati Raj institutions in Karnataka dates back to 1862 when local fund
was established for construction of roads and other civil works. The period between 1950 to
1954 was one of great significance for development of panchayati raj in Karnataka. The two
review committees appointed during this period, recommended the constitution of district
boards and a two-tier system of panchayat administration. Subsequently the Mysore Village
Panchayats and Local Boards Act, 1959, was enacted. This was based on the Balwantrai Mehta
Committee Report and recommended the setting up three-tier system of panchayati raj
institutions. It further emphasized on the development and implementation of plans with the
active involvement of local people. The 1959 Act also provided lor district development councils
at the district levels, taluk development boards al intermediary levels and village panchayats
at the panchayat levels. The village panchayats and taluk development hoards were executive
bodies while; the district development council was given only advisory status. The set up
under this Act failed to provide adequate interaction between the panchayati raj institutions
and the local people . Also, there was no integration between the panchayati raj institutions
and the Slate Planning and Development administration.
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In 1983, based on the Ashok Mehta Committee Report, the government enacted the Karnataka
Zilla Parishads, Taluk Panchayat Samitis, Mandal Panchayats and Nyaya Panchayat Act 1983.
This Act provided for a directly elected body at the district level, on the lines of Maharashtra
and Gujarat models. The administrative wing of the Zilla Parishad was headed by Chief Secretary,
an officer senior in service to that of the Deputy Commissioner of the district. 1 he Adhyaksha
and Upadhyaksha headed the Zilla Parishad and were given the status of Minister and Deputy
Minister respectively. All the district level officers and staff of development departments
functioned under the zilla parishad. This was done in order to bring about a better coordination
between the resources and personnel available at the district level. Another important part of
this Act was to entrust zilla parishads with the responsibility of formulating and implementing
the district development plans. The Act also stipulated strong functional linkages between the
zilla parishads and the Mandal panchayats. The Mandal panchayats comprised of cluster of
villages with a population of about 8000 to 12000. Each Mandal had a secretary andLj^y
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significantly the Mandal panchayat had the powers to appoint its own employees. 1 lie 1983
Act also provided for the intermediary level of taluk panchayat Samitis. This was essentially
only an advisory body to assist the Mandal panchayats in the effective implementation of
programmes.
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At this time one of the most innovative measures undertaken by the State Government was to
constitute the State Development Council with the Chief Minister at chair and all the zilla
parishad Adhyakshas as members. This body helped to review working of the zilla parishads
and Mandal panchayats and also helped integrate local development planning with that of the
state planning. As observed in the Krishnaswamy Committee Report of 1984, “despite
limitations, the actual achievements of zilla parishads and mandal panchayats are impressive.
Virtually in all districts, the operation of schools, and health facilities has improved vastly.
Attendance of both teachers and students has gone up noticeably.”
Notwithstanding the positive developmentsxluring this period, there were several drawbacks,
which hampered the effective functioning of panchayat raj institutions. Certain departments
like cooperation; horticulture and delivery services like public distribution scheme were
withdrawn from the purview of the zilla parishads. There is also considerable gap between the
resources and functions assigned to earstwhile zilla parishads and Mandal panchayats. As a
result, these two local bodies depended to a large extent, only on the devolution of funds from
the State Government. They did not have any substantial degree of financial autonomy. Due
to lack of experienced staff, there was practically no planning activity either at zilla parishad or
Mandal panchayat levels, 'rhe accountability which was expected through the meetings of the
grama sabhas was not realized at all since the meetings were not held regularly and in some
cases were not called at all.
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The process of real decentralisation begun with the 73nl Constitutional Amendment in 1993,
which gave statutory status to the PRIs. Consequently the new Act - The Karnataka Panchayat
Raj Act 1993 was enacted which provided for a three-tier structure of panchayat raj with Zilla
Panchayats at the District level, Taluk Panchayats at Taluk level and Grama Panchayats at
village level. All the three bodies arc elected bodies. The Act also specified that the grama
sabha should be convened twice a ;year. Also, the Act provided for reservation not only for
members but also to the executive positions.
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Zilla Panchayats
The role of the Zilla Panchayats, in the entire decentralisation process is one of a facilitator and
coordinator. The Zilla Panchayat is responsible for integrating the plans of the Taluk Panchayats
and Gram Panchayats, allocating finances to the development departments and above all to'
oversee the functioning of the Taluk Panchayats and Gram Panchayats. But there is generally a
continuous friction between the Zilla Panchayat and the Taluk Panchayats and Gram Panchayats.
Delays in the disbursal of grants, and grant of approvals to work proposals and sometimes even
alterations in the beneficiaries lists are reasons for discordant relations between the three tiers
of the Panchayat administration. The action plans for every financial year invariably get finalized
only in the months between September and November every year. No individual is to be blamed
for these type of delays. The processes and the functioning of the Zilla Panchayat system is
such that delays are more the norm rather than an exception. Such delays, especially in the
implementation of developmental works leads to adhocism, bunching up in the release of
funds, corruption and a loss of faith in the delivery system of the Zilla Panchayats.
Both inter-institutional and inter-personal relationships between the three tiers in the PRI system
between the officials and the non-officials appears to be superficial and marked by red-tapism.
Inadequate delegation of powers, large amount of discretionary powers has resulted in this
situation.
Except for powers to levy taxes on buildings, lands, water tax, taxes on Entertainment, vehicles,
advertisements, market fees etc; the gram panchayats have to depend on the resources
transferred from the government. Though both the panchayats are entrusted with both
development and administrative powers and functions, yet since there is no clear-cut
demarcation of powers and functions between the Panchayats and the functionaries, which has
prevented the panchayats from being unable to assert their positions. The panchayats are
deprived of both administrative and financial autonomy. The panchayats are also under the
mercy of respective state governments. This lack of a proper match between the powers and
functions has had a negative impact on the functioning of the panchayats.
Taluk Panchayats
The Taluk Panchayats, placed at the intermediary level in the Zilla Panchayat system do not
have any regular source of income except the income derived from stamp duty. This amount
ranges from Rs 10 to 15 lakhs for each Taluk Panchayat annually. The Zilla Panchayats release
this amount in two to three instalments to the Taluk Panchayats. The Taluk Panchayats generally
utilize these funds for capital expenditure, construction of office buildings, shopping complexes
and staff quarters. The Taluk Panchayats do not have any independent powers either to approve
or sanction any amounts.
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The rapid expansion of several departments at the district level has also led to erosion of the
earlier system where the Block Development Officer at the taluk level exercised control and
supervision over all departmental activities. With the creation of several departments and
expansion of other work force, the earlier Extension Workers of these departments have now
been upgraded and designated to the levels equivalent to that of Block Development Officers.
The executive officer of the taluk panchayat whose main function is to coordinate the
developmental activities at the taluk level should have in terms of hierarchy a position senior
to that of the other taluk level officers. But, very often this is not the case with officers of
agriculture, animal husbandry and other departments either senior or of equal rank to the
executive officer. The loyalties of these departmental employees lie only to their respective
departments and not to the executive officers. Consequently, this hampers coordination and
actual execution of work in the district. The departments therefore operate on line basis and
there is very little coordination at the horizontal level.
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In the decentralised system the grama panchayat tier is the most sensitive and most important
levels of administration. Each grama panchayat is also authorized to set up Standing Committees,
yet in many cases they are defunct. Several times, members of grama panchayats feel that
there is no need to call for separate Standing Committee meetings since all matters are discussed
in the general meeting itself. Since the Standing Committees do not have any decision making
powers, and are only advisory bodies, they felt that having those meetings is waste of time and
effort. While the Act has only made the formation of the Standing Committee as mandatory,
but there is no compulsion regarding the number of meetings to be held or the functions to be
performed, therefore, the Standing committees are generally defunct.
The functioning of the Grama Sabha is exactly similar to how the Standing Committees have
been functioning. Primarily grama sabhas are not convened regularly and if convened, there is
very little attendance and participation. Both the grama sabhas and the Standing Committees
have a cardinal role to play in the decentralisation process yet they fail to perform their duties
due to above reasons. Unless these mechanisms are made functional, the very essence of the
democratic decentralisation process of making the PRIs accountable is inconsequential.
A crucial functionary of the grama panchayat is the grama panchayat secretary. However,
majority of the grama panchayat secretaries do not come up to the expectations of self
governance. While the duties and functions of the grama panchayats are diverse, and span
across several developmental departments, yet the grama panchayat secretary is today appointed
from the cadres of cither a FDA or SDA. Adequate training is not given to the Gram Panchayat
secretary to understand the proper implementation process for the various programmes which
are to be implemented at the grama panchayat level. Creation of awareness among the grama
panchayat members about the government programmes and also involvement of the villagers
in the developmental activities are not areas which the Gram Panchayat secretary is familiar
with. The grama panchayat secretary ultimately functions only as a clerk maintaining the
accounts of the grama panchayat and convening meetings. Invariably, the secretaries too face
several problems. It was also observed that majority of the women members of the grama
panchayat are unable to have a proper interaction with the grama panchayat secretary. It is
suggested that 30% of the posts of grama panchayat secretaries should be reserved for women.
It is therefore absolutely necessary to give proper training to Gram Panchayat Secretaries.
The grama panchayats have to made effective and efficient units in the entire panchayat raj
process. The fault is in the structure of the PRIs which allows only limited powers to be
transferred to this basic unit. Lack of proper training and orientation of grama panchayat
members regarding handling governance is another factor. The devolution of resources from
the State to the local bodies makes the local bodies more accountable to the State then to the
people hampering the decentralisation of powers. The attitude of the secretaries in taking
advantage of the ignorant and illiterate women members is a major flaw in the existing system.
To overcome this, the capacities of the newly elected representatives of people would need to
be strengthened to enable them to carry out their roles effectively.
The large number of people elected to the panchayat raj bodies for the first time means that
their training requirements are different from and greater then those persons who have earlier
held offices. The large numbers as well as greater first time panchayat representatives would
also increase the number of some illiterates and even illiterate non-officials who require training.
Further, as per reservations seats change in the subsequent terms. Women seats may become a
seat of SC/ST or vice versa. Thus, system would ensure that many persons presently elected
would be ineligible to seek re election from the same seat once their term ends. Accordingly,
each election will now repeatedly throw up a batch of elected representatives consisting of
large proportion of people who have no basic knowledge of the functioning of the panchayat
raj institutions.
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Prompt and timely tax collection is imperative. The grama panchayats should give this task
the highest priority so that it enables them to create their own funds. All GP members should
be trained in the required skills of planning, monitoring, budgeting and resource utilization.
Presently the salary of the GP secretary is paid by the ZP. If the GPs pay the secretaries salary,
the GP would have more control over the activities of the secretaries.
Another serious constraining factor in the decentralisation is lack of flexibility, especially at
the gram panchayat and taluk panchayat levels. The grama panchayats and taluk panchayats
received budgets whose allocations are already pre-determined for various sectors and sub
sectors. In most cases, again as at the district level, the salary expenditure consists the bulk ol
expenditure especially in social services. Though the gram panchayats are empowered to
collect taxes, yet this is rarely adequate to them to meet the salaries of contract employees like
watermen, watchmen etc. At the zilla panchayat level, there are innumerable cases where after
meeting the salary expenditure, enough funds would not be available for purchase of medicines
or for books and reading materials.
The allocation of funds in the budgetary process especially at the grama panchayat and taluk
panchayat levels has not taken into account the regional preferences and priorities. The top
down character of the entire budgetary and planning process does not provide much room to
take into account the variations in the regional preferences. Thus, even in those areas where
there has been marked improvement in health parameters such as 1MR and MMR or even in
improving the roads, the budgetary allotment remains the same. The taluk panchayats and
gram panchayats cannot change their budgetary allocations according to their speciiic
requirements. If at both these levels in decentralised set up, they were given powers to borrow
as well as to generate their own resources through voluntary contributions, this would form a
sizeable part of their revenue enabling them to have greater flexibility in their developmenta
programmes. Additional revenues earned by these local bodies in excess of their targets should
be re-allotted back to these local bodies, which could be then spent on social sectors excluding
spending on salary payments. They could also utilize these funds for maintenance of assets
already created under various programmes of JRY, EAS, school buildings, etc. 1 his would serve
as an incentive for local bodies to improve their revenue collection and also exceed the targets.
These local bodies also should be delegated with powers for revision of taxes within their
areas. This would greatly enhance the efficiency and accountability of the local bodies towards
the people.
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Planning process under the decentralised system
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For planning at the district level to be meaningful, there should be clear formulation of objectives,
resources,, and inventory, and identification of priorities and of programmes. But neither al
Grama Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat nor at the level of Zilla Panchayat, are requisite capacities
and capabilities available. At the district level, there is very little functional autonomy for
planning as State Sector, Central sector and centrally sponsored schemes have to be
accommodated. When these schemes are funded either at the Central and State level, the
norms and targets are more or less defined. There is very little flexibility that can be exercised
in spite of these schemes at district level.
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Even though under the zilla panchayat sector, a lump sum grant is given to the zilla panchayat,
yet even under this, there is no room for flexibility since the department-wise allocations
under this over all budget grant is almost fixed. Neither the zilla panchayat President nor Chief
Executive Officer nor Chief Planning Officer can really utilize the zilla panchayat grants to
prepare a specific district sector plan, which would be unique and relevant to that particular
district. Even out of the zilla panchayat grants given to each district, almost 75% is committed
on non-plan expenditure to be utilized towards salaries and remunerations of employees, leaving
just about 20-25% for actual zilla panchayat sector schemes. There is thus very little functional
autonomy for the zilla panchayats. Since qualified and capable personnel are not available al
the grama panchayat level and taluk panchayat level, they can at the best only indicate their
request or felt needs to the zilla panchayat. Therefore, the concept of planning at the grama
panchayat and taluk panchayat level is not exislent today.
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Though there is a District Planning Committee, which is to prepare the draft Development plan
for the whole district, yet because of its unwieldy and non-professional composition has rarely
been able to deliver a focused development plan for the district.
Therefore, for the district
plans to be meaningful, it is suggested that there should be a district lists. If there is such a list,
planning pertaining to these items at district level can be meaningful. Otherwise in the midst
of the present system of central and state lists, the district is more or less serving as only post
office as far as planning is concerned.
Implementation of the district plan involves greater responsibility for putting the required
strategies into action. In the Central and State governments, there are specialized ministries
and departments which have duties and responsibilities to implement their respective plans.
The Planning Commission watches, advises and reports on their performance. At the district
level, the institutionalized set up for planning is less specialized more politicized and less
coordinated. This hampers their delivery system when the district machinery is expected to
work in close coordination with several departments at the local levels. District Planning,
therefore, requires the support of not only the State and local political leaders and bureaucracy
but must also have the active involvement of the people and have genuine participation of the
people al all levels of district planning. The participation of the people must be both in the
selection and implementation of the schemes.
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It is the responsibility of the district level officers of any department to ensure that the schemes
taken up under a district plan is technically sound and is properly supervised and implemented.
Very often more than one officer is empowered to accord technical approvals for schemes.
Also lower level departmental functionaries are not given any role in according administrative
or technical approvals of the projects which goes against the principles of district planning.
There is no professional organisation either at the grama panchayat or at taluk level to actually
oversee the implementation of several schemes. Often many schemes are not properly planned
from the technical angle because of which they take longer time then the stipulated time for
completion. This either leads to escalation in costs or sometimes the scheme itself loses its
usefulness. The proper implementation and provisions of certain schemes arc not done because
it is not based on local resources and convenient techniques. Repair work on an institutionalized
basis is also not done after the work is completed.
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Therefore the following are recommended
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Every Gram Panchayat must be given matching grants equivalent to the resources collected,
and fifty percent of this amount must be spent on the social sector.
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Some differentiation may be shown between Gram Panchayats by categorizing them into different
groups, and giving them weightage accordingly. The criteria so developed should be applicable
for the Gram Panchayat and not for the district as a whole since even within a district there
would be vast differences amongst villages. The criteria should be objective; the process of
devolution of funds should be transparent. The criteria should be based on the human
development indicators, Infant Mortality Rate, Maternal Mortality Rate, literacy levels etc.
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Job chart of every village level functionary must be made available to every Gram Panchayat
member.
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Even where the Gram Panchayat comprises of more than one village the Gram Sabha is
called for all the villages at the same time. Such a type of meeting does not encourage
participation and is wasteful. It would be better if a Gram Sabhas convened for each village.
•
Holding Grama Sabha meetings must be made compulsory. If the meetings are not held,
there should be no devolution of funds to the grama panchayats. In an order issued in
1999, the department has made the Taluka Executive Officer responsible for deciding the
dates for the gram sabha in consultation with the President of the Grama Panchayat. The
Secretary of the Gram Sabha has to prepare the agenda notes and make them available to
the villagers on a payment of Rs 1-00 per copy. Instead of decentralizing the powers, even
the powers to call for the Gram Sabhas have been taken away from the Gram Panchayat
and given to the Taluk Panchayat. Powers to convene the Gram Sabhas must be given to
the Gram Panchayat‘s only.
•
The frequency of calling village level workers to taluk must be reduced.
•
All the posts at the village level, must be made district cadres wherever they have
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not been made so far. This would not apply to honorary workers like the anganwadi workers.
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Action plan must be finalized by the end of May or June every year.
•
Some lump sum grant should be given to the districts which the district could operate in
the State list.
•
1’1.inning al all levels under the zilla panchayat system is mere formality. Proper training
must be given to all the officials, non-officials on how to utilise the various human development indictors for planning at the district level.
•
The number of meetings at the zilla panchayat level must be reduced. On an average,
every Chief Executive Officer is either chairman or member of about 52 committees. Most
of these committees have to meet either monthly or quarterly. Such meetings take away
much of the time of these officers and leave them with less time to actually tour and
inspect the work. This applies also to other district level officers.
•
Several of the State sector schemes which ought to be implemented at the district level
itself should be transferred to the zilla panchayats.
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Good Governance
Good Governance, conceptualised in the past as ideal state or Rama Rajya , has been an
enduring idea of political leaders around the ages. Good Governance should result in happiness
and welfare of the people and is associated with an efficient and effective administration ma
to
democratic framework. Administration should be development oriented and committed to
improving the quality of life of the people. It implies a high level of organisational effectiveness.
In simpler terms, Good Governance should comprise of a citizen-friendly, citizen-caring am
responsive administration.
Kautilya in his treatise "Arthashastra”, elaborating on the traits of good governance states of
the king as " in the happiness of his subjects, lies his happiness; in their welfare his welfare,
whatever pleases himself, he shall not consider as good but whatever pleases his subjects he
shall consider as good”. The Oxford dictionary has a systemic definition of governance which
says that it is an act or manner of governance or the way of control. Therefore the cn ena o
good governance would be transparency and accountability at all levels of government,
efficiency, provision of corruption-free and citizen friendly administration.
There is therefore no standard definition of good governance. Governance is broadly defined
by Pai Panandiker as the management of the affairs of the State and basically delivering to the
citizen the rights and other provisions enshrined in the Constitution of each coun ry wuc i
makes political, economic and social life of the citizen rich in it’s Quality In substance, the^f°Jegood governance implies that the affairs of the state are so managed that the material and the
locial well being of the citizens is effectively looked after within a system of properly organized
institutions of governance.
The quest for good governance is a continuing one. It is in the nature of a dynamic and moving
equihbrium. It all relates to what citizens expect from their Government whose basic functlon
as well as justification is to provide good governance. It demands vigilance or. th ’
of th«
people and responsiveness on the part of those who carry the responsibility of governance,
can also be viewed as what the people expect from their Government and the willingness and
the capability of the Government to rise up to those expectations.
Under the Article 154 of the Constitution, the State Government is represented by the Governor
Council of Ministers headed by Chief Minister and the officers of the government The
permanent executive of the government carries out the affairs of the government accord ng to
the decisions of the political executive. In this process, the permanent executive wdl also be
guided by the law of the land and bound by the Constitution. The accepted norms of the
government developed over the years, usually codified in the form of rules, procedures etc,
guide the permanent executive in discharge of its responsibilities. Any change in these
procedures involves lengthy and cumbersome processes and many obstacles are to be
Therefore, the civil service becomes inflexible and rigid even if some procedures have outlived
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their utility.
• Any reforms in governance/government, therefore, will have to cover all levels ol the gov
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ernment, both bureaucratic and political.
• Reforms will have to cover die change in attitudes of all functionaries involved at all levels
of the government. Reforms would also mean a close look and change of the Government
processes and procedures.
•
Therefore the scope of the reforms should to n hu ge nxtont cover thn higher aahelons of
the government and necessarily have to start from the way ministers and secretaries to
government function.
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In other areas of administration also, rigid rules, archaic procedures and resistance to change
have further compounded the matter. Several tasks, schemes in the Government have become
so redundant and stereo typed that employees very often do not know what they are trying to
accomplish. There must be clearly defined rules and trust placed in the employees who actually
do the work so that they feel free to make decisions. Workloads are unevenly distributed.
While some field officers are under worked, others are over worked and some offices are located
in far away places making them inaccessible to the public. The taxpayers, the general public
are not interested in what rules the bureaucracy follows, but they do care deeply about how
the Government delivers the services.
Typically Government measures the success in programmes quantitatively by the number of
people benefitted rather than how they are benefitted. The monthly MMR and KDP reviews at
the Secretariat are a sterling example of how only financial and physical targets and achievements
are reviewed with little emphasis on the quality of service delivery to the people. So is the case
of most meetings held in the Government.
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Making the Government more people and market friendly, and more efficient involves improving
civil service management. This also means development of a professional civil service.
Employees frequently have wrong skills for jobs and poor incentives. Performance has little
bearing on the pay and promotions. Vested personal loyalties and political considerations are
motivating factors in the routine professional and career decisions. Government is today
spending too much money on programmes that do not work and a close look at several ol these
programmes would limit the unneeded bureaucracy. Employees generally have a lifetime of
tenure regardless of their performance. Success offers few rewards, failures few punishments.
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Government procedures and administrative orders make it very difficult to reward good
performers or even to discipline the non-performers. The system of time bound promotion in
the government has created havoc, especially in the Secretariat, bloating the supervisory layers
irrespective of their need. This has brought in additional layers of review with limited value
addition.
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While Government of Karnataka’s civil service is not very large in comparison with other states,
since almost 75% of the State’s revenue receipts is spent towards salaries and related items,
such high level of expenditure is un- affordable for the government. This severely restricts the
government expenditure on capital and developmental works.
The components of governance reforms would constitute reform in the following major areas-
• Delegation of powers between the Ministers and Secretaries
• Civil Service reform
• An anti corruption strategy
• An Effective Grievance Redressal Mechanism
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• Amalgamation of schemes
• E—Governance
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Civil Service Reforms would comprise of
a.
Accountability of the civil service
b.
Redefining functional goals
c.
Improving systems and work methods
d.
Rationalization of the Civil Service
e.
Review of performance appraisal system
f.
Human resource development
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An Anti-corruption strategy would include:
g-
Transparency and the Right to Information
h. Meritocratic recruitment
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Legislation on transfers
j.
Strengthen anti- corruption mechanisms
k.
Simplification of disciplinary procedures
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Delegation Of Powers Between Ministers and
Secretaries
In Karnataka there is very little delegation of powers between Ministers and Secretaries to
Government. Rule 6(1) of The Karnataka Government (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1977, .
states that “ Subject to the provisions of these Rules in regard to consultation with other
Departments and submission of cases to the Chief Minister, the Cabinet and the Governor, all
business allotted to a Department under Karnataka Government (Allocation of Business) Rules,
1977 shall be disposed of by, or under the general or special directions of the Minister-in- .
charge”.
Sub Rule (2) of Rule 6 of the same Rules state that -
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“ Each Minister shall by means of Standing Orders arrange with the Secretary of the Department
what matters or classes of matters are to be brought to his personal notice. Copies of such
Standing Orders shall be sent to the Governor and the Chief Minister”.
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The authority who exercises the powers is also responsible for the outcomes. When the secretary
to government becomes indifferent then the casualty is the system. Whenever a new government
takes over the individual ministers are required to specify what powers of the ministers/
government are delegated to the secretary. Under Business Rules, secretaries to government
are answerable to the courts of law for all legal matters. This to some extent makes the secretaries
take an extremely cautious attitude bordering on indifference towards the time and cost overruns
in implementing the Government programmes and to this extent the concern for the outcomes
get diffused. This situation does not enable the higher levels of bureaucracy to feel responsible
for the functioning of their department.
Therefore, there is an urgent need for codification of delegation of powers between the ministers
and secretaries in a harmonious way to bring in greater involvement of the Ministers and
secretaries and make them responsible and accountable for the outcomes. In the absence of
such harmonious delegation of powers and responsibilities, the bureaucracy tends to take shelter
under the procedures, not necessarily having concern for the outcomes.
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CIVIL SERVICE REFORMS
Karnataka is today regarded as one of the better governed States in the country and the civil
service more compact, efficient and responsive than in most other States. The term civil service
as used in this report includes all categories of the civil service whe her be ongn g tc he A
India Services or the State services and all levels of employees, from the highest to the lowest
cadres. While the State has able bureaucrats, teachers, doctors, clerks, police officers who are
dedicated and efficient, the civil service as a whole has seen a general decline over the recen
years. The civil service is now regarded as poorly motivated and unproductive.
Before there is a further deterioration in the civil service, there is an urgent need for civil
service reforms to make them more accountable, transparent and responsive to the needs ot
the society. Improving the performance of the civil service, though difficult is not impossible.
The special character of the civil service makes it difficult to monitor and measure outpu
Non-transparent personnel policies with little or no scope to reward good performance do no
promote good service at all. Demoralized school teachers, doctors, health workers do not
provide quality service at cutting edge level where it matters most to the government. Before
examining the various components of civil service reform in Karnataka, it would be necessa y
to examine how civil service reform has taken place in some of the best recognized civil service,
in the world today.
Civil service Reforms in United Kingdom
With the establishment of welfare state, the British civil service expanded from around 1,50,000
to 7 00 000 peaking at 7,48,000 in 1976. The civil service grew so rapidly that there was great
concern as to how stch huge organisation could be effectively managed. Though the committee
headed by Lord Fulton (1966-68) had earlier recommended measures for restructuring of
civil service and to improve recruitment and management of the civil service, yet the
administrative culture still remained very bureaucratic. In 1979, the Conservative Government
led by Margaret Thatcher sought to reduce public expenditure m order to reduce direct taxatio
The view faken was that it would be in the interest of the public ifgovernment’to play
smaller role and therefore there would be a need only for smaller civil service^ This started the
drive for civil service reforms. In 1979, an in house consultancy unit called Efficiency Unit
was set up in Prime Minister’s Office headed and manned by renowned and professional managers
from theprivate sector. This unit conducted scrutiny exercises to study how’the
expenditure could be reduced and efficiency of departments improved. A methodology was
developed to achieve the above objectives and each department was expected to conduct such
scrutiny exercises themselves. On the basis of such scrutinies several structural changes we
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brought about in the British civil service
(a) the civil service was made open so that it would be able to face competition from those
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outside the service.
(b) a new breed of civil service, the Chief Executive, was introduced .
(c) the system of cash limits was strengthened
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(d) large departments were broken up into relatively small agencies which may take quick
decisions and be accountable .
(e) privatizing public enterprises.
Based on the above, the functional management initiative was introduced in 1982e Ma^st
to operate within the limit of its manpower and total running costs.
In 1988 the Next Steps Study recommended that executive agencies should be established to
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Improving systems and work methods
The primary aim of improving systems and work methods should be to create a new work
culture and introduce openness, transparency and accountability into the system. All work
must be purposeful and must aim to provide the public greater satisfaction. In addition,
improved systems and work methods would also enhance productivity of the civil service.
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There must be a conscious effort to change the government’s image in the mind of the public.
There is a distinct differentiation made by the public between the government offices and that
of a corporate sector. A government office is viewed as one where you find peons lounging in
corridors, dirty corridors, dusty rooms full of files, non responsive employees and a very
hierarchical structure. On the other hand, corporate sector is viewed as an environment, which
is bright, spacious, warm and welcome and above all neatly organized. As has been deliberated
in detail in the chapter on Secretariat Reforms, government must initially identify one or two
departments and attempt to bring in change in the work culture especially at the secretariat.
This is in terms of seating arrangements, type of furniture, suitable lighting, adequate racks etc.
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Almost complete lack of citizen orientation, which is seen in the government offices, makes
people view the government employees as exploiters rather than facilitators. A conscious
effort has to be made to change such a perception.
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To improve work methods, the first thing would be to revise the Secretariat Manual of Office
Procedure which prescribes elaborate processes and systems for office work. Phis results in
generation of unnecessary file work, reports and returns. The filing system in the government
is rather outdated. A large number of files that are generated everyday ensure that there is less
space for the officers to sit and even lesser space where the files can be kept.
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• The paper work in government offices should be reduced by abolishing all unnecessary
reports and returns, reducing number of circulars and with the increased use of computers.
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• The existing system of file movement needs to be thoroughly revamped. CJradually files
may have to be replaced by floppies. Until such time, file movement can be done on
computers.
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• The introduction of desk officer system, which has been explained in detail in the chapter
on Secretariat Reforms, must be done at the earliest. This would be the first and the most
important step to improving systems and work methods in the secretariat.
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• All field offices should also follow a similar pattern and reduce file movements to only
three or maximum of four levels.
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• The number of meetings both at the secretariat and at the field levels must be reduced.
This would give more time to officers to go on tour and make inspection where necessary.
• The greater delegation of powers and exercise of delegated powers would ensure that there
is much less paper work and less time spent in getting approvals from various levels.
• A lot of extra work is generated in the government because there is inadequate information
sharing between the departments. Several departments also require the information collected
by one department in one form. If all departments would put such information databases
on the LAN or e-mail it to other secretaries, it may be very useful to lheother departments
in policy formulation.
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• Apart from reducing the number of forms, each department should also look at the size of
the forms. There should be an attempt to simplify the forms and returns being used in the
government.
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Rationalisation of civil services
Partlv as a result of past government efforts, the growth of the middle class, the diversification
Xie pnvate sectoPr an8d expansion of the voluntary organization network over the recent
decades government can now afford to reduce its role in many areas where it once seemed
essential rhe most common complaint about government is that the existing programmes fa
to deliver adequate services. In selected areas such as Health, Education, Law and Order,
Irrigation etc government needs to increase its role but it must be smaller or absent in other
areas in order to be affordable. Political will and proper management are the must crucial
inputs to provide these services.
The nroblems with the civil service in the State are less with its aggregate size then with its
ineffectiveness and inefficiency in performing many of the given tasks. Improving service
delivery by the civil service involves not only focusing on high priority functions but also
allocating wisely among various areas and efficient spending. The increased participation of
private sector especially in the areas of health and education has raised the standards of education
and health services delivery and has also raised the expectations of the public with regarc
standards of delivery from the government. With isolated exceptions, the service delivery by
the civil service has not met these standards.
STRENGTH AND EXPENDITURE ON SALARIES AND PENSIONS
(Rs in Crores)
PERCENTAGE
SALARY+
PENSION
No.OF
SALARY
TAX
OF 2 & 6
PENSION
RECEIPTS EMPLOYEES EXPENDITURE
SANCTIONED
YEAR
4
503990
496921
516496
529412
3
2.332.12
2.900.20
3.097.81
2
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”1990-1991
1991- 1992
1992- 1993
1993- 1994
1994- 1995
1995- 1996
1996- 1997
1997- 1998
1998- 1999
1999- 2000
2000- 2001 BE:
3.812.3 1
4,289.31
5.273.93
5.767.84
6.411.87
6.943.04
8.182.09
9.159.14
562552
589462
598037
589298
619753
639331
626899
5
6
1321.21
260.36
296.76
1442.35
1707.69
410.28
470.36
558.55
716.40
809.07
971.70
1427.48
1578.00
2683.33
3039.29
3587.61
4054.02
4878.21
6319.39
6583.40
348.50
1966.84
2212.97
2480.74
2871.21
3244.95
3906.51
4891.91
5005.40
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7
1581.57
1739.11
2056.19
2377.12
■I = In'
67.82%
59.97%
66.38%
62.35%
62.56%
57.63%
62.20%
63123%
70.26%
77.23%
71.88%
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1. The Reduction in percentage during 1991 -1992 was due to Substantive increase in Tax Revenue and
Reduction in number of employees
2. During 1995-1996 the dip in percentage point was due to substantive increase in Tax Revenue Only.
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Comparison of Salary & Pension out of State Tax Receipts
28%
37%
34%;----'
63%
66%
1994-95
1990-91
□ Other Expenses
E3 Salaries and Pension
75
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72%
2000 - 2001
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(Rupees in crores)
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STATEMENT OF EXPENDITURE ON SALARIES AND PENSION FOR
2000-2001 AS A PERCENTAGE OF STATES’ OWN TAX RECEIPTS.
States own Estimated Tax Receipts for 2000-2001
1. Estimated Expenditure on Salaries for 2000-2001
From States Tax Receipts.
2. Estimated Expenditure on pensions From States Tax Receipts.
GRAND TOTAL:
6583.40 (71.88%)
CIVIL SERVICE IN 2000-2001,
Number Of Serving Government Employees
Number Of Pensioners
6,26,899
3,93,067
9159.14
5005.40 (54.64%)
1578.00(17.25%)
Looking at the decadal growth in the civil service from 1990-91 to 2000-01, while there has
been 24.38% increase in the staff strength, salaries have increased by 299.36 % as a part of
Non-Plan expenditure. Of the total Revenue receipts of the government, 71.88% is the
expenditure towards salaries and pensions as per the budgeted estimates for 2000-2001. Of
this salaries alone under both Plan and Non-Plan constitute 54.64%. In actual terms, out of Rs
9159.14 crores of estimated tax receipts, for the year 2000-01, Rs. 5005.40 crores would be
spent on salaries and Rs. 1578.00 Crores is the estimated expenditure on pensions. FYom the
Non-Plan Expenditure, 4423.84 Crores are spent on salaries for the employees in both the
State and ZP Sector. The other components of Non-Plan expenditure in the government are
Subsidies, Interest, and Grant in Aids, Diet/Medicine etc. Of these, subsidies have grown at a
percentage from 0.14 % in 1990-91 to 7.00% in 2000-01. As can be seen at Annexture (Page
153) the Non-Plan expenditure also includes amount to be spent on schemes viz. scholarships,
nutrition and other rural development programmes.
Apart from salaries to the civil servants other expenditures like Travel Expenses, Vehicles etc
constitute a fairly large percentage of government’s revenue expenditure. Of a total anticipated
non-plan expenditure of Rs.1337.57 Crores for the year 2000-01, the expenditure on
maintenance, purchase of motor vehicles is Rs. 116.83 Crores. This includes only expenditure
on vehicles at State Sector and excludes the ZP Sector. The expenditure on travel expenses is
56.10 crores. In terms of fiscal sustainability the decision on the extent of size of the civil
service should depend on government’s capacity to pay and support. Large outflows towards
salaries and other related expenses would invariably result in a lesser degree of funding to
other core development sectors. When available resources shrink either from a drop in gross
revenue or an increase in interest rates, this would invariably mean that on a progressive scale,
wages would continue to increase but government’s revenues would not. The wage bill is the
largest item of expenditure under Non-Plan in the government budget and its share has been
rising over the years. The Government is generally seen as an employer of first resort leaving
a legacy of major over-staffing at both lower and higher levels.
The salary component of Non-Plan expenditure also comprises of salaries, which are to be paid
to teachers, doctors and policemen. There is an ongoing debate as to whether the salaries to be
paid to the above three categories of civil service constitute non-plan expenditure or
development expenditure. The Commission would take the view that this constitutes
development expenditure since these are the services, which form core competencies of the
government and have to be delivered by the individual personnel stationed at different
geographical locations. The positioning and placement of civil servants is skewed. There are
many departments where most of the staff are concentrated in the State or district head quarters.
In several departments like Agriculture and Forests etc the number of officers far outnumber
the frontline service delivery employees. The rationale then, would be to have adequate number
of people at the frontline service delivery locations and reduce numbers at the higher levels. It
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The Government has been making sincere efforts to contain the size of the civil service. This is
being done by keeping a strict vigil on fresh recruitment and by abolition of vacant posts. The
Government in May 1999 had issued an order for the abolition of 20,142 posts in 69 departme .
The Secretaries to Government were expected to abolish these posts. But by the end of November
2000 only 13,049 posts have been abolished. 17 departments out of 69 departments have not
abolished any posts at all. The abolition of these posts has been across all groups and categories
of employees. The posts that were abolished mainly comprised of posts that had been lying
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vacant for three years or more.
On the one hand, while orders were issued to abolish posts , on the other, the Karnataka Public
Service Commission was directed to recruit 103 Group-A officers in 1998 and 95 Group-A
officers in 1999. Permission was also accorded for recruitment of 300 Group-B officers in 1998
and 95 Group-B officers in 1999. Aware of the repercussions of recruitment of such a large
number of officers, the Commission took action to request the government to keep in abeyance
the recruitment of both Group A & B officers for the years 1998 and 1999 till the report of the
Commission was submitted to the Government.
A verification was made by the Commission whether the vacancies notified for recruitment for
Group-A and B officers in the years 1998 and 1999 exist as on November 2000. The Commission
was informed by the Commercial Taxes Department that a 5% cut has been effected m the
posts of Assistant Commissioners of Commercial Tax officers. Therefore as against 33 posts of
Assistant Commissioners of Commercial Tax reported vacant in 1998-99, only 2 posts need to
be filled up today. 46 posts of Commercial Tax Officers continued to remain vacant. All the
vacancies of Assistant Labour Commissioners and Labour Officers in theiLaboui;
have been filled up by promoting the eligible persons under Rule 32 of the KCSRs. There
there are no vacancies in this department today. The Department of Rural
Panchayat Raj has abolished all the posts of Block Development Officers an
posts notified for recruitment are not available now. The Home Department has taken a decisio
To freeze direct recruitment vacancies for the period from 1991-98. Therefore agains 23
notified posts of Deputy Superintendent of Police, only 4 are vacant today against 34 not ed
posts of Assistant Commandants of KSRP, only 4 are vacant today and against 10 notif ed
posts of Assistant Superintendent of Jails, only 7 remain vacant today. The Food & Civil Supplies
Department has also decided to freeze the vacancies of 4 notified posts of Assistant
of Food & Civil Supplies. 50 vacancies in the cadre of Asst.Controllers in the State Account
Service were notified, as on today only 5 vacancies exist, since the posts are filled up by
promotion 90 posts of Tahsildars were notified for recruitment and today only 56 posts are
vacant. The other categories of posts notified and where recruitments are required to be
completed as per the departments’ requirements are the departments of Marketing, Treasuries,
Revenue, Youth Services, and Employment & Training. It would be necessary for these
departments also to re-examine the need to fill up all of the posts notified earlier.
Until and unless this sort of large-scale recruitment in departments just because there are
vacancies available without making a scientific assessment of the needs of these offices is
stopped, the size of the civil service will grow disproportionate to the needs of the government.
Also an across the board cut of 5% of the vacant posts may not be justified in case of all the
departments. The logic that the department has been able to manage for the past three years oi
more without those officials being available and there fore such posts could be easily abolished
is not always correct. Economy measures and the ban on recruitment have prevented filling up
of such posts. As a result there have been large scale promotions for certain cadres of posts in
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some departments.
Most of the front line service delivery staff like forest guards, foresters, police constables,
revenue inspectors etc have reached superannuation levels and unable to perform the rigorous
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physical work that is expected from them. Also since there are large number of vacancies al
these levels, even those eligible for promotion are not promoted, thereby severely affecting
motivation levels. Therefore there is a need to cut down on the number of posts at the higher
levels in all the services and departments and take up recruitment for certain cadres involved
in front line delivery of services.
The reduction in the number of direct recruitment posts as a means to rationalize the civil
service would lead to inefficiencies in the service in the long run. The original purpose of
earmarking certain posts for direct recruitment is to bring in persons with higher levels of
Karnataka Public Service Commission Recruitment
SI. Probationery
No. Officers Service & Designation of
Group-A
1. 'Fhe Karnataka
Administrative Service
(Junior Scale) Assistant Commissioners
2. The Karnataka State
Accounts Service Assistant Controllers
3. Asst.Commissioners
of Commercial Tax
4. Treasury Officers
5. Assistant Labour Commissioners
6. District Officers (Social Welfare Branches)
7. Deputy Superintendent of Police
8. Asst.Commandant of KSRP
9. Deputy Director of Food &
0
Civil Supply ________________
Total
SI. Probationer
No Officers Service & Designation of
Group-B‘
Notified
vacancies 1998
Notified
vacancies 1999
No of Posts
Vacant as
on
Nov. 2000
20
20
40
48
25
2
8
05
02
2
3
Nil
5
02
Nil
5
Nil
Nil
Nil
2
23
34
1
07
04
04
04
103
95
68
No.of Posts for
the year 1998
Tahsildars
Commercial Tax Officer
Labour Officer
Asst.Registrars of Co-operative Societies
Deputy Superintendents of Excise
Employment Officer
District Youth Service Officer
Asst.Directors of Land Records
Chief Officer Grade-I
(Urban Development)
10. Assistant Treasury Officer
11. District Marketing Officer
12. Assistant Directors of Food
& Civil Supplies
13. Assistant Chief Auditors
14. Block Development Officer
15. Assistant Directors of Legal Metralogy
16. Assistant Superintendents of Jail Dept.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
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No.of Posts for
the year 1999
No.of Posts
vacant as
on Today
50
33
8
35
14
13
11
8
10
40
13
10
5
7
2
1
1
Nil
56
45
Nil
45
42
13
05
30
10
35
25
2
Nil
1
2
35
26
Nil
36
20
Nil
Nil
300
Nil
Nil
3
10
95
24
Nil
02
07
340
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qualifications into the service. Filling up of direct recruitment posts by promotion under Rule
32 of KCSR allows inbreeding in the departments and closes the door to the entry,°f fre
talent. This has a detrimental effects on the efficiency levels within the government. There ore
while recommending that there should be a reduction in the size of the civil service, this cannot
be done by merely blocking all levels of direct recruitment. What is required is a scientific
assessment of the number of posts that are actually required within each department and
accordingly process for recruitment. A functional review has to be made of each and every
post in the government to assess the total number of employees required and the Commission
proposes to lake up such a review and make suitable recommendations in the final report.
It is a fact that several districts in North Karnataka especially districts of Gulbarga, Bijapur
and Raichur have large number of vacancies in most of the departments. These vacancies are
more in the Group-C cadres. As on today, all the Group-C cadres of majority departments are
treated as State cadres. Because of this gradually over time, there is a movement of most of
Group-C employees towards Bangalore or other districts of their choice. Low levels of h eracy
in these districts prevent adequate number of people from these districts getting selected to
these posts'. It is, therefore, suggested that all Group-C cadres in all departments should be
treated as District Cadres. The recruitment to these cadres could be done by a single agency as
is done for All India Services. At the time of recruitment, vacancies must be notified district
wise enabling the locals from each districts to apply. The selection could be based on merit
cum preferences, given by the individuals and roster system. The final selection could be done
on the basis of counselling as is done under the Common Entrance Test. District cadres should
be allotted to Group-C employees and should be permanent except in exceptional circumstances
of marriage etc.
Overall, taking the Secretariat and District governance, the Commission is recommending that
5528 posts would be surplus. At the Secretariat, with the introduction of the Desk Officer
system, 774 posts would be surplus, this includes 109 posts of Section Officers, 126 posts of
Senior Assistants, 302 posts of Assistants and 237 posts of Junior Assistants.
At the District level in the Revenue Department, if the Village Accountants post is made the
same jurisdiction as that of the Gram Panchayat Secretary, 3101 posts of Village Accountants
would become surplus. With the abolition of Nad Kacheries, 1316 officials would be surplus
And with the abolition of Divisional Commissioners’ office, 337 officials including 4 posts of
Divisional Commissioners would have to be redeployed. Therefore, totally 4754 staff would
become surplus in the Revenue Department.
Therefore, the following are recommended : • In several departments the officers are more than the frontline staff. There is a need to
rationalize this distribution and have more workers for service delivery.
• The location of staff and employees in several departments is skewed. Most of the officers
are located in Bangalore or in District Headquarters while the need is to have officers at
actual implementation / cutting edge levels.
• There are several employees to carry out the same task for different departments like in the
case of grant of scholarships. If one or two employees could be utilised for this purpose, it
would reduce the number of employees required for this purpose.
• Changing the manner of government functioning by the introduction of Desk Officer, Single
File System would reduce delays, bring in efficiency and also help in reduction of number
of employees.
• Employees are very often recruited at the launch of a new scheme or a programme. Merger
of similar sounding schemes/programmes would render some staff as surplus who could be
redeployed where ever there is a requirement.
• Every department must make a scientific assessment of the total number of direct recruitment
79
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POSTS ABOLISHED
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DEPARTMENTS
No Of Posts
To Be
Abolished
as per G.O
Dated
25-5-1999
1 Health & Family Welfare
2 Indian Medicine
3 Drugs Control
4 Medical Edn
5 Public Instruction
6 Govt. Press
7 Library
8 Technical Edn
9 Collegiate Edn
10 Mass Edn
11 Vocational Edn
12 Fire Force
13 Home Guards
14 Transport
15 Police
16 Animal Husbandry
17 Fisheries
18 Commerce & Industries
19 Textile
20 Stores Purchase Dept
21 Mines & Geology
22 Sericulture
2 3 Women & Child Devpt
24 Labour
2 5 ESI
26 Factories & Boliers
2 7 Emp & Training
28 Agri Mktg
29 Cooperative Audit
30 Cooperation
31 Lokayukta
3 2 Adm Trg Int, Mysore
3 3 K. Administrative Tribunal
3 4 KPSC
3 5 Secretariat
36 Tourism
3 7 Govt. Flying Training School
3 8 Youth Services 8c Sports
39 NCC
40 Information & Publicity
41 Ins. Finance & Statistics
4 2 KGCC
4 3 Chief Electl. Inspectorate
44 Rural Development
45 Public Health Engineering
46 Stamps & Registration
4 7 Land Survey & Revenue
and Land Records
48 Revenue
49 Town Planning
50 Kannada & Culture
51 Archeology & Museum
5 2 Food & Civil Supplies
53 Legal MetroIgy
54 Social Welfare
5 5 Backward Classes & Minority
3000
152
25
100
743
69
7
252 •
160
26
20
78
20
112
1352
965
150
239
20
10
60
110
536
90
410
19
192
230
81
510
32
43
212
10
400
25
16
53
180
1 16
82
20
20
393
62
96
528
GROUP-A
GROUP-B
GROUP-C GROUP-D
TOTAL
';
:■
1
152
152
100
1
21
1
1
13
1
5
5
4
4
1
1
2
2
5
2
6
8
13
4
8
3
i
i
2
6
14
1
3
1
2
141
136
24
15
78
13
112
68
3
77
23
1
225
14
6
34
90
536
39
7
5
1
3
24
13
49
403
239
20
10
GO
110
536
90
410
147
130
58
124
19
31
100
23
263
6
192
230
81
408
32
7
606
40
15
8
98
2
8
62
14
3
23
30
56
11
11
10
150
56
188
164
65
6
29
12
7
63
5
3
1
33
279
196
260
40
35
4
543
236
80
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■ <3
■i
10
20
39
2
100
743
69
7
252
160
26
20
78
20
112
I■I
1
10
62
25
16
53
180
116
10
20
391
67
1121
40
15
8
98
543
236 |
4
* Sv®
If
SL
NO
DEPARTMENTS
No Of Posts
To Be
Abolished
as per G.O
Dated
25-5-1999
372
17
119
26
325
185
1262
1550
150
1800
234
7
67
GROUP-A GROUP-B
GROUP-C GROUP-D TOTAL
267
77
5
23
56 Conunl. Tax
5 7 State Lotteries & Small Savg
87
32
58 KGID
59 State Accounts
60 Excise
61 Treasury
*62 PWD
63 Agriculture
64 Horticulture
17
1727
56
65 Major Irrigation
66 Minor Irrigation
1
6
67 Translation
27
40
68 Public Prosecution & Govt
Litgation
69 Forest
416
1959
20137
191
291
5228
GRAND TOTAL
NOTE :The following departments have not furnished information about the abolition of posts:-
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Health & Family Welfare
Drugs Control
Police
Animal Husbandry
Fisheries
Factories & Boilers
7)
ATI Mysore
8) KAT Adm
III
372
119
I rti
857
1550
150
1800
7
67
.
1 ’n
416
12506
9) Institutional Fin & Stat
10) Stamps & Registration
11) Land Survey & Land Records
12) Legal Metrology
13) State Lotteris & Small Savings
14) State Accounts
15) Excise
16) Treasuary
17) Minor Irrigation
vacancies available based on the above principles and only then should the department
proceed for filling up the vacancies.
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Direct recruitment vacancies should not be utilised for recruitment by promotion as this
would in the long run affect the efficiency of the government.
•
All group-C posts should be made into district cadre posts and allotment must be made on
perinainmt basis as is done under the All India Service.
Government must impose the ban on further recruitment of Junior Assistants, Assistants
level staff in all departments.
Computerisation must be introduced in a time-bound manner in all departments so that less
people would be required for the same work.
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Review of Performance Appraisal System
The system of performance appraisal or annual confidential reports is a broad method which
enable the government to review the performance and capability of an individual employee.
While the appraisal of an employee is a continuous process and takes place every day, the
annual confidential report is a systemic way of monitoring the performance of the employee.
The annual confidential report, is therefore, only one aspect of the performance appraisal system.
In Government, it is used as the only tool for performance appraisal whereas in the corporate
sector, apart from the annual confidential reports, they also judge the performance of an
employee through informal dialogue, interviews and even feedback from the subordinates.
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The Annual Confidential Report is primarily aimed at improving the performance of an employee
and the main focus of the report is to enhance the developmental capabilities of the employee
rather than be in judgment over his performance. It is to be a true reflection of the strengths
and weaknesses of the employee as well as.ihe achievements and shortcomings of the employee
thereby assisting the government in proper career planning and placement of the employee. It,
therefore, becomes one of the essential tools in framing the personnel policy of the government.
Several changes have been made to the format of the annual confidential report over years in
an attempt to ensure that it reflects the true work and personality of the employee and to make
assessment of the employee as objective as possible. The annual confidential report contains
today both qualitative and quantitative performance assessment. Except the Group-D employees
(peons, Dalayaths, sanitary workers etc) and Drivers, every other employee in the government
is under obligation to give his/her annual performance assessment report.
Inspite of all the efforts made to make performance appraisal as objective and useful as possible,
there are many inherent weaknesses and drawbacks to the entire system of performance appraisal.
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(a) There is high degree of subjectivity in the writing of the performance appraisal reports for
all employees at all levels.
(b) The high turnover in transfers ensures that employees especially if they are due for promotion
have to “chase” the concerned reporting, reviewing and accepting authorities to ensure that
their appraisal report is written on time.
(c) Invariably, in most of departments, the appraisal reports are never written on time. The
time lag handicaps the reporting and reviewing authority from being able to accurately
remember the performance of the employee during the period of assessment.
(d) For those categories of employees who are transferred frequently in a year, it becomes very
difficult to assess the performance as a whole.
(e) It is difficult for secretariat employees especially from assistant level upwards to that of
under secretary, to write anything meaningful in their annual confidential reports in the
columns against targets and achievements. It is not possible to prescribe any targets for
officials or officers who are entrusted with only desk work.
(f) The overall assessment of an employee to be made by the accepting authority in terms of
‘satisfactory’, ‘good’, ‘very good’, ‘outstanding’, is highly subjective. The interpretation of
the above description for assessing the employees performance would differ from each
officer making the assessment and also from department to department. In departments
where the output of work can be easily quantified and judged, it may be easier to be more
objective, but in departments dealing purely with policy matters, it is difficult to be a very
objective.
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(g) Only adverse remarks are communicated to the employee and in the present system, this is
also not done on time by many of the departments.
(h) All the information about the annual confidential reports of the employees must be
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computerized and include whether there are any missing annual confidential reports or if m
a particular year one of the levels of reporting in the annual confidential report is incomplete.
In order to improve the performance appraisal system, the following is recommended: • There should be a different format of ACR for secretariat employees.
• Apart from the adverse comments, a copy of every year’s completely written ACR must
also be given to the employee. This would enable the employee to know how is/her
performance is judged and to make any improvements if required for the next year.
• As is done for the Armed Forces and Central Police Organisations, a grading system on a 10
point or a 7 point scale to assess the individual traits and attributes could be introduced as
4
part of the ACR.
• All levels of officers who have to write ACRs must be given proper training in how to write
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an ACR objectively.
• Counselling may be introduced to those employees who get repeated adverse remarks.
- •
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• Action should also be taken against those officers who delay in writing the ACRs where
they are either reporting, reviewing or accepting authorities.
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ACRs, which are to be approved by the concerned departmental minister some^e®’ are
delayed for several months. A time frame should be fixed for approval of the ACRs by the
concerned ministers.
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passed, yet there are barriers to information. Official information is not easily accessible to the
people and what is available is not easily comprehensible. Rules and procedures more often
than not involve a lot of discretion, providing ample scope of abuse of powers and corruption.
Withholding of information is often justified by Officials Secret Act and time honoured practices
in Government. Take for instance, the provision of the Officials Secret Act 1923 and the Code
of Conduct Rules of Government employees. The provisions of the above prevent most of the
information about the affairs of the government from being disclosed to the public.
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The Officials Secret Act is primarily responsible for excessive secrecy in the government. Section
5 of this Act states that for wrongful communication etc. of information, and if any person
having in his possession or control, any secret official code or password or any sketch, plan,
model, article, note, document or information or information which relates to .................. a
matter of disclosure, which is likely to affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, he shall be
guilty of an offence. Therefore, this section provides for punishment for unauthorized disposal
of official secrets but does not define official secrets. Such an overriding clause is responsible
for reluctance of the civil service to divulge even the simplest of information to the general
public.
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Also, the Central Civil Services (Conduct Rules) 1964 and corresponding rules applicable to All
India services etc, inhibit government servants from sharing the information with the public.
'I'he stress in these rides is on denial of the information to the public. Therefore, if the Right to
Information Act has to be succeed and serve it’s purpose, and if transparency has to be brought
about in the system an amendment has to be brought out in these rules. One of the most
damaging consequences of the Code of Conduct Rules has been the denial of information
about the affairs of the government to the public and even the denial of details of development
expenditure to them. The sooner these laws are amended, the better it will be in the interest of
the State. The Government must put in efforts to see that the Government of India at the
earliest amends the relevant provisions of these laws.
'•
The rules and procedures of the Government are meant to facilitate greater transparency in
Government functioning and expedite service delivery to the public. The existing rules and
procedures have to be amended to make the whole process of approvals, sanctions etc. simple
and transparent. The public are also frustrated by rigid procedures and archaic laws which
sometimes is enhanced by the insensitive attitude of officials and unwarranted transactional
costs.
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Many of the old laws and rules have lost their relevance today. Of the 1760 various Acts
prevalent in the State, action has been taken in the recent Assembly session to repeal 1038
Acts. It would be in consonance with the administrative reform process if Government were to
expedite action to repeal the other redundant laws too, and if required introduce relevant
legislation in it’s place. Government could also consider merger of those laws which are similar
in nature.
The procedures of most rules in the Government stand in the way of responsive administration
and very often operate against .the interests of the poor and weaker sections. Also there are
certain laws, which are operated by more than one department, which often overlap, and conflict
with each other leading to fruitless parallel proceedings. They also increase transactional costs
and the costs of litigation. This is more so for the poor people and subject them to corruption
at every step. The opaque regidations are a boon to middlemen and unscrupulous elements,
enabling them to break the rules with impunity, very often in connivance with the officials.
Apart from changing rules and procedures to suit the present environment of reform, government
should ensure that number of required clearances be cut down and the process ol approvals
itself can be based more on self-regulation. (Self-Assessment Scheme of Bangalore City
Corporation). In addition, reduction in the number of levels through which the decisions making
process takes place for issue of documents such as licences or certificates is suggested. 'I’he
government should progressive!}' repose more faith in the citizens in the matters of issue ol
licenccs/certificates.
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As an example, the amendments that are required to archaic, abstruse rules are the Karnataka
Government Servants (Medical Attendance) Rules, 1963. The Government has now proposed
to amend rules and the draft is available. Under the amendment to Rule 8, the range of pay, the
category of ward/class of accommodation to which entitled and maximum ward charges/room
rent to which entitled is given. When the maximum of ward charges to the employees are
indicated, there is no need to indicate to which ward an employee has to be admitted. If the
employee is admitted into a ward higher than the entitlement, the balance should be paid by
the employee but the category of ward that the employee is admitted should be left to the
discretion of the employee.
*
Secondly, under Schedule-I, certain speciality hospitals have been recognized for treatment for
the employees. But all these hospitals are of Bangalore only. What would be the fate of the
employees who work in areas other than Bangalore. Government must also identify and prepare
a panel of lists of hospitals outside Bangalore, at least in the municipal corporation areas.
I
There must be more transparency in the use of discretionary power, both at the political and
bureaucratic levels. The discretionary power in administration is the most important as well as
the most dangerous kind of power. But in the present democratic setup it is difficult to devise
a system devoid of discretion. So therefore, Govt should look at a system to control the
exercise of discretionary powers so that it may not be abused or misused. The judiciary to
some extent, through it’s power of judicial review of administrative actions have devised ways
and means to check the abuse of power and authority. It is required that the rules which
provide for discretionary powers should be examined and as far as possible, discretion must be
reduced. The requirement of recording the reasons for the decisions taken has long been an
established practice for good governance. Recording the decision in the form of a speaking
order is important from the point of view that it would be able to explain the reasons behind
the use of the discretionary power. This would also ensure openness in the decision making
process, accountability and responsiveness in the exercise of public power.
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Delegation of financial powers either at the State or at the district level irrespective of the level
of the seniority of the officers should be done based on current prices and must be reviewed
every three years. All government offices should compulsorily publish simple hand-outs in
simple language for the general information of the public on procedures to be followed, methods
filling in forms, fees and other requirements and make them freely available to the public. This
would be a precursor to the introduction of the citizen’s charters by the departments.
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There can be no right to information or transparency in government unless the public have
easy access to Government information on relevant matters. This could be achieved through
streamlining of internal procedures, computerization and by setting up of public facilitation
centers in offices. 'I here are generally considerable delays in the redressal of the grievances
and securing access to the information since most government departments with public interface
do not have a mechanism to provide information to the citizens across the counters or to deal
with their grievances and complaints at a single point. This could be done through the setting
up of an appropriate Wide Area Network. (WAN) which could be internally linked to government
offices within the secretariat. This would also enable the government to provide easy access to
citizens and give information at various levels, issue of revenue records and other certificates
at a single point, and prompt redressal of grievances etc.
While with the help of National Informatics Centre (NIC), Government of India, Deputy
Commissioners’ and Chief Executive Officers’ offices have been computerised, yet there is no
network in the districts. The Deputy Commissioners and Chief Executive Officers do use the
NIC facility to communicate to the State Government letters and certain periodical progress
reports. Government could, therefore, consider converting grievances redressal cells which
have been set up in each Deputy Commissioner’s office into Citizen’s Information Centres. At
least on a pilot basis, this should be started in a few districts.
89
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Therefore it is suggested that
3
• Amendments be made to the Official Secrets Act and the Civil Services Code of Conduct
Rules
.■J
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0 Discretionary powers must be reduced to the minimum
iii
ini
I
• Regulatory authorities should be set up for all other public utilities
• Public should have easy access to Government orders, forms etc. They should be made
available in post offices, banks, fair price shops etc.
1
• Public facilitation centers should be set up in all offices. The existing grievance redressal
centers could be converted as the above centers.
1
'I
I
• WAN and LAN should be set up at the earliest to enable easy sharing of information within
departments and between departments and speedy disposal of grievances
ir
• Review of rules and simplification of procedures
■
• Each department, especially those with constant public interface, must bring out a
compendium of all their relevant forms which the public have to use, so that all I Ik? forms
are available at a single place. There must be wide dissemination of such informal ion.
Ii
• The rules to the Right to Information Act must be framed as expeditiously as possible.
• Delegation of financial powers should be on the basis of current prices, must be reviewed
every three years
• Must have concurrent audit rather than post audit
• Renewal period for licences etc, be enhanced, this would reduce transactional costs.
rl
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Recruitment
The first stage where a prospective civil servant would encounter corruption, would be at level
of recruitment. The first step to eliminate corruption at the entry level, would be to have a
merit based recruitment procedure which would also help to attract the best into the civil
service. The Union Public Service Commission is still today respected for its objective, corruption
free and meritocratic selection procedure. But the State Public Service Commission is a much
maligned organization. There is generally a lot of delay in the completion of the recruitment
process. Linked with this are the allegations that there is rampant corruption in the Public
Service Commission.
B
F.:
I'-B'
In order to ensure respectability to the recruitment process in the KPSC, reforms have to be
introduced right at the level of selection of the Members itself. Today the selection of most of
the KPSC members is as a result of political patronage and not the reflection of an individual
member s efficiency or required qualification for the job. More over having the same panel of
members conduct all the interviews is detrimental to the interview process and leads to members
sharing candidates among themselves. In addition, the high percentage of marks awarded for
the interview for selection to certain posts, as compared to the written exam does not augur
well for meritocratic process of selection. It is now time for the government to lay down objective
norms for selection of members to the KPSC. Qualifications must be laid down, publicised,
and applications invited to make selection process transparent. The selection of the members
and chairman of the KPSC should be done by a board/committee headed by Hon’ble Chief
Minister in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court.
r
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The recruitment by the KPSC is restricted only to certain categories of posts. Recruitment to
other posts is done by the departments themselves and these departments have their own
Cadre and Recruitment rules. There is a wide variation between departments and within each
department in the process of recruitment. While the qualifications for recruitment would vary
amongst departments, yet the procedure for recruitment varies for different categories of posts.
For some posts it is only an interview, for some it is an interview with qualifying marks, for still
others it is an interview with a common aptitude test. There is, no need to have in any
department, a recruitment procedure, which is based on interview, which is subjective and
involves discretion. It is, therefore, suggested that an amendment be made to C&R Rules of all
the departments to ensure that recruitment is based only on merit either on the qualifying
exam marks or on the basis of common aptitude test.
In
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There is also a need to change and review the qualifications for several of the posts for which
recruitment takes place. With the need to have a more extensive use of information technology
in administration, qualifications for recruitment to most posts in Government should include a
basic knowledge of computer applications, if not more. Also, prescription of only graduation
as a qualification for several posts, may not be relevant now since it would be better to recruit
employess with multi-skills. Since the costs of salaries and wages is only going to increase over
the years, Government may consider contracting out certain services, especially drivers, peons
and computer programmers wherever necessary.
’
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Compassionate appointment is another form of recruitment where there is alleged to be rampant
corruption. Also most of the recruitment under compassionate appointment takes place to the
categories of Group D employees, swelling their already large ranks. Government should consider 1
restricting the compassionate appointment to only families of deceased police employees and
those killed in riots etc.
i
Therefore the Government should have
• Only meritocratic recruitment for all posts.
• Selection of KPSC members must be done by a Committee headed by the Chief Minister. ’
• Revise cadre and recruitment rules of all departments to have merit based recruitment and 1
modify qualifications for certain posts.
• Recruitment for certain posts could be contracted ( peons, drivers )
• Compassionate appointment to be restricted to families of deceased police personnel and
riot victims.
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Transfers
W
The responsiveness of the civil servants and his/her capacity for even handed treatment of all
sections of the public depends on a substantial extent on the degree to which he/she has
continuity in the official position and does not feel threatened by the risk of premature transfers
or any punishment for even handed administration. The effectiveness of public administration
in the State suffers from the ease with which tenure of officials serving in the field cither in
the regulatory or development areas are cut short, leaving the officials demoralized, public
dissatisfied and the credibility of the government seriously eroded. While the civil service in
the State has indeed played a crucial role in the State’s development, yet in recent limes, the
civil servants are facing grave crisis of identity and role definitions. Because of rapid growth in
the number of civil servants in the State, public now generally believe that public services aie
meant to benefit government servants more and not the public. Frequent and arbitrary transfers
of public servants affect the ability of the system, delivery services to the public. 'Flic public
sometimes perceive such arbitrary transfers asrreflective of and unholy nexus between certain
elected representatives and civil servants.
Unstable short tenures lead to frustration and demoralization, the partiality and objectivity of
the officer comes under strain, building up of an experience based on expertise, is prevented
and ultimately, the task of the job that government has given is left uncompleted and takes
much long to complete. Different individuals react differently to the situation described above.
A few civil servants resist firmly and pay the price; some offer passive resistance and try to do
WI'
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TRANSFERS MADE DURING 2000-2001
Transfers made
SI.
No
Department
in Forest, Ecology & Environment
2. Food and Civil Supplies
3. Finance
4. Health and Family Welfare
5. Energy
6. Home and Transport
7. Kannada and Culture
8. Revenue
9 Law
10. Labour
11. Agriculture and I lorticulture
12. R.D.P.R.
13. Urban Development
14. Irrigation
15. Animal Hus. & Fisheries
16. Women & Child Dev.
17. Information Technology
18. Infrastructure Development
19. Planning & IFS & Sc.& Techn.
20. Public Works (PWD)
21. Housing
22. Commerce & Industries
23 Information, T & Y. Services
24. Education
25. Social Welfare
26. Cooperation
27. D.P.A.R
28. Dept.of Parliamentary Affairs
Group-B
Group-A
139
11
277
877
11
14
02
12
61
161
181
8
33
331
8
18
288
19
414
91
07
90
08
48
36
60
1262
10
30
369
49
136
Group-C
1519
335
1728
1423
14
519
08
981
20
481
3088
24
376
613
87
537
Group-D
86
14
390
171
491
01
151
21
98
551
04
07
71
8
11
Total
2032
379
2809
2562
32
1114
19
1192
138
800
5082 '
96
446
1384
152
702
______
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1p II
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'll
1
410
949
1275
25
2659
78
11
689
13
251
03
360
15
1307
46
698
03
1321
82
13864
514
56
170
5
44/
156
1103
1929
113
16307
729
3493
5845
29510
92
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1
1
[and Legislation___________
I Total:
-«
2934
41782
II
I
...
their best. What is worrisome is that an increasing large number give in and reap the rewards of
compliance. The major casualty is, of course, the total system.
■J
While the conduct rules provide for various opportunities to the officials to appeal in respect
of proceedings of suspension, demotion, dismissal, minor penalties etc. they do not enjoy such
safeguards as regards unjustified transfers. The legitimate hierarchy for effective transfer and
promotion of various officials has over the years been marginalized in favour of an extra
constitutional system based on extraneous influence. This erodes the ability and authority of
the superior officials and they become incapable of ensuring effective and responsive
administration through lower level functionaries. The system should also be able to provide
for weeding out non-performers on the basis of objective criteria.
The demand for stability of tenure and objective criteria for transfers and promotions is the
critical element for motivation and effective performance of the civil services. Further, people
can also expect to receive fair and equitable treatment unaffected by considerations of caste,
speed money, etc, only if the officials are encouraged to have courage and confidence to take
decisions without fear or favour or penalty of premature transfer. These considerations become
even more critical for Police and other law enforcing and revenue earning agencies like
Commercial Taxes, Excise etc.
■1'
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DETAILS OF TRANSFERS EFFECTED FROM 1989-90 TO 1995-96
■ 31 ■
(THE FIGURES SHOWN WITHOUT BRACKETS INDICATE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF
TRANSFERS & PREMATURE TRANSFERS ARE SHOWN IN BRACKETS)
f
l.
SL
NO
1
1
NAME OF THE
DEPARTMENT
2
Social welfare
1989-90 1990-91 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
36
1206
1223
1790
492
[145]
110
[030]
597
[90]
(-)
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2
Rural Development &
Panchayat Raj.
3
Finance Department
*NR
15583
438
443
NIL
NIL
1430
1967
1936
1902
2578
[817]
2247
[ 832 ]
2332
[771 ]
4
Co-Operation
1157
[413]
1058
1058
1699
[406]
1119
[ 375]
873
[ 319 ]
341
[105]
5
Commerce & Industries.
254
[87]
977
977
1073
1109
[351]
715
[ 302 ]
1033
[405 ]
6
Public Works Department
1927
[93]
3398
[682]
3401
1387
[221]
1434
[270]
317
349
[44]
209
[18]
428
[166]
'.'^s
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I
3092
[ 330 ]
-U
1 I.'
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NR
(106]
I
■I
224
I
7
Irrigation
8
Food & Civil Supplies
9
10
I
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1
1249
1708
3814
88
[33]
430
Information,Tourism &
Youth Services.
96
[32]
121
208
200
158
[35]
161
[20]
169
[25]
Department Of Law &
Parliamentary Affairs
86
283
63
193
[ 7/]
170
[44]
208
[28]
155‘
[30]
3679
[73]
8959
NIL
18305
10460
[ 176 ]
8089
[ 278 ]
18908,
[2829 ]
549
[ 389 ]
60
*NR
153
574
[343]
549
[425]
449
[405 ]
11
Education
12
Dept. Of Personnel &
Administrative Reforms
324
756
I
I
93
■
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SL
NAME OF THE
NO
DEPARTMENT
1
2
13" Health & Family welfare
if
'll
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I
16
17
18
19
Housing & Urban Devel
Home & Tarnsport
Forest,Ecology &
Environment
Animal Husbandry &
Fisheries Department
Women & Child Devel
Labour
21
Kannada & Culture
23
IS:
If
|fe|!
Energy
20
22
I
3
947
4
4488
5
2244
6
2608
06
*NR
23
70
70
129
4388
3933
7620
*NR
*NR
36
[-1
14
15
If
1989-90 1990-91 1991-92 1992-93
Agriculture &
Horticulture
Planning,Institutional
*NR
[-1
28
[-1
142
[17]
1353
[-1
722
[314]
*NR
*NR
*NR
Revenue Department
GRAND TOTAL :
7 ___ 8
3390
2567
55
9
1170
[-1
22
[-1
72
[-]
(-1
970
[238]
2495
[602]
(-1
[-]
17
[-1
79
[-1
848
[228]
4
2047
1943
2515
[-1
l-l
l-l
l-l
1661
I 787]
1526
[ 809 )
1995
(1092 ]
NIL
[-1
16
NIL
NIL
*NR
448
I 90 |
352
I 93 |
354
I 143 1
*NR
*NR
*NR
47
51
111
3
*NR
*NR
*NR
11
I 3]
M
16
|4|
1127
[631 ]
1437
[643]
2739
[1268 )
224
*NR
*NR
180
[-1
*NR
[-1
*NR
[-]
1470
29626
[4313]
25348
|4987 |
33386
[7944 |
609
[240]
*NR
*NR
118
498
118
1699
Finance Statistics & S&T
24
1993-94 1994-95 1995-96
*NR
*NR
*NR
*NR
14514
[2044 |
25380
14360
57807
1
( * Not. Received)
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The ultimate victims in this transfer exercise are the beneficiaries through whom the transfen eri
3 .ho':" e",ploj’“ ”h0 i! 'rs“fe™1 p—'iy.
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While Government has a well drafted transfer policy , issued in the form of guidelines from
time to time, yet these are followed more in the exception rather than as a rule. The instrument
of transfer is widely misused to subjugate the government employees. Since they are only
guidelines they do not have legal sanction and are flouted with impunity. The Commission is
of the view that to curb corruption in transfers, transfers must be reduced to the minimum.
The concept of general transfers which takes place every 2-3 years converts the entire
government into a bazaar, leads to gross inefficiency in the administration and high levels of
corruption.
•i
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There are certain categories of employees who do not need to be transferred on a regular basis.
Also there cannot be a uniform transfer policy for all government departments as their
administrative requirements differ. Teachers, auxiliary midwives, clerical staff and other staff
especially at the village and hobli levels in most supervisory and development departments do
not need to be subjected to this annual ritual of transfers. In most of the well disciplined civil
services in the world, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, and even in Britain, this concept of
annual transfers does not exist. Moreover, officials at the lower levels are allowed to continue
in a particular department so that they not only develop loyalty but also expertise. This step
may also call for adverse comments on the ground that an employee staying in a particular
place for a long period would develop vested interests. Transfer is definitely not a means of
ensuring that an employee does not develop vested interests. If an employee is corrupt, is not
sincere in his duties, the employee would continue to do so wherever he/she is posted. What
is required is a change in the mindset and development of certain systems and procedures
which would ensure immediate corrective action if an employee is to indulge in indiscipline.
The concept of not posting group-C and even B officers to their native places has also not
stood the test of time. It is suggested that this rule be modified and officers except those
serving in revenue earning or law enforcing departments could be posted to their native places.
The police and commercial taxes departments should draft their own transfer regulations since
the work in these departments is of an entirely different nature as compared to regular
development and supervisory departments.
Government employees should not be permitted to bring political or other extraneous pressure
to bear on the government or on the transferring authorities in the matter of transfers.
Government employees who bring pressure regarding transfers should be proceeded with against
the Conduct rides. Names of all employees as well as the names of those who have recommended
for the transfer should be put up on the Government web sites.
In order to bring in a semblance of order, objectivity and transparency in the entire transfer
process the Commission has after due deliberations and discussions with senior bureaucrats,
(shscted icprcscntalives, representatives of employees unions arrived at the conclusion that
only a legislation on transfers would help to curb the maladies that are associated with the
present transfer process. The draft Karnataka Transfer Regulation Bill is placed at ANNEXURE
(Page 156). The Bill while incorporating the existing rules, regulations and directions issued by
the government from time to time has also incorporated other relevant measures to ensure that
the process of transfer is most judicious... It is suggested in the Bill that after the minimum/
maximum period of transfer is completed for each employee they should be given an option to
indicate three choices where they would like to be transferred. Based on the choices given and
on the available vacancies, and priority given to certain categories of employees like disabled
people nearing retirement single women etc. it is recommended that each department
institutionalise the process of counselling. In the survey conduced by the Commission the
employees views in the secretariat were elicited regarding the system of counselling for transfers.
64% of the officers covered under the survey and 61% of the staff supported the idea that the
counselling must be introduced for transfers.
1
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95
Therefore the following are recommended to regulate the process of transfers : • Government should enact a legislation on transfers
• Action should be taken against those employees who request for transfers based on third
party recommendations.
• Departments of police, commercial taxes, may draft their own transfer rules based on transfer
legislation.
• Employees such as teachers, village accountants, ANMs need not be transferred except
under exceptional circumstances.
«■
96
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■
Institutions and Anti- Corruption
. 5
The Lokayukta has been established under the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984, comprising of
the following 3 wings, the Administrative and Enquiry Wing , headed by the Registrars, a
Technical Wing headed by the Chief Engineer and a Police Wing headed by the Additional
Director General of Police.
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There are basically two types of cases which are investigated by the Police Wing under the
Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The first of these is trap cases and the second is cases
pertaining to the possession of assets disproportionate to the known sources of income. The
investigation in trap cases is relatively simple and the same are invariably finalized within a
period of 6 months. Hence, there is less delay in the investigations of trap cases.
The investigation of disproportionate assets cases, also referred to as raid cases, is time consuming
as after conducting the initial raid all transactions pertaining to income, expenditure and the
assets acquired by the AGO have to be investigated for the entire check period which is normally
from the date of entry into service till the date of conducting the raid. The check period for the
Lokayukta generally extends over a period of 20 to 30 years and the entire income and
expenditure of the accused government official and sometimes his family members has to beinvestigated over this period of 20 to 30 years. The Lokayukta generally takes 2 to 3 years for
such type of investigations.
As per the data furnished by the Lokayukta from 1986 to October 2000, a total number of
2840 cases have been registered of which 229 are raid cases.. As against this total pendency of
2840 cases, charge sheets have been filed in 1677 cases, 399 cases are under investigation, 148
cases are pending departmental enquiry, and in 616 cases “B” report has been filed. Only 101
cases have resulted in conviction, 385 cases ended in acquittal, 34 cases were discharged, in 39
cases charges were abated (where the Accused died) and 118 cases are pending trial in various
courts.
The main reason for the high pendency in the special courts trying the Lokayukta cases is that
these special courts attend to a number of other cases under the Indian Penal Code and also
under the special and local laws such as under the Protection of Civil Rights Act, and also cases
under the Essential Commodities Act etc.
Only one special court is functioning at Bangalore which is meant to try cases exclusively
pertaining to the Prevention of Corruption Act. Even in this special court out of a total of 480
cases reported in Bangalore City Division from 1986 to 30.04.2000, 81 cases are under
investigation, 110 cases are pending trial, 27 cases were convicted, 97 cases were acquitted, 10
cases were discharged and in 5 cases charges were abated. Thus only 139 cases have been
disposed off by the special courts pertaining to Bangalore City Division from the year 1986 to
2000 i.e. over a 14 year period.
*
Many of the competent authorities do not place the accused government officers/officials under
suspension even though a recommendation is made to this effect by the Lokayukta Police
Wing since the relevant government orders, in this connection state that the Accused
Government Officer “may be placed under suspension” and do not make it mandatory upon
the competent authorities to place the accused government officers/officials under suspension.
To make this possible it would be necessary to amend section 10(1) of the KCS (CC&A) Rules.
Once the government servant has been placed under suspension as proposed by the Lokayukta,
it is suggested that it would be necessary for the competent authority to consult the Lokayukta
either for the revocation or modification of such suspension orders.
The Lokayukta, suffers from weak staffing and low funding. The Lokayukta itself is badly in
need of reform. Even at the best levels of performance, the Lokayukta has not been able either
Io ensure government’s accountability to the people or to be an effective mechanism for the
redressal of the grievances. Sadly, the recommendations of the Lokayukta are not mandatory.
97
&
f
i '
E
There is also no permanency to the Lokayukta since it can be repealed anytime by the Stale
Government concerned if it becomes inconvenient.
I-
I
There are several constraints in the administration of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988. Public
servants have protective armour. Executive instructions require that the Lokayukta take prior
permission of the government if they want to enquire against certain levels of senior officials.
This strikes at the very root of the matter. While the preamble to the Prevention of Corruption
Act, 1988 states that the legislation is meant to eradicate the corruption, yet the executive
instructions defeat the said purposes. This gives discretionary powers to the government to
protect public officials from enquiries. This is the reason why we find so many cases against
politicians and bureaucrats having been discharged without even charges being framed for
want of evidence.
Even if permission is granted by the government to enquire against a particular officer, such
enquiry reports have to be approved by the government for registration of an FIR and further
investigation. Moreover, the government has the final authority to take a decision on the
investigation report of the Lokayukta. Therefore, the government can modify the
recommendation for prosecution or for departmental action or even drop all further action.
Thus the government has the final say not only in the matter of enquiry and investigation but
also in the case of prosecution and termination of trial of the case. The whole anti-corruption
work is frustrated by the iron curtain of enquiry and investigation. The functioning of the
Lokayukta as seen from the pendency of cases and the number of convictions is far from
satisfactory. The Lokayukta must take urgent steps to improve its efficiency and act as an
effective instrument in curbing corruption.
1 S'
I
It is, therefore, suggested that the
• Lokayukta be vested with powers similar to that of CBI in *erms of prosecution etc.
• Withdrawal of prosecutions be exempted from PC Act, 1988.
• Only officials of proven integrity and efficiency are to be posted to the Lok Ayukta.
i
• Amendments be made to section 10(1) of the KCS(CC&A) rules to make suspension
mandatory when there is a trap or raid case.
• The investigation agencies, for example, the Lokayukta should be strengthened by provision
of adequate staff, powers, resources and independence accompanied by proper accountability
for results. The preventive aspect of corruption is dependent on an independent and wellstaffed vigilance set up.
• Attachment and forfeiture of property (both movable and immovable) acquired by public
servants which is disproportionate to their known source of income should be considered.
Punitive action should then be initiated.
• There should be a close working relationship between the Lokayukta, Income Tax, and
DPAR in terms of sharing of the information and coordinated investigation.
• All legislators must file their property returns once during their term. Non-filing of property
returns should result in withholding of salary and other emoluments. Lokayukta Act must
be amended accordingly.
98
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Departmental Enquiries
There is almost complete freedom from fear of disciplinary action amongst civil service at
present. Interference from higher levels and outside and complicated disciplinary procedures
have contributed towards this. The democratic processes have brought in a climate of free
contact among government organizations cutting across hierarchical lines. But this should not
mean the absence and lack of respect for authority.
Though the procedures enunciated by the government for the conduct of departmental enquiries
are sound, yet there is a large gap between theory and practice. Specific time-frame has also
been laid down by the government for each stage of departmental enquiry. Yet this is rarely
adhered to. Most of the officers/officials who are appointed as enquiry authorities give lack of
time as the reason for non-completion of an enquiry on time.
In order to help them, the
government has permitted secretaries, heads of departments to appoint retired judicial officers,
civil servants as enquiry authorities. Yet even this has not helped. Sometimes, it is lack of
interest on behalf of the enquiry authorities, sometimes it is insufficient remuneration, other
times, it is non-availability of presenting officers or witnesses. Whatever the reasons may be,
departmental enquiries in the state are at a status quo. Very rarely to either heads of departments
or secretaries to government have the interest, aptitude, or time to review the progress of the
departmental enquiries of their departments. The Commission was unable to obtain the latest
statement pertaining to pendency of departmental enquiries and had to be content with the
details of cases as of May 2000.
This has several repercussions. On the one hand, there is really no fear by those who have
committed irregularities and on the other sometimes demoralizes those employees, especially
those involved in joint enquiry cases who ultimately may be absolved of all the guilt. The
disciplinary proceedings for major penalties ultimately end in the disciplinary authority imposing
minor penalties like censure, withholding of increment etc.
The rules for departmental enquiries have several grey areas and give scope for the exercise of
discretionary powers. Very often there is complete lack of knowledge in preparation of charge
sheets, and other procedures for departmental enquiry. In several cases after the charge sheet is
issued, the original documents are called for, prolonging the enquiry proceedings. Also the CCA
rules are not clear what documents are to be given to the delinquent employee, resulting in
protracted correspondence between the enquiry authority and the delinquent.
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i) Section 11 (13) of the Rules states that if the authority having the custody or the possession
of documents to be requisitioned
is satisfied that the production of such documents
would be against the public interest or secrets of the State
copies of such documents
need not be given to the government servants. Such a rule empowers the concerned official
with a lot of discretionary power and results in enormous delay in the conclusion of the
departmental enquiry.
2) Also Section 11(20) does not make it mandatory for the Enquiry Authority to hold enquiries
ex-parte in situations when the concerned government servant does not appear in person
before the Enquiring Authority or give a reply after having received article of charges.
3) Section 12 (a) on the procedure for imposing minor penalties does not define the reasonable
opportunity which is to be given to the government servants for making a representation
when action is proposed to be taken against government servants. The interpretation of
reasonable opportunity differs from individual to individual. In certain cases, it is 3 days
time, in certain cases, a week, a fortnight or sometimes even a month. The reasonable
opportunity must be defined under the Rules.
4) Seclion 12 (A) on communication of orders also does not give any lime frame during which
the orders made by the disciplinary authority are to be communicated to the government
servants.
99
5)
I here is also no time frame given in the rules regarding passing of final orders after receipt
of enquiry report in case the disciplinary authority is satisfied with the report.
Having such provisions in the KGS (Classification, Control and Appellate) Rules which provide
for great amount ol discretion and interpretation by the various enquiry and disciplinary
authorities have contributed to the inordinate delays that occur in the finalisation of the
disciplinary matters.
Details of Departmental enquiry case against a District Registrar
7.1.93
28.1.93
27.2.93
1.4.93
22.5.93
Departmental enquiry recommended for loss of Rs.6.5 crores.
District Registrar kept under suspension pending the Departmental. Enquiry.
Inspector General of Registration submits draft article of charges
Show cause notice served on Aggrieved-Government Official
Divisional Commissioner Bangalore appointed Enquiry Officer and Assistant Registrar,
Inspector General of Registration (Administration.) as Presenting Officer and Enquiry '
report to be given in one month.
24.6.93
Government sends documents to Enquiry Officer and directed to complete the enquiry
quickly
16.9.93
Aggrieved Government Official to retire on 30.9.93 and the Accountant General was
directed to withhold pensionary benefits Suspension revoked and Aggrieved
Government Official posted to Raichur
21.11.93
Aggrieved Government Official requests to issue direction to release General Provident
Fund.
22.11.93
Enquiry Officer recommends to entrust case to Lokayukta, since amount involves
Rs.6.5 crores and 9028 cases to be examined
3.8.94
Direction issued to Accountant General to release General Provident Fund but to
withhold other benefits
10.10.95
Enquiry Officer requests Government to issue directions to Presenting Officer to attend
the enquiries, since he has not attended 9 enquiries
12.1.96
Enquiry Officer requests Govt, not to change the Presenting Officer
15.2.96
Inspector General of Registration was directed not to change the Presenting Officer
22.4.99
Enquiry Officer submits Enquiry Report recommending for suitable punishment
4.6.99
Enquiry Report given to Aggrieved Government Official to give replies to show cause
notice
15.2.2000 Aggrieved Government Official does not accept charges and pleads that there was no
loss to Government and to close enquiry
10.4.2000 Section Officer submits file to Under Secretary
24.4.2000 Under Secretary returns file with observations
29.4.2000 Section Officer submits file to Under Secretary
16.5.2000 Under Secretary submits file to Deputy Secretary with remarks
20.6.2000 Deputy Secretary submits file to Secretary with his remarks
21.6.2000 File referred by Secretary to Law Dept, for opinion
10.7.2000 Law Dept, furnishes opinion
28.7.2000 File referred to Deputy Secretary by Under Secretary for orders
26.9.2000 File referred with the observations to get approval of Karnataka Public Service
Commission
9.10.2000 Case
(
Worker seeks orders of Deputy Secretary about penality
16.11.2000 Secretary directs to submit file with
...i necessary informations to get approval of
Karnataka Public Service Commission.
5.1.2001
File is still pending in the Section.
The Govt, in Notification No.DPAR 4 SCO 98 dt.25.10.2000 has stated that it shall not be necessary
to consult Karnataka Public Service Commission on any disciplinary matters affecting a person
serving in connection with the affairs of the State.
100
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As an example of the lengthy process which is required in the present system to conduct a
departmental enquiry, a case of misappropriation of Rs.6.5 Crores against a District Registrar is
shown in the box. On 7-1-1993, a departmental enquiry was recommended against this particular
official for causing financial loss to the government. On 22.4.1999, the enquiry officer submitted
the enquiry report to the government after six years. On 15-2-2000, the accused government
officer requested that enquiry be closed since he is not guilty of any of the charges.
Even as on 5-1-2001, the file continues to be pending in the section. On 16-11-2000, the
Secretary, Revenue Department, had stated that the file be referred to KPSC for their concurrence
to impose penalty on the Accused Government Officer. However, on 15-10-2000 itself, the
government has issued a Notification stating that it shall not be necessary to consult the Public
Service Commission on any disciplinary matters affecting a person serving in connection with
the affairs of the State, except in appeal.
Status Of C.C.A Inquiry Case Pending In The Secratariat
SL DEPARTMENT
NO.
STATUS
AS ON 01.01.2000
STATUS
ASON 01.05.2000
■
No.C.C.A
Case
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No .C.C.A
Case
No. C.C.A
Case
which
are delayed
1
Health & EW
514
191
514
191
2
363
160
368
160
333
120
3
R.D & P.R
Education
' ' -8
333
120
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4
Agri & Horticulture
168
117
168
’ 117
5
D.RA.R
152
95
152
95
■ -ag
6
Revenue
13
60
13
60
7
Home & Transport
58
56
58
56
8
Finance
79
45
79
45
9
Commerce & Industries
46
31
46
31
10
Forest, Eco &
Enviornment
P.W.D
42
28
42
30
11
76
28
74
28
21
21
26
26
13
Food & Civil Supplies
Women fc Child
20
25
28
24
14
A H & Fisheries
49
21
49
21
15
Social Welfare
20
20
20
20
16
Major Irrigation
Law
16
6
16
6
8
4
0
4
Co-Operation
Planning
22
4
22
4
19
4
2
5
2
20
Energy
2
2
2
2
21
Minor Irrigation
3
1
3
1
22
Urban Development
20
0
20
0
23
Parliamentary
Ixilwjur
Kannada & Culture
I.T.Y
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12
17
3^
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No.C.C.A
Case
which
are delayed
•
■
18
'
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24
25
26
28
Infrastructure
I lousing
29
GRAND TOTAL:
27
0
0
0
0
27
0
31
. 0
0
1
0
1
4
0
4
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
2062
1037
2075
1043
101
6i<n 10 O
0 37 34 Oh
As on 1-5-2000, there were 2075 cases were pending for departmental enquiry. Further details
regarding duration of pendency etc are not available. The fact that it is very difficult to obtain
information regarding disciplinary matters in the government itself requires serious re-look at
the entire process of departmental enquiry and the monitoring that is being made in the
government on the progress of departmental enquiries.
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It is therefore recommended that
• Sections, 11(12 ), 11 (20 ), 12 (a), 12 (A) of KCS (CCA) Rules 1957should be amended to
provide for a specific time frame and to reduce discretionary powers.
•■'3
K.C.S Rules on compulsory / voluntary retirement of Officials must be used.
I I
It is also necessary to amend the relevant Service Rules to enable the review of integrity
and efficiency of Officials at any stage during their career and to compulsorily retire such
Officials of doubtful integrity.
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© There has to be stricter and compulsory monitoring of the progress of all departmental
enquiry cases by the Secretary. This should not be treated as a routine exercise and must
be included as an item of review in the monthly MMR meetings chaired by the Secretaries.
It is preferable that all departmental enquiries are entrusted to retired judges or retired
government officials on a conditionality that non-completion of the enquiry proceedings as
per prescribed time frame would result in non-payment of emoluments.
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Redressal of Public Grievances
The poor record of redressal of public grievances in almost all departments of public utilities in
the State is a major cause of public dissatisfaction. This is also a subject of criticism by the
elected representatives. Public grievances generally arise out of the inaccessibility of the officials,
failure even to acknowledge the applications, not adherence to time limits and highly cryptic
and bureaucratic responses to their grievances. Invariably responses are like ‘matter is being
looked into’, matter is under consideration’, your grievance has been communicated to the
concerned person’ are treated as proper replies and it is termed that grievance is effectively
disposed of. Such types of replies only tend to heighten the frustration of the public with the
government.
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Many government departments either in the secretariat or at the field level, which have
substantial public interface, do not display the required information at focal points in simple
language, which is accessible to the public. It is also a fact that adequate facilities are often not
available in the government to receive grievances from the public. Arrangements for seating
and proper waiting area for the public are invariably not available. Protection from rain and
sun are insufficient or non-existent. The names of the grievance redressal officers are also not
widely publicised and these officers are also not always accessible at the stipulated time to the
public.
The public grievances generally arise out of unavailability of the officials, failure to acknowledge
applications, demand for speed money, ignorance of procedures and forms, unsympathetic
attitude of officials at all levels. To some extent this has been amended to by appointing of
special public grievances redressal cells in the offices of all the Deputy Commissioners of the
districts. Grievances received are being computerised so that a track can be kept of the quality
and quantity of replies that are being given to the public. But the basic drawback of ignorance
of procedures and non-enforcement of time limits continues.
The government methods and procedures for payments of various taxes and service charges
and their timings are also not suitable to the working hours of the general public, especially in
the rural areas, and to a daily wage worker, the time spent on obtaining a certificate etc means
that much wages lost for him. It would have far-reaching consequences if the progress in the
disposal of public grievances were to be monitored by the departmental Secretaries and also by
the Chief Secretary on a monthly basis.
Language and tone of various application forms should be user friendly and the forms be widely
available including post offices, fair price shops, public utility payment centres viz. Electricity
and Waler Sub Divisional offices and at all government offices. Every government department
should have a well defined mission statement setting out standards of service to be provided.
The other reasons for the grievance redressal system not being effective are
• There is no pinpointed responsibility for each task
• Responsibility for nonredressal of grievances is not fixed
• Government officials are not properly trained in grievance redressal
• No systematic attempts are made to assess the public opinion
For an effective grievance redressal system, Government must:• fix responsibility for each task, which is possible if the hierarchical levels are reduced.
• appoint grievance redressal officer for each department and accordingly give publicity.
• ensure the easy and wide availability of various government forms and applications.
Regularly used applications for caste, income, birth and death, all land matters must be
available in fair price shops, banks, post offices etc.
• change the language of various application forms to make them citizen friendly.
• train officials in grievance redressal, courtesy in talking to petitioners.
• all grievances must be computerized.
• all forms must be bilingual, both in Kannada and English.
103
Amalgamation of schemes
Improving governance and delivery of schemes can happen only if there is no confusion between
schemes. There are large numbers of schemes in almost all departments, which are very similar
in nature and lead to confusion in implementation especially at the district level. A majority of
these schemes do not achieve the main objectives with which they were formulated. The
Commission has studied in detail with great concern the multiplicity of such schemes with
special focus in the first instance on the departments of Agriculture, Horticulture, Forests,
Education. All the inputs of these departments through their development and welfare oriented
schemes are critical inputs for the elimination of poverty and promotion of growth, especially
of the people below the poverty line. The Forest department was taken up for review since in
an interaction with the Officer’s Association of the Forest department, they had mentioned
that there are several schemes where the major component of the outlay was for salary and a
nominal amount for the scheme. This is also borne out in their annual report as well as their
outlays in the budget for 2000-2001.
Several of the schemes in the above mentioned departments have similar sounding names,
some times with nominal budgetary provisions which do not match the stated objectives and
there are also certain schemes where the salary component constitutes the major component
of the scheme with a negligible amount for the scheme per se. Having schemes with similar
sounding names leads to lot of confusion not onlj^ for the beneficiaries, who are to actually
derive benefits from the scheme, but also for the lower level involved in scheme implementation.
Also having schemes with only token grant, actually amounts to fooling the citizens by first
stating that the scheme is being launched and then having no provisions under the scheme for
actual implementation. This has an adverse impact on the Government s credibility.
Though government is also concerned about the prevalence of such unnecessary schemes as
mentioned above, and has also constituted a committee under the chairmanship of the
Development Commissioner to examine schemes department-wise, yet with the exception of
the department of Education, most other departments have not taken any concrete steps for
the merger / abolition of such schemes in the past one year.
The Commission has identified schemes in the above mentioned departments where the
budgetary allocation is less than 5 lakhs, between 5-10 lakhs and those schemes where the
allocations for salary and other expenses is higher than the amount for the scheme itself.
Forest, Ecology and Environment Department
The following schemes of the department have budgetary allocation of 10 lakhs and below
(1) Development of sandalwood under compensatory afforestation -
Rs. 10 lakhs.
(2) Development of degraded forests (state-sector - 5 lakhs)
(3) Rehabilitation of degraded forests - Rs.5.81 lakhs
(4) Roadside plantation - State sector Rs.0.10 lakhs.
(5) Village Forest Committees (State sector - Rs.0.10 lakhs)
(6) Raising seedlings for public distribution - 0.10 lakhs
(7) Non-clonal orchards and seed farms - 0.10 lakhs
(8) Eco-tourism - 0.10 lakhs
(9) Support for planting on prjvale holdings - 0.10 lakhs
(10) Vana Vignana Kendra - 6.24 lakhs
(11) Central Sector Scheme for control of poaching and trading of wild life - 1.0 lakh
104
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(12) Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary - 4.0 lakhs
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(13) Improvements in wildlife sanctuary and National Park - 0.5 lakhs
The Forest Department has also several schemes where the amount for salary far exceeds the
amount for schemes:-
(1) Intensification of forest management - Scheme 5.48 lakhs - Salary 55.78 lakhs
(2) Greening of urban areas - State Sector - Scheme 8.05 lakhs - Salary 31.95 lakhs
(3) Soil Conservation (Afforestation) - Scheme 10.02 lakhs - Salary 137.14 lakhs
(4) Teak Plantations - Scheme 4.17 Lakhs - Salary 49.10 lakhs
3
■ 3
(5) Matchwood Plantations - Scheme 3.77 - Salary - 29.3.6 lakhs
(6) Fuel/Fodder scheme - Scheme 1.94 lakhs - Salary 17.06 lakhs.
(7) Wildlife Plan - Scheme Nil - Salary 1044.39 lakhs.
I
Education Department
-3
The Education department has taken prompt action and merged/deleted 15 schemes. There
are still certain other schemes identified in the meeting held by the Development Commissioner,
which are to be deleted/merged.
1
(1) Private Primary schools - 300.00 lakhs
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(3) Professional growth activities - 38.49 lakhs
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(2) Inspections - 250.00 lakhs
Agriculture & Horticulture
The following are the schemes of the Agriculture and Horticulture Department where the outlay
for the schemes is less than Rs.10.00 lakhs.
(1)
Central sector schemes of wheat mini kit trial programme - 3.00 lakhs
(2)
Plant protection (salary - 1.39 lakhs)
(3)
Setting up of entomological and pathological museums at the Directorate of Agriculture
(1.00 lakhs)
(4)
Strengthening of State Bio Control Laboratories - 3.00 lakhs
(5)
Establishment of new Bio-Control Laboratory at Gulbarga - 6.00 lakhs
(6)
Fertiliser Control Laboratory, Belthangadi (Scheme 0.43 lakhs, Salary 4.07 lakhs)
(7)
Strengthening of programme in soil health centres - Scheme 0.10 - Salary 6.6B lakhs
(8)
Establishment of micro-nutrition laboratory at Bellary - Scheme 0.12 lakhs, Salary 0.94
lakhs
(9)
Farmers Contact Centres and Farm Clinics - 5.00 lakhs
9
(10) Subsidy and premium to small and marginal farmers under crop insurance scheme - 8.00
lakhs.
I
(11) Scheme for development of Vanilla - Rs.2.00 lakhs.
(12) Entrepreneurship for unemployment in Agricultural activities - Rs.1.00 lakhs.
1
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(13) Establishment of State Horticulture Farm Development Agency - Rs.2.00 lakhs.
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(14) Development of Horticulture under New Macro Management Mode - Rs. 1.00 lakhs
B"
(15) Horticulture Census in Karnataka - Rs. 1.00 lakhs.
I
(16) Sponsoring studies and other activities under State Land Use Board (Nucleus Cell) Rs. 1.00
lakh
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(17) Development of Agriculture under New Macro Management Mode- Rs. 1.00 lakh
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(18) Establishment of late Dr.Marigowda Library - Rs.2.00 lakhs.
II
(19) Research support - Rs.5.00 lakhs
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(20) Integrated Watershed Management Project (KAWAD Project) - Rs. 1.00 lakh
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22) Development of Agriculture under New Metro Management Mode - Rs.1.00 lakh
<21) Comprehensive Watershed Development Project (World Bank Project) Rs. 1.00 lakh
The following are the schemes in the above two departments where the outlay for the salary is
higher than the scheme component
|
(i)
Seed Testing Laboratory - Scheme 0.04 lakhs - Salary 61.64 lakhs.
(2)
Agriculture Farms at Bagalkot and Kudligi - Scheme 4.63 lakhs - Salary - 26.87 lakhs.
if
(3)
Agricultural Development Centre, Dharwad, - Scheme 1.71 lakhs-Salary - 11.09 lakhs.
h
(4)
Agriculture Development Centres, Project Areas - Scheme 0.08 lakhs - Salary 1 1 1.36
lakhs.
(5)
Parasite laboratories - Scheme 2.37 lakhs - Salary 12.61 lakhs.
(6)
Scheme of Insecticide Control Laboratory. Bangalore - Scheme 2.23 lakhs - Salary 9.43 lakhs.
(7)
Strengthening of Parasite Laboratory at Mandya-Scheme 1.43 lakhs-Salary 12.96 lakhs
(8)
Opening of Insecticides Control Laboratory at Bellary -Scheme 1.66 lakhs - Salary 6.70
lakhs
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(9)
Strengthening of New Insecticides Control Laboratory at Dharwad, Shimoga and Gulbarga
- Scheme 4.66 lakhs - Salary 44.34 lakhs.
!<
(10) Manures and Fertilizers - Scheme 0.03 lakhs - Salary - 26.95 lakhs
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(11) Fertiliser Control Laboratory at Belthangadi - Scheme 0.43 lakhs - Salary - 4.07 lakhs
(12) Strengthening of Programme in Soil Health Centres - Scheme 0.10 lakhs - Salary 6.68
lakhs
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(13) Establishment of new fertilizer control laboratory at Gangavathi - Scheme 2.69 lakhs '■ Salary 19.31 lakhs
(14) Strengthening of soil health centre for micro nutrient analysis at Jamkhandi, Nanjangud,
Shimoga and Gulbarga. Scheme - 1.20 lakhs - Salary 11.80 lakhs' •
y
(15) Project for Agricultural Training for Farm Women and youth with Dariida'ASsiStarice
Scheme 6.08 lakhs - Salary 343.92 lakhs
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Horticulture Department
(16)
(17)
(18)
(19)
(20)
(21)
(22)
(23)
(24)
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Rural Development Training Centres - Scheme 1.95 lakhs - Salary 256.70 lakhs
Extension cum Training Centres - Scheme 0.08 lakhs - Salary 46.21 lakhs
Agriculture 'i’raining Schools - Scheme 0.53 lakhs - Salary 32.24 lakhs
Transfer Scheme of Farmers Training and Education Centres - Scheme 0.20 lakhs Salary 9.58 lakhs
Soil Survey Organisation - Scheme 0.02 lakhs - Salary 77.49 lakhs
Rain Fed Dry Farming - Scheme 8.60 lakhs - Salary 126.39 lakhs
Training to Farmers - Scheme 15.10 lakhs - Salary 39.07 lakhs
Soil Conservation Training Centre - Scheme 0.02 lakhs - Salary 49.33 lakhs
Demonstration of Flowers at Floriculture Centres - Scheme Nil - Salary 14.56 lakhs
The details of nomenclature and outlay for the above schemes for the departments of Forests,
Agriculture and Horticulture are self-explanatory. It would be worthwhile for the Agriculture
and Horticulture Departments if several of the training schemes could be merged under one
head of account. So also are the multiplicity of heads of account for the setting up of laboratories
for the Agriculture Department. This could also be brought under one head of account. The
Horticulture Department might like to examine to what extent horticulture census could be
carried out for the State with token outlay of Rs. 1.0 lakh.
As far as the Forest Department is concerned, certain schemes appear to have outlived their
utility. For example, schemes of Matchwood Plantation, Cashew Plantation etc. It also does
not stand to reason why a scheme of village forest committees should be in the Stale sector.
Also what beneficial purpose would be achieved with an annual allocation of Rs.10,000-00
only for raising of seedlings for public distribution, support for planting on private holdings,
and road side plantations (State sector). The heads of accounts for the maintenance of Lalbagh
Botanical Gardens, Vidhana Soudha Gardens and several other gardens in the State continue to
be shown under the Forest Department head of account, though these schemes are now under
implementation by the Horticulture Department. The Forest Department could also consider
clubbing schemes, which are similar in nature like Compensatory Afforestation, Development
of Degraded Forests, Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests etc.
Therefore, the following are recommended:-
F
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• Schemes with nominal budget provisions to be merged.
nl!l
• Schemes which arc continuing for the purpose of providing salaries to employees to be
abolished.
I
• Similar schemes to be merged.
• Schemes with less than Rs.5.00 lakh allocation to be merged / discontinued.
• Agriculture Department need not set up Entomological / Pathological Laboratories or even
Bio-Fertilizer Laboratories. This work could be entrusted to Agricultural Universities.
• All the training schemes in the departments should be merged under one head of account.
<
• It is not possible to carry out State Horticultural Census with the provision of Rs.1.0 lakhs.
The Horticulture Department may examine the relevance of such scheme.
,
• Schemes which have outlived their utility should be abolished, (e.g. Cashew nut and
Matchwood Plantation Schemes in Forest Department)
• The head of account for Lalbagh Botanical Garden and Vidhana Soudha Gardens shown
under Forest Department should be shifted to Horticulture Department.
107
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E-Governance
Government is under great pressure to meet the raising expectations of a good service from the
public. Most people do not enjoy dealing with the government. They are forced to come to
government offices several times because they have to and there is no other way than to come
and obtain the information about simple matters. Invariably, the visit of the public to the
government offices is not a happy affair. They are faced with short-tempered civil servants,
, inadequate information and the suggestions that they come again. From the government’s
point of view, too many visits by the public hamper the regular office functioning where
government is forced to put up notices restricting visiting hours. The public is increasingly
becoming impatient and is demanding improved standards and services. Introduction of egovernance in the government in areas and levels where it actually matters would fundamentally
change the way the people view the government itself.
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One of the greatest problems for any one who has had dealings with the government as a
citizen is its sheer complexity. The State Government has 28 secretarial departments and
about 150 field offices. This is excluding the offices at the district levels. Because of the
multiplicity of the schemes and commonality of the schemes, the public have a hard task in
identifying the right departments which would be able to settle their problems. Worse, even
for fairly straight forward matters such as obtaining caste, income certificates, birth and death
certificates, licenses of business, selling of properties, a number of different agencies requiring
a plethora of different forms may be involved. Moreover, these agencies expect users to
communicate with each of them in turn, rather than be prepared to communicate with each
other.
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Though the Government of Karnataka has been appreciated nationally and internationally for
the development of IT Industry in the State, yet this is basically because of the efforts made in
the private/corporate sectors and not so much in the government. Within the government,
e-governance is yet to take firm roots. While there have been sporadic efforts made by
individual departments, yet this has not been transferred into common action goals across the
departments and especially those departments which have regular public interaction.
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Government services cover such a vast canvas that barring a few exceptions, members of
general public who depend on government services range across sections of society and for a
large cross sections of such people, delay in obtaining any licences, service or copies of GOs
would only hamper their daily work and involve huge transactional costs. The impetus to
computerization in the government is proportionate to the value based on the information.
I he quantum of variety of data that government possess is immense and utilizing information
technology to put such data into proper form or making it available to all those who may
require it would be one of the least services that the government could render to its citizens
The culture in government offices is not yet geared up or receptive to extracting the best
information from accumulated data. Large number of employees across departments both at
secretariat and at the field levels are daily engaged in collection and collation of date. Mounds
of data are amassed, but there are very few to study and analyse the data. Since there is no
proper repository for this data, the same data is collected over and over again by various
people even within the same office. All this tragery waste of human resources could be easily
avoided if the information once collected is put either on to a Local Area Network if it is within
the office or on the web site where everybody could have easy access. A systemic maintenance
of data in government offices for regular and productive use is not part of official culture
generally, barring a few departments. It is only in those departments which have financial
transactions that the quality and system of record keeping is on a better level.
Every department within the government needs to be computerized, the need being immediate
for those departments which have a greater public interface. 3 he Revenue Department has
already initiated action to computerize, the land records, grievances redressal in the offices of
DC, Sub Registrars’ Office. Gearing up are the Transport Department (Licences, bus passes,
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reservations). Education Department (GET for professional courses, counseling for teachers
recruitment and transfer), Finance Department (Treasury, Commercial 'faxes), public sector
undertakings like KPTCL, BWSSB (computerized customer billings). Almost all departments
are now obtaining their monthly / quarterly data from the districts by e-mail.
The National Informatics Centre (NIC), a Government of India organisation, has been assisting
the State Government and its departments. Some of its activities are
(1) Computerisation of the Finance Department— Budget of the State, along with the linkages
to various ZP schemes at each district; computerization of all district treasures.
(2) Commissioning of an intranet and internet for all power generating stations of KPCL to
facilitate exchange of vital power related information between headquarters and the
generating stations.
(3) Computerisation of Cause list generation, Query on status of cases in the High Court and
in the Supreme Court.
(4) Creation of data bases at the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences for the Institutions,
Teachers and Students.
But in spite of above initiatives taken, we are still at a very preliminary stage in taking information
technology to the people. Generally, information provided to the people is outdated and the
various web sites that have put up by individual departments are not updated on a regular basis
and do not have provision for query. Notwithstanding the database and data of valuable
quality makes, the creation of database very difficult. The software design process becomes
even more difficult because of the variety of procedures that are involved in obtaining single
clearings/licences. In order for e-governance to be successful, there has to be determination in
the government to change procedures, systems and to have simple, transparent processes. The
computerization process in the government is further hampered by lack of awareness, adequate
skills relevant to computerization among the bureaucracy, and also inadequate knowledge of
the requirements of users or potential users by the government. Unless each department knows
and is clear about what their users would be requiring from the data base, the management
information system so developed by the department would not have much practical use.
The Government of India has recently passed the Information Technology Act, 2000. This Act
aims to provide legality to e-governance. The objectives of the Act include facilitation of
electronic filling up of documents with the government. Notwithstanding anything containing
in any other laws or Acts, the Information Technology Act provides that all such requirements
shall be deemed to have been satisfied if such information or matter is rendered or made
available in an (declronic form and accessible and so as to be usable for subsequent reference.
Even in the cases where documents have to be signed orbear signature of the individual, the IT
Act provides that such requirement shall be deemed to have been satisfied if it is authenticated
by means of digital signature in the manner as prescribed in the Act.
The IT Act further stipulates that where any law provides for (a) the filling of any form,
application or any other document with any office, authority, body or agency owned or controlled
by the appropriate government in a particular manner; (b) the issue or grant of any licence,
permit, sanction or approval by whatever name called in a particular manner; (c) the receipt or
payment of money in a particular manner,------ then, notwithstanding anything contained in
any other law for the time being in force, such requirement shall be deemed to have been
satisfied if such filing, issue, grant, receipt or payment, as the case may be, is effected by
means of such electronic form as may be prescribed by the appropriate government.
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Therefore, the government would have to take the following steps: -
a) Must have an IT Plan for each department, which is to be implemented on an annual basis.
b) Ensure that common software for tracking of files and file movements, grievance redressal,
monitoring of LA/LC questions is used by all secretariat departments.
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LAND RECORDS MORTGAGE FORMALITIES IN
MINUTES - TAHSILDAR’S OFFICE,
FATEHGARH SAHIB
UTILITY BILLSDIGITAL UNITES ALL DIVIDES TWINS, HYDERABAD
Farmers, residents of Fatehgarh Sahib,
Punjab’s e-governance model district, know
it takes at least a week of legwork to get a
mortgage deed registered. Amazingly, after
the computerization of land records,
revenue officials at the district HQ, after a
deposit Rs.10, instantly give them a copy
of the zamabandi (record of rights). It then
takes less than 10 minutes for the tehsildar
officer to verify the ownership, put the
fraud-proof
computer-generated
photographs of the applicant and the two
witnesses on stamp paper and hand over
the signed deed. “It’s a miracle” say the
residents, about the mortgage deed.
Old style governance would typically have
taken a few days of pleading and bribing
to get the zamabandi out of the patwari.
If property had to be registered the owner
could forget about the documents once he
handed them to the registration office. In
Bihar, the backlog goes back to 1993; in
Fathcgarh it is absent.
Hyderabad’s and Secunderabad’s Twin Cities
Intelligent Network Services (TWINS)
counters will number 284 by March 2001.
Twins, says a Union IT Ministry official in
Delhi, “has broken mindsets and eliminated
inter-departmental divides”. You can pay
utility bills for power, water, building
permits, car registration and so on at one
counter. In sum, unlike the FRIENDS project
in Thiruvananthapuram where different
computers are used for different utilities,
here there is no distinction between the
power corporation’s machines and the
transport authority’s computer. The
government meets the citizen as one entity.
Old Style governance would have
entailed standing in line in more than one
government office and interacting with
surly babus. Workhorse computers never
take tea breaks and process all sorts of
bills.
TRAFFIC SMART CARDS TO SAFER ROADS
-GANDHINAGAR, GUJARAT
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RURAL DEVELOPMENT HOW A COW WAS SOLD ON THE
NET - GUNAWAD, DHAR (MP)
Drivers in Gujarat are now given thumbimpression-based driving licence card
designed by a German company. Traffic
policemen can check the thumb impression
on the card with that of the driver, using a
pocket sized “reader”. What’s more, if the
driver violates traffic rules or causes an
accident, this is recorded on the card. Five
offences and the licence is cancelled. The
state government is now considering using
the card for multiple purposes and the Delhi
Government has similar plans.
Using a program called Gram Haat, farmers
can now advertise their cows on an intranet
connecting 32 villages. Madhya Pradesh’s
first rural e-commerce network has been
launched. Gram Haat is one of the
applications of Gyandoot, a rural egovernance project that is panchayat-funded
but privately managed through kiosks in
villages across Dhar. Aside from opening
up a bigger market, it allows complaints to
be e-mailed directly to the district magistrate
and links primary health centres to the
district hospital.
Old style governance would make it
easier to forge driving licences and
difficult to instantly access the violation
record of a driver.
Old style governance would have had
Singh getting a poor bargain for his cow,
unless a mud and stick cattle mela took
place. Gyandoot has reduced distances to
zero.
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C)
Ensure the speedy installation of LAN in the secretariat.
d) Ensure that all staff in the secretariat irrespective of seniority are trained in the latest software
so that a common software can be used across the secretariat.
e) Training to work on computers must be specially given to the large number of typists who
continue to work only on typewriters in the secretariat.
f) Phase out all typewriters in the secretariat and substitute them with computers.
g) In order to ensure belter use of computers, all meeting notices in the secretariat to be sent
only on LAN.
h) All progress reports to be communicated only on LAN and except matters which are
confidential in nature, service matters, matters before the courts, all the rest of the file
work should be done on computers.
i)
Each department must immediately create database where not done and provision must be
made to share database among departments whenever required. Facility must be built in
for regular updations of such databases.
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Individual departments installing VSATs should be curtailed. It would be better if a group
of departments utilize the VSAT resources.
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k) Departments should not be encouraged to set up individual kiosks or data centres either at
the district, taluk or village levels common kiosks should be set up.
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Departments of Revenue, Police, Transport, and Commercial Taxes must computerize on
priority basis.
m) The provisions of Information Technology Act, 2000, where digital signature has been
legalized etc. must be widely disseminated so that not only officers, even general public are
aware of this.
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n) All citizens’ charters must be put on the web.
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o) All payrolls in all departments must be computerized. Would economise on a lot of staff in
each dep.irlment.
P) C&R Rides of all departments to be modified. At every entry level for direct recruitment,
knowledge of appropriate computer skills must be made mandatory.
q) Employees in service must be encouraged to acquire computer skills relevant to daily office
use within a period of two years. Could be given one advance increment valid for 5 years
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Summary of Recommendations
Secretariat Reforms
FILE PROCESSING
The following are the recommendations
• Introduce single file system between Head of Department’s and Secretariat
• Designate super time scale HOD’s as ex-officio special Secretaries to Government
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• Desk officer system to be introduced and made mandatory
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• Promote Section Officers as desk officers
• Requisite training must be provided to all Assistants/Senior Assistants so that they can
handle multi-skilled tasks as executive assistants
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RATIONALISATION OF STAFF
• Surplus Assistant cadre staff to be redeployed to field offices
• All Typists attached to the sections to be trained in computers and attached to the Desk
officers
•
R and I sections to be staffed by Senior Assistants
• All recruitment to be put on hold in the Secretariat
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• Contract appointments in Ministers offices be banned and all posts be filled preferably with
Secretariat employees, except drivers and peons
• Manual of Office Procedure be suitably amended to incorporate the changes in office
procedure as per desk officer system
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• All Typists and Assistants to be redesignated as Executive Assistants.
• There should be clear demarcation of duties between the Executive Assistants and the desk
officer.
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REDUCE FILE PENDENCY
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• A time limit must be fixed for file disposal at all levels
• To clear present pendenc}' of files, a file clearance week be declared
• Secretaries must devote one day in a week for file clearance
• The Cabinet must review file pendency once a month, including files pending in Minister’s
offices
• Delegated powers must be exercised, this would reduce unnecessary movement of files.
• Prompt disciplinary action must be taken for delays in file movement
• Amend the Manual of Office Procedure where presently the file is permitted to be at each
. level for five days.
• Legal cells to monitor cases and reduce pendency of cases in Courts.
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DEDUCTION OF MEETINGS
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• There should be a specific day fixed for meetings
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• Meetings should be called for only with a specific agenda
• Secretaries must compulsorily take internal review meetings of the Secretariat once a month
• Less meetings would give more time to the Secretaries and the Head of Department’s to
tour and make field inspections
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RATIONALISATION OF SECRETARIAT DEPARTMENTS
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• Medical Education and Health
• Agriculture and Horticulture
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• Planning with Institutional Finance
• Legislative Assembly and Council Secretariats into a common Secretariat
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• /And the reduction of one post of Secretary each in Finance, Revenue, Medical Education,
Irrigation, Finance, Forest, Ecology & Environment, Institutional Finance, Urban Development
and Horticulture Departments.
DELEGATION OF POWERS
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• Greater delegation of administrative, financial powers between Secretary and Heads of
Departments
• Greater inter-departmental delegation of powers between Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries
and Under Secretaries to Government.
• Constitution of inter-departmental committees headed by administrative secretary for each
department.
• Constitution of committee .to sanction plan schemes under Finance Secretary for each
department. GO should be specific that powers are deemed to be vested with this Committee
for clearances of all plan schemes.
e Greater delegation of powers between FINANCE DEPARTMENT, DPAR and other Secretariat
departments.
REVISION OF THE SECRETARIAT MANUAL OF OFFICE PROCEDURE
• Incorporate efficient management and secretarial practices to professionalise the Secretariat
functioning.
• The entire orientation of the Manual should be towards an officer oriented functioning of
the Secretariat.
• Specify a time frame for file processing for all levels .
• Delete all references to the use of typewriters, typing pools and Typists.
• Incorporate how Information Technology can be utilized in the Secretariat, especially for
sending meeting notices, tracking file movements and keeping a record of all circulars/
orders issued by the Government
• Amend para 279 to bring it in conformity with the Right to Information Act
• Amend para 293 to make the writing of ACR’s of Section Officers and Under Secretaries
more simple
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• Amend para 270 pertaining to maintainance of attendance registers which becomes redundant
after the introduction of the computerized punctuality monitoring system .
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
• Training at all levels for all Secretariat staff to be made compulsory.
• Every employee to be slotted for a refresher course compulsorily once in 3 years.
• Training should be in vertical horizontal batches.
• DPAR must identify good training institutions within State and outside and have regular tieup with them.
• An annual calendar of training programmes to be prepared and widely circulated.
• The Secretariat Training Institute under DPAR to be abolished.
• Computer training to be made compulsory for all the staff.
INTRODUCTION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & OFFICE
AUTOMATION
•
Give responsibility for computerization of Secretariat to a single Department
• Immediately set up the LAN for the Secretariat
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• Use common software for file tracking and file movement
• Completely computerize areas dealing with accounts, grievance redressal, reception, pensions
• Build up a database on the civil service, on disciplinary matters, property returns.
• Legislature Secretariat to have database of all questions asked, answered so that same
questions need not be repeatedly asked.
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• Each department Secretary should review all periodical returns and reexamine whether
their periodicity could be made longer or even whether the returns could be made simpler.
If a monthly return is converted into a quarterly return, it would reduce paper work by twothirds.
OFFICE MODERNISATION
• Office should be so designed so that all the staff are able to sit in a common hall.
• Adequate lighting, ventilation, proper acoustics should be made available.
• Introduction of modular design blocks for offices. ^
• Introduction of mobile racks.
• Better quality coordinated furniture with potted plants, wall clocks, curtains to be provided
to the offices.
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• As far as possible, all the Sections of the same department should be located in
consecutive rooms/floors.
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• A passage way between MS Building and Vidhana Soudha to facilitate quick and safe
movement.
DPAR & FINANCE DEPARTMENT
• General Despatch section should be abolished.
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Functions of the DPAR (Executive) such as sanitation of the Secretariat buildings, reception
must be privatized.
• 'fhe number of sections in Public Grievances Cell must be reduced to one and this cell must
completely be computerized.
• Political Pensions Cell is also to be pruned down to one section only.
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• The posts of 3 Deputy secretaries, 4 under secretaries and 6 Section Officers with concomitant
supporting staff could be reduced.
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Reforms in District Administration
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LACK OF COURTESY IN DEALING WITH THE PUBLIC
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© A beginning can be made by ensuring that all officials are available during the visiting
hours.
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In addition to the induction training there must be periodic refresher training programmes
for all officials on how to be courteous and all issues relating Io inIm lace wilh the citizens.
Such training must be made compulsory
Every department must commit to ensuring a courteous behaviour towards the public on
behalf of its employees and this should be the first commitment of a Citizens Charier.
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An open door policy may be followed during visiting hours so that other office functionaries
do not provide incorrect information to the visiting public
No meetings should be scheduled during visiting hours as a general rule
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Senior officials on tour must also ascertain the employees relationship with the public and
if it is found to be deficient, prompt action must be taken on the officials.
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GRIEVANCES REDRESSAL
All development departments must necessarily set apart one day in the week to redress
public grievances and ensure that the district officers at various levels are available in
headquarters. While the government has issued orders making it necessary for the Deputy
Commissioners to be available on Mondays to hear the grievances of the public, this has
not been done for the other officers at the district level. It would be important the Chief
Executive Officer of ZP, the Superintendent of Police to follow the Deputy Commissioner
and remain in headquarters on a specific day of the week.
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There should be no meetings scheduled for the day and as far as possible.
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I he next step would be to ensure that grievances so made by the public are scrutinised and
proper reply within a specific timeframe is made. Computerisation of all the grievances
received must be made mandatory.
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District level officers must review the grievances received in the subordinate offices.
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• When secretaries from State headquarters lour the districts, they must review the quality
and quantity of grievances redressed.
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NON-AVAILABILITY OF OFFICIALS
Action must be taken by the Government to provide accommodation for the officials whe
have the village as their headquarters.
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A review must be made of the number of meetings which are to be attended, chaired by the
district level officers, and their periodicity and overall number of meetings reduced
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• The schedule for the officers’ visit must be announced well in advance and given wide
publicity.
• Gram Panchayat should be treated as the lowest geographic unit for the purpose of posting
village level officials wherever such levels exist.
• All such village level functionaries must attend the monthly meetings of the Gram Panchayat.
REORGANISATION OF DISTRICT OFFICES
The basic principles in the reorganization of departments would be
• Department restructuring should be on the lines of territorial jurisdiction rather than
functional jurisdiction.
• Functional jurisdiction should be only at the level of research and higher administration
• For new work entrusted to a department, new sections and posts should not be created,
but work must be entrusted to existing staff
• Divisional level posts wherever they exist must be abolished
• Have more officials at taluk and village levels rather than at the State and district
’ headquarters
• Not to have separate staff to implement state and district sector programmes as in the case
of forest and horticulture departments
• Restructure departments to benefit the people, rather than to provide opportunities for
promotion
• Greater delegation of powers to field level officers
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REVENUE DEPARTMENT
9 All the regulatory departments at the district level must be formally brought under the
control of the Deputy Commissioner.
• Divisional Commissioners posts to be abolished.
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• All surplus staff in the offices of the Divisional Commissioners to be redeployed.
• If all the regulatory departments at the district level are to be brought under the control of
the Deputy Commissioner, the office of the Deputy Commissioner requires to be
strengthened. Therefore, some of the surplus staff on abolition of the Divisional
Commissioners offices could be redeployed to the Deputy Commissioners offices.
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• Nad Kacheries to be abolished. Work presently being done by the Nad Kachcries to be
done by the Revenue Inspectors and Tahsildars. Post of RI to be upgraded to Sheristedars.
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• The number of Village Accountants to be limited to Gram Panchayat area.
• 3101 posts of Village Accountants would become surplus. Some of them could be redeployed
in the vacant posts of Grama Panchayat Secretaries.
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• There should be no further recruitment to the posts of FDAs/SDAs/and Tahsildars for the
offices of Deputy Commissioners/Assistant Commissioners/Tahsildars etc.
• Powers over other regulatory departments given to the Deputy Commissioners must also
flow at the appropriate level to the Assistant Commissioners. If there is a need, offices of
Assistant Commissioners must also be suitably strengthened.
AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT
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• Divisional level posts in Agriculture and Horticulture Department to be abolished.
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• Several schemes under State Sector in both the Departments must be transferred to the
Zilla Panchayat Sector.
• Agriculture Assistants used earlier to work in the jurisdiction of Grama Panchayats. They
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have now been brought to the hobli level. They must work only at the Grama Panchayat
levels.
• There are 68 Farm Management Centres. These could be merged with the Raitha Mithra
Kendras.
• Several of the posts in Agriculture Department have been created on the basis of functional
jurisdiction. This could be reexamined and reorganisation done on the basis of territorial
jurisdiction.
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• Research projects should be brought under the control of Universities.
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FOREST DEPARTMENT
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• Multiplicity of parallel establishments under the Forest Department at the district level
must be reduced.
• The Deputy Conservator of Forests (ZP) have no work in most of the districts since there is
no money for implementation. The Forest Department should examine the need of combining
the work of other Deputy Conservator of Forests with that of Deputy Conservator of Forest
r (ZP) and abolishing the post of Deputy Conservator of Forest (ZP).
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• Having separate officers to implement State sector and district sector schemes is not required.
It only leads to multiplicity of staff for implementing the similar schemes. Only one cadre
of officers is sufficient.
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• Several schemes listed for implementation in the State sector could be transferred to the
district sector.
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Planning under Decentralisation
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C Every Gram Panchayat must be given matching grants equivalent to the resources collected,
and fifty percent of this amount must be spent on the social sector. Some differentiation
may be shown between Gram Panchayats by categorizing them into different groups, and
giving them weightage accordingly. The criteria so developed should be applicable for the
Gram Panchayat and not for the district as a whole since even within a district there would
be vast differences amongst villages. The criteria should be objective; the process of
devolution of funds should be transparent. The criteria should be based on the human
development indicators, Infant Mortality Rate, Maternal Mortality Rate, literacy levels
etc.
• Job chart of every village level functionary must be made available to every Gram Panchayat
member.
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• Even where the Gram Panchayat comprises of more than one village the Gram Sabha is
called for all the villages at the same time. Such a type of meeting does not encourage
participation and is wasteful. It would be better if a Gram Sabhas convened for each hamlet.
• Holding Grama Sabha meetings must be made compulsory. If the meetings are not held,
there should be no devolution of funds to the grama panchayats. In an order issued in 1999,
the department has made the Taluka Executive responsible for deciding the dates for the
gram sabha in consultation with the President of the Grama Panchayat. The Secretary of the
Gram Sabha has to prepare the agenda notes and make them available to the villagers on a
payment of Rs 1-00 per copy. Instead of decentralizing the powers, even the powers to call
for the Gram Sabhas have been taken away from the Gram Panchayat and given to the
Taluk Panchayats.
• Powers to convene the Gram Sabhas must be given to the Gram Panchayat‘s only.
• The frequency of calling village level workers to taluk must be reduced.
• All the posts at the village level, must be made district cadres wherever they have not been
made so far. This would not apply to honorary workers like the anganwadi workers.
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• Action plan must be finalized by the end of May or June every year.
• Some lump sum grant should be given to the districts which the district could operate in
the Slate list.
• Planning at all levels under the zilla panchayat system is mere formality. Proper training
must be given to all the officials, non-officials on how to utilise the various human
development indictors for planning at the district level.
• The number of meetings at the zilla panchayat level must be reduced. On an average,
every Chief Executive Officer is either chairman or member of about 52 committees. Most
of these committees have to meet either monthly or quarterly. Such meetings take away
much of the time of these officers and leave them with less time to actually tour and
inspect the work. This applies also to other district level officers.
• Several of the State sector schemes which ought to be implemented at the district level
itself should be transferred to the zilla panchayats.
Good Governance
ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE CIVIL SERVICE
• codification of the delegation of powers between ministers and secretaries to government.
• ensure that delegated powers are exercised
• reduce levels in the hierarchy, make administration officer-oriented so that responsibility
can be fixed on an individual
• instead of post-audit, concurrent audit must be introduced.
• audit should focus more on the output of a scheme, rather than on processes.
• citizens charters must be introduced for critical items for all departments in a time bound
manner so as to complete this process by the end of December 2001.
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REDEFINING FUNCTIONAL GOALS
• The civil service must shift focus from being a provider and regulator to that of a facilitator.
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• Functional audit must be conducted for every department.
• Organisational review should also take place for every department.
• Government should immediately outsource certain activities.
• Every department must have a well publicized implementable mission statement.
• All staff in the department must be trained on priority so that they know the purpose of
their jobs in meeting their departments’ goals and objectives.
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• Merger of schemes that are similar in nature
• Abolition of schemes that have outlived their utility
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IMPROVING SYSTEMS AND WORK METHODS
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• The paper work in government offices should be reduced by abolishing all unnecessary
reports and returns, reducing number of circulars.
• The existing system of file movement needs to be thoroughly revamped. Gradually files
may have to be replaced by floppies. Until such time, file movement can be done on
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computers.
• The introduction of desk officer system, which has been explained in detail in the chapter
on Secretariat Reforms, must be done at the earliest. This would be the first and the most
important step to improving systems and work methods in the secretariat.
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All field offices should also follow a similar pattern and reduce file movements to only
three or maximum of four levels.
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The number of meetings both at the secretariat and at the field levels must be reduced.
This would give more time to officers to go on tour and make inspection where necessary.
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I he greater delegation of powers and exercise of delegated powers would ensure that there
is much less paper work and less time spent in getting approvals from various levels.
A lot of extra work is generated in the government because there is inadequate information
sharing between the departments. Several other departments also require the information
collected by one department ini one form. If all departments would put such information
databases on the LAN or e-mail it to other secretaries, it may be very useful to them in their
policy formulation.
Apart from reducing the number of forms, each department should also look at the size of
the forms. There should be an attempt to simplify the forms and returns being used in the
government.
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RATIONALISATION OF CIVIL SERVICES
In several departments the officers or more than the frontline staff. There is a need to
rationalize this distribution and have more workers for service deliverv.
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The location of staff and employees in several departments is skewed. Most of the officers
are located in Bangalore or in District Headquarters while the need is to have officers at
actual implementation / cutting edge levels.
There are several employees to carry out the same task for different departments like in the
case of grant of scholarships. If one or two employees could be utilised for this purpose, it
would reduce the number of employees required for this purpose.
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Changing the manner of government functioning by the introduction of Desk Officer, Single
File System would reduce delays, bring in efficiency and also help in reduction of number
of employees.
Employees are very often recruited at the launch of a new scheme or a programme. Merger
of similar schemes/programmes would render some staff as surplus who could be
redeployed where there is actually work.
• Every department must make a scientific assessment of the total number of direct recruitment
vacancies available based on the above principles and only then should the department
proceed for filling up the vacancies.
Utilising the direct recruitment vacancies for recruitment by promotion would in the long
run affect the efficiency of the government.
All group-C posts should be made into district cadre posts and allotment must be made on
permanent basis as is done under the All India Service.
Government must impose the ban on further recruitment of Junior Assistants, Assistants,
etc. in all departments.
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Computerisation must be introduced in a time-bound manner in all departments so that less
people would be required for the same work.
RE VIEW OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
There should be a different format of Annual Confidential Reports for secretariat employees.
Apart from the adverse comments, a copy of every year’s completely written Annual
Confidential Reports must also be given to the employee. This would enable the employee
to know how his/her performance is judged and to make any improvements if required for
the next year.
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• As is done for the Armed Forces and Central Police Organisations, a grading system on a 10
point or a 7 point scale to assess the individual traits and attributes could be introduced as
part of the Annual Confidential Reports.
• All levels of officers who have to write Annual Confidential Reports must be given proper
training in how to write an Annual Confidential Reports objectively.
• Counselling may be introduced to those employees who get repeated adverse remarks.
• Action should also be taken against those officers who delay in writing the Annual
Confidential Reports where they are either reporting, reviewing or accepting authorities.
• Annual Confidential Reports, which are to be approved by the concerned departmental
minister sometimes, are delayed for several months. A time frame should be fixed for
approval of the Annual Confidential Reports by the concerned.
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HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
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• All trainings must be made compulsory.
• Employees / Officers who do not attend training should not be deputed for any foreign
training.
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• Allot higher funds for training.
• Each department must have specified budget for training not just for the technical staff but
for all the staff in the department.
• Training should not only include exposure of government employees to secretarial practices,
work methods, technical skills of a particular department, but must also expose them to
personality development, stress and time management, communication skills etc.
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• Government employees must be exposed to work in the private sector and they must be
taken on field visits.
• Some relationship should be established between the career plan of an employee and the
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training imparted.
• Employees due for retirement in the next three years need not be deputed for any training,
especially training overseas.
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• Training awareness skills must also be given to Group-D employees and Drivers.
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• In addition to the Training Institutes of the Government, efforts should be made to identify
other good training institutions.
• There should be an annual calendar of training which must be well publicised.
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TRANSPARENCY AND THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION
• Amendments be made to the Official Secrets Act and the Civil Services Code of Conduct
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• Discretionary powers must be reduced to the minimum
• Regulatory authorities should be set up for all other public utilities
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• Public should have easy access to Government orders, forms etc. They should be made
available in post offices, banks, fair price shops etc.
• Public facilitation centers should be set up in all offices. The existing grievance redressal
centers could be converted as the above centers.
• WAN and IAN should be set up at the earliest to enable easy sharing of informati on within
departments and between departments and speedy disposal of grievances
• Review of rules and simplification of procedures
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Each department, especially those with constant public interface, must bring out a
compendium of all their relevant forms which the public have to use, so that all the forms
are available at a single place. There must be wide dissemination of such information.
The rules to the Right to Information Act must be framed as expeditiously as possible.
Delegation of financial powers should be on the basis of current prices, must be reviewed
every three years
Must have concurrent audit rather than post audit
Renewal period for licences etc, be enhanced, this would reduce transactional costs.
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RECRUITMENT
• Only meritocratic recruitment for all posts
• Selection of KPSC members must be done by a Committee headed by Chief Minister.
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• Revise cadre and recruitment rules of all departments to have merit based recruitment, and
modify qualifications for certain posts
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• Recruitment for certain posts could be contracted( peons, drivers )
• Compassionate appointment to be restricted to families of deceased police personnel and
riot victims..
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TRANSFERS
• Government should enact a legislation on transfers
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• Action should be taken against those employees who request for transfers based on third
party recommendations.
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• Departments of police, commercial taxes, may draft their own transfer rules based on transfer
legislation.
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• Employees such as teachers, village accountants, ANMs need not be transferred except
under exceptional circumstances.
INSTITUTIONS AND ANTI-CORRUPTION
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• Lokayukta be vested with powers similar to that of CBI in terms of prosecution etc.
• Withdrawal of prosecutions be exempted from PC Act, 1988.
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• Only officials of proven integrity and efficiency are to be posted to the Lok Ayukta.
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• Amendments be made to section 10(1) of the KCS(CC&A) rules to make suspension
mandatory when there is a trap or raid case.
•
lhe Lokayukta should be strengthened by provision of adequate staff, powers, resources
and independence accompanied by proper accountability for results. The preventive aspect
of coiruption is dependent on an independent and well-staffed vigilance set up.
• Attachment and forfeiture of property (both movable and immovable) acquired by public
servants which is disproportionate to their known source of income should be considered.
Punitive action should then be initiated.
• There should be a close working relationship between the Lokayukta, Income Tax, and
DPAR in terms of sharing of the information and coordinated investigation.
• All legislators must file their property returns once during their term. Non filing of property
returns should result in withholding of salary and other emoluments. Lokayukta Act may
be amended accordingly.
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DEPARTMENTAL ENQUIRIES
• Relevant rules under the following sections, 11(12 ), 11 (20 ), 12 (a), 12 (A) should be
amended to provide for a specific time frame and to reduce discretionary powers.
• Karnataka KCS rule on compulsory / voluntary retirement of Officials must be used.
• It is also necessary to amend the relevant Service Rules to enable the review of integrity
and efficiency of Officials at any stage during their career and to compulsorily retire such
Officials of doubtful integrity.
• There has to be stricter and compulsory monitoring of the progress of all departmental
enquiry cases by the Secretary. This should not be treated as a routine exercise and must
be included as an item of review in the monthly MMR meetings chaired by the Secretaries
• It is preferable that all departmental enquiries are entrusted to retired judges or retired
government officials on a conditionality that non-completion of the enquiry proceedings as
per prescribed time frame would result in non-payment of emoluments.
REDRESSAL OF GRIEVANCES
• fix responsibility for each task, which is possible if the hierarchical levels are reduced.
• appoint grievance redressal officer for each department and accordingly give publicity.
• ensure the easy and wide availability of various government’s forms and applications
Regularly used applications for caste, income, births and deaths, all land matters must be
available in fair price shops, banks, post offices etc.
• change the language of various application forms to make them citizen friendly.
• train officials in grievance redressal, courtesy in talking to petitioners.
• all grievances must be computerized.
• all forms must be bilingual, both in Kannada and English.
AMALGAMATION OF SCHEMES
• Schemes with nominal budget provisions to be merged.
• Schemes which are continuing for the purpose of providing salaries to employees to be
abolished.
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• Similar schemes to be merged.
• Schemes with less than Rs.5.00 lakh allocation to be merged / discontinued.
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• Agriculture Department need not set up Entomological / Pathological Laboratories or even
Bio-Fertilizer Laboratories. This work could be entrusted to Agricultural Universities.
• All the training schemes in the departments should be merged under one head of account.
• It is not possible to carry out State Horticultural Census with the provision of Rs.1.0 lakhs.
The Horticulture Department may examine the relevance of such scheme.
• Schemes which have outlived their utility should be abolished, (e.g. Cashew nut and
Matchwood Plantation Schemes in Forest Department)
, .
• The head of account for Lalbagh Botanical Garden and Vidhana Soudha Gardens shown
under Forest Department should be shifted to Horticulture Department.
E-GOVERNANCE
a) Must have an IT Plan for each department, which is to be implemented at an annual basis.
•
b) Ensure that common software for tracking of files and file movements, grievance redressal,
monitoring of LA/LC questions is used by all secretariat departments.
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c) Ensure the speedy installation of LAN in the secretariat.
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d) Ensure that all staff in the secretariat irrespective of seniority are trained in the latest software
so that a common software can be used across the secretariat.
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e) Training to work on computers must be specially given to the large number of typists who
continue to work only on typewriters in the secretariat.
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Phase out all typewriters in the secretariat and substitute them with computers.
g) In order to ensure better use of computers, all meeting notices in the secretariat to be sent
only on LAN.
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h) All progress reports to be communicated only on LAN and except matters which are
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confidential in nature, service matters, matters before the courts, all the rest of the file
work should be done on computers.
i)
Each department must immediately create database where not done and provision must be
made to share database among departments whenever required. Facility must be built in
for regular updations of such databases.
j)
Individual departments installing VSATs should be curtailed. It would be better if a group
of departments utilize the VSAT resources.
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k) Departments should not be encouraged to set up individual kiosks or data centres either at
the district, taluk or village levels common kiosks should be set up.
Departments of Revenue, Police, transport, and Commercial Taxes must computerize on
priority.
m) The provisions of Information Technology Act, 2000, where digital signature has been
legalized etc. must be widely disseminated so that not only officers, even general public are
aware of this.
n) All citizens’ charters must be put on the web.
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o) All payrolls in all departments must be computerized. Would economise on a lot of staff in
each department.
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P) C&R Rules of all departments to be modified. At every entry level for direct recruitment,
knowledge of appropriate computer skills must be made mandatory.
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q) Employees in service must be encouraged to acquire computer skills relevant to daily office
use within a period of two years. Could be given one advance increment valid for 5 years.
HARANAHALLI RAMASWAMY
CHAIRMAN
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G.LATIIA KRISHNA RAO
SECRETARY
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BLASIUS M.D’SOUZA
MEMBER
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S. B. MUDDAPPA
MEMBER
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LIST OFANNEXURES
1. Terms of Reference
126
2. Calender of Events
128
3. Officers & Others Associated with the Commission
131
Location of DPAR & FD
135
5. Organization chart of DPAR
136
6. Organization chart of FD
137
7. Orders on Desk Officer System
138
8. List of Furniture & Stationery
147
9. Setup of the DVC Office
151
10. Staff Strength of Agriculture Department
152
11. Staff Strength of Forest Department
153
12. Details of Revenue Expenditure
155
13. Employees Transfer Bill
156
14. Letter of Lokayuktha
161
15. Schemes of Forest Department
163
16. Schemes of Agriculture Department
164
17. Schemes of Education Department
167
4.
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Proceedings of the Government of
Karnataka
READ: 1. GO DPAR 19 AMC 2000 dated 17.4.2000
>
2. GO DPAR 19 AMC 2000 dated 27.4.2000
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PREAMBLE:
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The Government of Karnataka proposes to take concrete steps to tone up efficiency at all
levels and ensure total transparency in administration. It also desires to employ information
technology and all other tools of modern administration to make Government offices more
responsive to the needs and problems of the people and to bring a stronger element of courtesy
and cordiality to the administrative machinery. While the Government has already issued an
order constituting the Administrative Reforms Commission under the Chairmanship of Shri
Haranahalli Ramaswamy to make an in-depth study of the steps to be taken to ensure the
effective fulfillment of the above mentioned objectives and make suitable recommendations
to the Government, it is found necessary to identify the parameters of the Commission and
formulate its modus operand!. Hence this order.
: •<£
G.O.No.DPAR 19 AMC 2000, Bangalore, dated 30.05.2000
The following issues will be examined by the Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission:
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1.
Examine the ways and means of creating an environment wherein the Officers and staff
will respond to the people with courtesy, service-mindedness and a spirit of understanding;
provide to the people, at any level of interaction, adequate information about the
Government policies and programmes and rules and regulations to generally accelerate the
process of decision-making.
2.
Examine the ways and means of evolving simplified procedure for Government machinery
for implementation of various plans and programmes of the Government without undue
delay.
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Examine the ways and means of improving financial management in the administration to
plug leakages in revenue collection and effect savings.
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formulate a fool-proof system for procurement of goods and services required by the
Government in a transparent and judicious manner for the effective implementation of its
plans and programmes.
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Examine the process of control and monitoring effective and efficient implementation of
plans and programmes of the Government.
6.
Reviewing the process of collecting fair and justifiable changes for the services rendered
and facilities provided by the Government to the public.
7.
To examine the extensive utilization of information technology in Government
administration.
8.
Examine the process of bringing transparency in administration for elimination of corruption
9.
To formulate policy for entrusting identified programmes to NGO s and private sectors,
which could be implemented by them.
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10. Formulate the policy for involvement of private sector and NGOs in identified Government
programmes.
11. Enhancing the efficiency in the working urban and rural local bodies.
12. To review and recommend on any other issues or matters relavent to the attainment of the
aforementioned objectives.
13. To examine the need for decentralization of powers and decision-making process.
14. The Commission is authorized to evolve its own method of functioning, and to appoint
any committees, which it may deem fit for assisting it and also to appoint any advisers it
may feel necessary.
The Commission is also authorized to inter-act with or hold meetings and consultations with
any expert, specialist or citizen of its choice to acquire any inputs which are essential for its
effective functioning. The Commission can also inspect any Government Department or any
wing of the Administrative machinery at any level. During such inspections, the concerned
Secretaries, Heads of Departments and other Officers shall provide any information sought by
the Commission on the working of that department.
The Commission can secure the services of any expert on organization to study and analyse
the functioning of any Government department pertaining to any subject on its behalf and also
can conduct seminars and workshops on all such issues.
It is hereby ordered that the Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission shall submit its
final report within one year from the date of this order.
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BY ORDER AND IN THE NAME OF THE
GOVERNOR OF KARNATAKA
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Karnataka Administrative Reforms
Commission
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Calender of events
Hon’ble Chief Minister, in his Budget Speech, mentioned about
the need for formation of the Administrative Reforms
Commission.
2
Sri Haranahalli Ramaswamy was appointed as Chairman of the
Commission vide GO No. DPAR 19 AMC 2000.
3
Sri Haranahalli Ramaswamy took over charge as
Chairman of the Commission.
4
Secretary’s post was created vide GO No. DPAR 19 AMC 2000
5
Inaugural Function of the Karnataka Administrative
Reforms Commission
6
Smt. G. Latha Krishna Rao, IAS, took over charge as
Secretary of the Commission.
7
Sri S.B. Muddappa, IAS (Retd), Former Chief Secretary,
Government of Karnataka, Justice N.D. Venkatesh (Retd)
were appointed as Members of the Commission vide
GO No. DPAR 19 AMC 2000.
8
FIRST A.R.C. MEETING
9
Posts were created for the Commission \ ide
GO No. DPAR 19 AMC 2000
10 The Commission was provided with funds of Rs. 10.00 lakhs
(Salary, DA, Office Expenses, TA, Library Establishment)
11 Sri Blasius M. D’Souza, Former Law Minister, was appointed as
Member of KARG vide GO No. DPAR 19 AMC 2000
12 TOUR - FIASSAN 24-06-2000
13 TOUR - MYSORE 26-06-2000
14 Posts were created for the personal establishment of the
Secretary of the Commission vide GO No. DPAR 33 AMC 2000.
15 Discussion with Sri Sippe Gowda, President,
Karnataka Government Employees Association.
16 Discussion with Sri Govinda Rao, Institute for Social &
Economic Change, Nagarabhavi, Bangalore.
17 Discussion with Sri Chiranjib Sen, Professor,
Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and
Tapan Senapati, IAS, Secretary, Dept, of Personnel and
Administrative Reforms (AR).
18 SECOND A.R.C. MEETING
19 Discussion with Dr. Siddalingaiah, MLC and
Dr. S.N. Sangita, Institute for Social & Economic Change, Bangalore
20 Discussion with Sri Muchandi, Registrar of Lokayukta and
Sri B.N.P. Albuquerque, IPS, Addl. Director General of Police.
21 Discussion with Dr. A. Ravindra, IAS, Addl.Chief Secretary and
Development Commissioner.
22 Discussion with Sri K.P. Pandey, IAS, Principal
Secretary to Government, Revenue Department
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128
17-04-2000
24-04-2000
27-04-2000
08-05-2000
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30-05-2000
09-06-2000
21-06-2000
22-06-2000
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22-06-2000
29-07-2000
04-07-2U00
06-07-2000
07-07-2000
15-07-2000
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18-07-2000
20-07-2000
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20-07-2000
22-07-2000
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Discussion with Sri V.Balasubramanian, IAS,
Addl.Chief Secretary to Government (PWD and Housing).
24
Discussion with Sri M.R. Srinivasa Murthy, IAS,
Secretary to Government, Rural Development & Panchayat Raj
Department.
Discussion with Sri Vivek Kulkarni, IAS, Secretary to
Government, Information Technology Department.
Discussion with Smt. Teresa Bhattacharya, IAS,
Addl.Chief Secretary to Government.
TOUR - DHARWAD DISTRICT (3 DAYS)
Discussion with Sri M.R.Hegde, Secretary,
Department of Parliamentary Affairs and Legislation.
Discussion with Sri Rajeev Chawla, Addl.Secretary
to Government, Revenue Department.
HIGH LEVEL COMMITTEE MEETING / THIRD A.R.C MEETING
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
Sub Committee Members appointed.
Discussion with Sri C.S. Kedar, Secretary to
Government (Resources), Finance Department.
Meeting of Sub Committee on Secretariat Level Reforms
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29- 07-2000
30- 07-2000
02-08-2000
02-08-2000
04-08-2000
05-08-2000
07-08-2000
10-08-2000
Discussion with Sri A.K.M. Nayak, IAS, Secretary to
Government, Information, Tourism & Youth Services Department.
14-08-2000
Discussion with IFS Officers Association
TOUR - KOLAR DISTRICT (ONE DAY)
Discussion with Sri Chiranjeevi Singh, IAS,
Principal Secretary to Government, Agriculture & Horticulture
Department and Sri Upendra Tripathi, IAS,
Secretary to Government, Horticulture Department.
47 Discussion with State Government Employees Association.
48 FOURTH A.R.C. MEETING
49 Discussion with Sri S.K. Hajra, Chief Election
Commissioner in Karnataka.
50 Discussion with World Bank Team and with Dr. M.R.Tanga,
Chairman, Sub Committee on Secretariat Level Reforms.
44
45
46
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26-07-2000
10- 08-2000
11- 08-2000
Discussion with Sri A.Sengupta, IAS, Secretary to
Government, Health and Family Welfare Department.
38 Meeting of Sub Committee on Good Governance.
39i Justice N.D.Venkatesh resigned as Member, KARG.
40I Discussion with Sri Panchagatti, Chairman,
Karnataka Public Service Commission.
41I Work Study Team - Discussion with Secretary to
Government, Dept of Personnel & Administrative Reforms (AR)
42 Discussion with Sri Abhay Prakash, IAS, Director, KSBPE,
Sri Chiranjeevi Singh, IAS, Principal Secretary to
Government, Agriculture & Horticulture Department
and Dr.Subramaniam, IAS, Commissioner for Agriculture.
43 Meeting of Sub Committee on Secretariat Level Reforms
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25-07-2000
Discussion with World Bank Team and Secretary to
Government, Dept of Personnel & Administrative Reforms (AR).
Meeting of Sub Committee on District & Taluk Level Reforms
37
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25-07-2000
129
16-08-2000
21-08-2000
23-08-2000
25-08-2000
25-08-2000
28- 08-2000
29- 08-2000
30-08-2000
07-09-2000
08-09-2000
11-09-2000
10-09-2000
16-09-2000
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52
53
54
Work Shop on Good Governance at Institute for Social &
Economic Change, Bangalore.
55
56
57
58
Meeting of Sub Committee on District & Taluk Level Reforms.
TOUR - MANGALORE & HASSAN (TWO DAYS)
TOUR - MANDYA (ONE DAY)
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
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Sri Mariswamy, IPS, President, IPS Officers’ Association.
Sri B.K. Singh, IPS, President, IPS Officers’ Association.
TOUR - DISTRICTS OF RAICHUR, GULBARGA AND
BIJAPUR. (FOUR DAYS)
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
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78
79
80
Discussion with KAS Officers Association and Dr. M.R.Tanga,
Chairman, Sub Committee on Secretariat Reforms.
Participation in Indian Institute of Public Administration
(IIPA) Workshop.
16-10-2000
Meeting with World Bank AR Group
Meeting of Sub Committee on Secretariat Level Reforms
Meeting with Minister for Primary & Secondary Education,
Secretary to Government, Primary & Secondary Education,
Commissioner for Public Instruction and other officers of
Education Department.
Meeting with Educationists.
Meeting with Opposition Leaders.
Visit to Revenue Department in the Secretariat.
Meeting with Lokayukta Officers and Secretary to
Government, Law Department.
Meeting with Addl Chief Secretary, Addl Chief Secretary
and Development Commissioner, Addl.Chief Secretary to
Government (PWD & Housing), Secretary to Government,
Law Department, Secretary to government. Parliamentary
Affairs & Legislation, etc. to discuss draft Transfer Bill.
Dr. M.R. Tanga, Chairman, Sub Committee on
Secretariat Level Reforms, submitted report.
TOUR TO NEW DELHI TO PARTICIPATE IN STATES’
REFORMS FORUM HOSTED BY WORLD BANK. (FOUR DAYS)
Meeting with Ford Foundation, New Delhi.
Meeting of Sub Committee on Secretariat Reforms.
Meeting of Sub Committee on Good Governance.
FIFTH MEETING OF A.R.C.
SIXTH MEETING OF A.R.C.
SEVENTH MEETING OF A.R.C.
Discussion with Sri VP. Baligar, Chairman,
Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited.
Discussion with Sri H.L. Nagegowda, MLC and Chairman,
Janapada Akademi. 20-12-2000
Discussion with Secretariat Employees Association.
Meeting with Revenue Employees’ Association.
EIGHTH MEETING OF A.R.C.
130
17-09-2000
17-09-2000
17-09-2000
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04-10-2000
05-10-2000
09-10-2000
13-10-2000
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16-10-2000
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16-10-2000
23-10-2000
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23- 10-2000
24- 10-2000
25- 10-2000
04-11-2000
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06-11-2000
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06-11-2000
15-11-2000
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22-11-2000
28-11-2000
08-12-2000
08-12-2000
11-12-2000
18- 12-2000
19- 12-2000
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19-12-2000
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21-12-2000
26-12-2000
03-01-2001
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Officers/elected representatives/experts
associated with the Commission
1)
Sri G.V.K. Rao, IAS (Retd), former Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka.
2)
Sri J.C.Lynn, IAS (Retd), former Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka.
3)
Sri N.Vittal, New Delhi, Chief Vigilance Commissioner, Government of India.
4)
Sri Nittur Srinivasa Rao, former Chief Justice, High Court of Karnataka.
Members of Parliament
1)
Sri Ramakrishna Hegde.
6)
Sri. Oscar Fernandes
2)
Sri S.R. Bommai.
7)
Sri. R. S. Patil
3)
Smt. Margaret Alva.
8)
Sri. Rehaman Khan
4)
Sri Laxmi Sagar
9)
Sri. D. C. Srikantappa
5)
Sri. Jalappa
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Floor Leaders of legislature and others
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Sri Siddaramaiah, Former Dy.Chief Minister & Finance Minister.
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2)
SriP.G.R. Sindhia, MLA.
3)
Sri K.II. Srinivas, MLC
4)
Dr. M.P Nadagouda, MLC
5)
Sri Jagadish Shettar, MLA
6)
Sri Byre Gowda, MLA
7)
Dr. Nagappa, MLA.
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Bureaucrats
i)
Smt.Teresa Bhattacharya, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Government of
Karnataka.
2)
Sri V.Balasubramanian, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary (PWD & Housing), Government of
Karnataka.
3)
Dr. A.Ravindra, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner,
Government of Karnataka.
4)
Sri A. Bharat, IAS, Chairman, Bangalore Development Authority, Bangalore.
5)
Sri S.K.I lajra, IAS, Chief Election Commissioner in Karnataka.
6)
Sri Chiranjivi Singh, IAS, Principal Secretary to Government, Agriculture & Horticulture
Department, Government of Karnataka.
7)
Sri A.K. Agarwal, IAS, Director General, Administrative Training Institute, Mysore.
8)
Sri Abhay Prakash, IAS, Director General, Karnataka State Bureau of Public Enterprises,
Bangalore.
131
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9)
Sri A.Sengupta, IAS, Principal Secretary to Government, Health & Family Welfare
Department, Government of Karnataka.
10) Sri M.R.Srinivasa Murthy, IAS, Secretary to Government, Rural Development & Panchayat
Raj Department, Government of Karnataka.
11) Sri G.R.Premkumar, IAS, Secretary to Government, Department of Personnel and
Administrative Reforms, Government of Karnataka.
I
12) Sri R.N.Shastri, IAS, Secretary to Government (Primary & Secondary Education), Government
of Karnataka.
13) Sri Tapan Senapati, IAS, Secretary to Government, Department of Personnel and
Administrative Reforms (A.R.), Government of Karnataka.
11
14) Sri V.P. Baligar, IAS, Chairman, Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited,
Bangalore.
15) Dr.Subramanyam, IAS, Commissioner for Agriculture, Government of Karnataka.
yii
16) Sri T.M. Vijay Bhaskar, IAS, Commissioner for Public Instruction, Bangalore.
17) Sri Jayakar Jerome, IAS, Commissioner, Bangalore Development Authority, Bangalore.
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18) Sri Rajiv Chawla, IAS, Additional Secretary to Government, Revenue Department.
19) Sri B.N.P.Albuqucrque, IPS, Additional Director General of Police, Karnataka Lokayukta,
Bangalore.
1
20) Sri Muchandi, Registrar, Karnataka Lokayukta, Bangalore.
j
21) Sri S.M. Panchagatti, Chairman, K.P.S.C.
iI
22) Sri Janaradhana Rao, IAS, Secretary, K.P.S.C.
■
23) Dr. M. Mahadevan, Former Director, IIPA, New Delhi
Seminar on “Good Governance : Policy and Institutional Issues” held on
4-10-2000 at Institute for Social & Economic Change, organised by ARC and
Dr. Govind Rao Director, ISEC
1
II
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Presided by
Chairman, K.A.R.C.
Inauguration by
Sri S.M. Krishna, Chief Minister, Government of Karnataka.
Keynote Address by
Dr. Madhav Godbole, Former Home Secretary, Government of
India.
1
Sessions:1)
Efficiency and Accountability in Governance: -
Chaired by
Sri T.R.Satishchandran, Former Governor of Goa.
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Speakers
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Smt. Teresa Bhattacharya, IAS, Addl.Chief Secretary, on the
Topic: Improving Governance - Incentives and Accountability.
Dr.A.Ravindra, IAS, Addl.Chief Secretary and Development
Commissioner, on the topic : Restructuring Administration for
Effective Governance.
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132
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Sri G.Thimmaih, Former Member, Planning Commission, on the
topic : Right-Sizing the Bureaucracy.
2)
Tackling Corruption - Policy and Institutional Issues
Chaired by
Sri M.Y. Ghorpade, Minister for Rural Development & Panchayat
Raj, Government of Karnataka.
Speakers
Sri Samuel Paul, Centre for Public Policy on the topic:
Institutional Arrangements to Tackle Corruption.
Sri V.Balasubramanian, IAS, Addl.Chief Secretary (PWD &
Housing) on the topic ; Policy and Procedural Reforms to Tackle
Corruption.
Sri Vikram Chand, Economist, World Bank, on the topic:
Government Initiatives to Tackle Corruption : Right to
Information and Transparency in Tenders and Procurement
Ordinances
3)
Value for Money - Efficiency in Public Service Delivery
Chaired by
Sri M. Veerappa Moily, former Chief Minister of Karnataka, and
Chairman, Tax Reforms Commission.
Speakers
Sri VRamachandran, Former Chief Secretary, Government of
Kerala on the topic - Limiting the Role of Government.
Sri N.L. Mitra, Director, National Law School of India University,
on the topic - Fiscal Discipline and Good Governance.
Prof. Chiranjib Sen, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore,
on the topic - Market Failure and the Government Intervention.
(
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I.I.PA. MEETING HELD ON 16-10-2000.
Participants: - Organised by KARC and Shri S. Ramanathan, IAS (Retd.) Chairman Indian Institute
of Public Administration, Karnataka.
1)
Sri J.C.Lynn, IAS (Retd), Former Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka.
2)
Sri M.A.S. Rajan, IAS (Retd).
3)
Sri Jayakumar Anagol, IAS (Retd).
4)
Sri Padmanabhan, IAS (Retd).
5)
Sri Aswathanarayan, IAS (Retd).
6)
Sri F.T.R.Colasso, IPS (Retd).
7)
Sri Harlankar, IPS (Retd).
8)
Sri Parameshwarappa, IFS (Retd).
9)
Sri Yellappa Reddy, IFS (Retd).
■iil IP!
1■' 1
!!h! I
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10) Sri A. Krishna Swamy, IFS (Retd).
11) Sri Ranlaswamy, IA & AS (Retd)
12) Sri Chamaiah, Former Law Secretary.
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133
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13) Sri P.S.Jayaram, Professor, Bangalore University.
14) Sri Jeevan Kumar, Bangalore University.
15) Sri Vinod Vyasulu, Centre for Budget and Policy Studies, Bangalore.
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16) Sri Vinay Baindoor, CIVIC (NGO).
17) Smt. Gayathri Niwas, Deccan Herald.
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18) Smt.Shakuntala Narasimhan, Journalist
I
19) Sri Laxmanan, Industrialist.
20) Sri Srikanthaiah, Industrialist
21) Smt. Sandhya, Hengasara Hakkina Sangha.
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ASSOCIATIONS
1)
Secretariat Employees’ Association.
2)
Non-Gazetted Employees’ Association.
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3) IPS Officers Association.
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4) IPS Officers Association.
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5) KAS Officers Association.
6) Revenue Employees Association.
WRITERS
i
1)
Dr. Suryanath Kamath
2)
Dr.Chidananda Murthy
:J
3) Prof. Narayana
4)
Prof. L.S.Seshagiri Rao
5) Prof. Basavaradhya
WORLD BANK
1)
Sanjay Pradhan.
2)
Bob Bischell
3) Vikram Chand
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134
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Location of DPAR and Finance Department
III Floor,
Vidhana Soudha
(i)
Chief Secretary, D.S. (Protocol),
DPAR (General A & B), DPAR (Political 1&2)
DPAR (L&RM), Addl.Chief Secretary, Cabinet Section
(2)
Secretary, DPAR
II Floor,
Vidhana Soudha
(3)
Secretary, DPAR, Election and his office
Office located in
Cubbon Park
(4)
DPAR & Special Officer & D.S., Stenographers &
Typists Recruitment Authority
(5)
DPAR (Services) Wing, DPAR (Accounts) Wing,
DPAR (Executive) Wing, DPAR (Library), DPAR
(Service Rules). DPAR (Multigraph). DPAR (G.D), DPAR(R&I)
(6)
DPAR (Administration), A, B, C, D Sections,
Personnel I & II Section, ADM-Cell
(7)
(8)
2O'h Floor, Main Tower
Vishweswariah Tower
Ground Floor,
Vidhana Soudha
IV Floor, III Stage
M.S.Building
DPAR (Executive-C Section) & Under Secretary (Ex-C)
Located in VII Floor
III Stage, MS Bldg.
Is’ Floor, III Stage M.S.Building
DPAR (Multigraph-II)
Location of Finance Department
(1)
Principal Secretary, Secretary (Resources),
Secretary (PMU). Secretary (Expdr.),
ED (Expenditure) VII Sections, Budget Sections,
Commercial Taxes Sections,
Located in II Floor,
Vidhana Soudha
PWD Sections, T.A.R., Advances & Administration
Section, Investment & R&I,
II Floor, III Stage M.S.Building
(2) ED. (Pension)
I Floor, S*1' stage M.S.Building
(3) ED. (Services)
•1
12'h Floor, Vishweswariah Tower
(4) ED. (FCC) & PMU Divisions
Department of Personel and Administrative Reforms
(Administrative Reforms)
Jts*
(9) Secretary DPAR (AR). DS (AR), work study sections.
political pension, DPAR (Inspection) DPAR (Training)
Ilnd Floor, 5,h Stage,
M.S.Building
III Floor, Podium Block
Vishweswariah Tower
(10) DPAR (Grievances Cell) all the Six sections
(11) Karnataka Government Secretariat Training Center
135
8‘h Floor,
Vishweswariah Mini Tower
_ : ....
Organisation Chart of DPAR ,
CHIEF SECRETARY
DEPUTY SECRETARY (CABINET)
DEPUTY SECRETARY
Addl. Chief Secretary
' SECRETARY DPAR (AR)
SECRETARY DPAR
Jt. Secretary
(SR)
US
3
SO
6
Dy. Secretary
(SER)
US.......... 4
SO.......... 7
Dy. Secretary
(EXE)
US.......... 2
SO.......... 4
Dy. Secretary
(PROTOCOL)
US......... 3
SO...........2
Dy. Secretary
(ADMN)
US........ 6
SO......... 17
TOTAL 53
TOTAL 70
TOTAL 339
TOTAL 32
TOTAL 189
Note: The total number include all other staff also
136
Dy. Secretary Dy. Secretary
(AR)
(Spl. Officer)
.5
Recruitment ; US
10
SO,
US......... 1
SO.......... 1
TOTAL 63
TOTAL 14
Dy. Secretary
(PGO)
US...........2
SO........... 6
Dy. Secretary
(STI)
US
1
SO
1
TOTAL 54
TOTAL 12
Organisation Chart of Finance Department
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY!
SECRETARY (R)
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JL_
SPL.
OFFICER
(COMP)
SPL.
OFFICER
(ZP)
D. S,
SERV -I
D. S,
SERV -II
SPL.
OFFICER
(PEN)
D. S,
(FCC)
US
US
SO -SII
SO
SO
SO -Sill
SECRETARY (EXP)
SECRETARY (PMU)
US (LEGAL CELL)
SPECIAL OFFICER (PWD)
ADDL. DIRECTOR
SO (LC)
US
ACCOUNTS OFFICER
SO -3
SO (PMU)
SO -3
SO-2
DS (EXCISE)"]
DS (FCC)
DS-I
DS-II
DS-III
DS (B&R)
US
US-2
US-2
US-2
US-2
US-2
SO-2
SO-4
SO -3
SO-2
SO-6
SO-2
SO -2
137
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GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA
Karnataka Government Secretariat
Vidhana Soudha
Bangalore,
dated 19,h February, 1977
No. DPAR 2 TSM 75
I
OFFICIAL MEMORANDUM
Subject: Revised Scheme of Officer Oriented Noting system
introduction of - Instructions -
I
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In Official Memorandum No.CAD 12 TSM 74, dated 29‘h May, 1974, Officer-Oriented System of
noting at the level of Under Secretary was introduced on an experimental basis in one section in
each of the Secretariat Departments. The working of the system was reviewed and it was considered
necessary to introduce the scheme in a modified form. Accordingly a revised scheme was prepared.
i
2. At the Secretaries’ meeting held on 27,h January, 1977, the revised scheme was considered and
it was decided that the Secretaries to Government should try this revised system on an
experimental basis in few sections of their Departments, under intimation to Department of
Personnel and Administrative Reforms [Administrative Reforms-I] and that this scheme should
be reviewed after a period of one year. It has been accordingly decided to introduce the scheme
in all the Departments of the Secretariat. Details of the scheme are given in the Annexure.
/.
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3. In order to introduce the scheme, the Secretaries to Government are requested to
take the following steps:-
[I]
Selection of the sections for introducing the revised scheme;
[ii] Allocation of work between Under Secretaries and Section Officers, in such a
manner that each of them is assigned a clear functional division of work keeping
in view the nature and quantum of work.
■
[iii] Designation of Sections Officers selected to function under the scheme as Desk Officers.
•'I
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[iv] Empowering them to exercise general powers specified in the Annexure and
the powers to be delegated within the Department.
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[v]
Creation of additional posts of Under Secretaries and Stenographers and surrendering the
surplus Assistants and Typists as per the pattern indicated in the scheme in consultation
with Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (Administration/Services) and
Finance Department.
4.
They are also requested to issue necessary orders incorporating all these details and to
endorse a copy of it to the Department of Personnel and Administrative
ReformsfAdministrative Reforms).
138
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5.
Necessary action to issue a Notification authorising the Section Officers, appointed as
Desk Officers to authenticate orders or sanctions to be issued in the name of Governor as
per Rules 14 and 15 of Karnataka Government Rules of Business will be taken by the
Department of Cabinet Affairs.
Sd/V.A.GUMASTE
Deputy Secretary to Government
Dept.of Personnel & Administrative Reforms
(Administrative Reforms-I)
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139
Annexure to O.M.
At present one Under Secretary is in charge of two sections, each section consisting of -
I
'A
One Section Officer
, One Senior Assistant
Two Assistants
One Junior Assistant and
One Typist
jI ■
The Under Secretary has the assistance of one Stenographer.
■
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2. In the reorganised set up, the Officer Oriented System is proposed to be introduced in both the
sections. The existing revised pattern of staff will be as indicated in the Statement-A.
I
[b] The work dealt with in each group will be reallocated among the Under Secretary and Section
Officer in terms of subjects, Under Secretary being allotted items of work which are relatively
important constituting at least 60 per cent of the existing work of the section.
■ I
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A;
[c] Each of these officers working in a group will be assisted by staff as indicated below:
Under Secretary
ir
One Assistant
One Stenographer
Section Officer
One Assistant
Junior Assistant will be common to the two officers working in one group. A separate Stenographer
is also provided for the two Section Officers working in different groups. This Stenographer will
be attached to the Senior Section Officer. There will be no Typist for the Unit and additional
typing work, if any, will be done in the Typing Pool or attended to by internal adjustment.
'II
[d] Section Officer will have to exercise the following power:
[I]
I
Authentication of orders or sanctions to be issued in the name of the Governor as per Rule 14
and 15 of the Rules of Business.
■
[ii] Making reference to other departments seeking advice, information etc., where absolutely
necessary as per rules of business and needs of the cases.
I
fl
[iii] Addressing the Heads of Departments and other subordinate officers for collection of data,
clarification, factual information etc.
[iv] Disposal of cases at his own level as per delegation of powers to be decided by the Secretary
of the Department.
[c] Procedure of work and duties and responsibilities of the officers and other staff under the
system are given in Statement-B.
The above proposals will result information of four units each manned by an officer and the other
work of the Department will remain unaffected. Consequently the Departments will not be required
to make any internal readjustments in regard to the work dealt with by Under Secretaries and
their sections in the existing pattern. The scheme may be tried on an experimental basis for a
period of one year. A review will be undertaken at the end of that period.
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STATEMENT-A
EXISTING PATTER
One Under Secretary with two sections with the staff detailed below:
Two Section Officers
Two Section Assistants
Four Assistants
Two Junior Assistants
IWo Typists and
One Stenographer
REVISED PATTERN
Group-I [a]
1 Under Secretary
1 Assistant
1 Stenographer
1 Junior Assistant
Group-I [b]
1 Section Officer
1 Assistant
Group-II [a]
1 Under Secretary
1 Assistant
1 Stenographer
1 Junior Assistant
Group-II [b]
1 Section Officer
1 Assistant
One Stenographer is proposed to be attached to Senior of the two Section Officers (Group-I) and '
Group-II(b), but his services will be utilised by both the Section Officers.
141
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STATEMENT - B
A. Duties and responsibilities of the Officer working under the revised Officer
Oriented System:
1. [a] The subjects dealt with in the section will be reallocated to the Under Secretary and Section
Officer and each of these officers will be responsible for initiating action and disposal of all cases/
references or receipts pertaining to the subjects allocated to him.
[b] The Under Secretary/Section Officer will dispose of finally as many cases as he can depending
on the merit of the cases and delegation of powers.
[c] The Under Secretary/Section Officer will examine and initiate noting at his level and deal
with other cases in accordance with the Rules of Business and other instructions.
[d] The Under Secretary/Section Officer will-also prepare relies and issue them.
I
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2. [a]
The Under Secretary will continue to exercise supervisory control over the section as at
present.
- [b]
The Section Officer will also supervising the work of all the subordinate staff of the group
and will discharge duties and responsibilities as envisaged in the Secretariat Manual
except noting oh the files concerning the subjects allocated to the Under Secretary.
3/1’110 Under Secretary/Section Officer will be responsible for keeping the higher officers informed
of all important developments, problems or difficulties in the cases dealt with by them.
B. Duties and responsibilities of Assistants:
Assistants will help the officer (Under Secretary/Section Officer) to whom ho is attached in every
way in quick and efficient disposal of cases allocated to the group. They should phow initiative
and intelligence in devising ways to facilitate decision on cases bv collecting and presenting
relevant material, maintaining up-to-date relevant Acts and Rules and instructions, selected files,
digest of important previous decisions etc. They should in no way initiate noting on the files.
Their other duties involve attending to the following items of work:
[a] Getting files on the subject, docketing, referencing, numbering, opening new files etc.
[b] Making over receipts with the material collected duly referenced and arranged to the Under
Secretary/Section Officer.
[c] Putting up of files timely issue of reminders with standard draft wherever necessary etc.
[d] Getting fair copies typed, comparing and submitting them for signature etc.
[e] Assisting the Under Secretary/Section Officer in discharge of his functions, preparing statements,
consolidating information etc.
[f] Their other duties/responsibilities will continue.
0. Functions of Junior Assistant & Stenographer:
Their functions will in no way be affected and will continue to function as hitherto.
D. Procedures of work:
i
l.The Under Secretary/Section Officer must himself see all incoming tappal and pass them on to
the staff attached to him for taking necessary action regarding diarising, adding them on to the
existing files/opening new files and noting movements. I le should indicate priority where necessary
for putting up papers. He should also put up important references to higher authorities at the
stage where it is considered necessary to bring to their notice.
142
2. [Il The Under Secretary/Section Officer should, after obtaining files from the staff, examine the
papers along with relevant material and taking into consideration the existing policy, precedents,
standing orders, determine the line of action.
[ii] If the line of action proposed is within his competence, he should proceed to record minimum
noting and issue appropriate replies or order.
[hi] If he needs any directions or guidance from the higher level or if the nature or importance of
the case or the proposed action is such as to require decision at the next higher level, he should
take the case personally to the next higher authority for decision and seek instructions (Section
Officer should take them direct to the Deputy Secretary). After recording the gist of the discussions
he may issue orders or replies where no consultation with other Departments is involved. But e
should obtain approval of the proposed reply/orders from the Deputy Secretary on the file. In
respect of other cases, he should take necessary further action as per Rules of Business.
[vi] Where the cases require approval of the higher authorities like Secretary/Minister/Cabinet
etc., the officers should submit the case to the next higher authority (Section Office will submit
them direct to the Deputy Secretary) with a self contained note on the issues involved suggesting
the course of action where possible, observing instructions applicable to such cases.
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8
143
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Bangalore,
dated 7th March, 1977
No. DPAR 2 TSM 75,
U.O.Note
Subject: Revised Scheme of Officer Oriented Noting
System - Instruction of - Instructions -
Recently, as per decision taken in the last Secretaries’ Meeting, suitable instructions have been
issued in Official Memorandum of even number, dated 19,h February, 1977 to the Secretariat
Departments to introduce the revised scheme of Officer Oriented Noting System in a few Sections.
In Government of India, Desk Officer System has been introduced in various Ministries/
Departments and in selecting the Sections for this purpose, certain guidelines are followed. An
extract of the guidelines issued by the Government of India is enclosed for information. I Im
Secretariat Departments may kindly keep these guidelines in view in selecting the sections for
introducing the revised scheme as per O.M. dated 19*h February, 1977.
Sd/V.A.GUMASTE
Deputy Secretary to Government
Dept, of Personnel & Administrative Reforms
[Administrative Reforms-I]
. $
144
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Extract of the guidelines issued by the Government of India for
introduction of Desk Officer System in
Secretariat wings
Criteria for conversion to Desk Officer System:
[a] a wing which has
[I] a high degree of homogeneity of functions with well defined and homogenous sub-functions,
activities and related programmes assigned to 2 or more divisions/sub-divisions under it, and
[h] a sizeable [say 40 percent or more of its total workload] amount of work relating to strategic
policy-making, planning and problem-solving
Is suitable for conversion to the Desk Officer System:
[b] a wing which has a large content of routine or repetitive type of work requiring simple
application of rules and regulations is not suitable for conversion to the system.
[c] a wing which is mainly concerned with issues involving simple reference handling and
application of policy in specific operational situations [ like career planning, cadre management,
financial management, etc.] is also suitable for conversion to the new system but restructuring in
such cases could be taken up at a later phase of implementation.
[d] the Desk Officer System could also be introduced in a sub-system e.g., in a wing which deals
with policy, operational matters, personnel and finance, the division or sections dealing with
personnel matter could continue on the conventional system while the terms dealing with policy
etc., switched over to the new pattern.
145
i
GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA
No. DPAR 7 ASM 77[P]
Karnataka Government Secretariat
Vidhana Soudha
Bangalore,
dated 19’h April, 1979
CIRCULAR
Subject: Officer-oriented noting system in the Karnataka Government Secretariat
A review of the functioning of the system was undertaken recently and it is noticed that this
'
‘ ; even there, some Sections have
system has been introduced only in about six departments;
been left out, while the system has been introduced in the others.
2. In the meanwhile, here have been requests that the system need not be introduced in some
departments and they have been examined with care.
3. In suppression of all earlier orders, it is hereby directed that[I] those departments, which do not want to introduce this system are
at liberty not to introduce it.
[ii] If, in some departments, it has been introduced and is working satisfactorily, there is no
objection to its being continued.
[iii] If, in some others, the system is not working satisfactorily and the Commissioner/Secretary
desires to revert to the old system, he may do so, after informing the DPAR so that the excess
number of Under Secretaries and others etc., could be deployed elsewhere.
[iv] If some departments want to introduce this system afresh, they may do so, after obtaining
the formal concurrence of the Finance Department.
4
On the whole, the discretion to give up the system, extend it or to introduce it afresh, as the
case may be, is left to the Commissioncrs/Secrctaries concerned.
Sd/N.NARASIMHARAU
Chief Secretary to Government
146
ANNEXURE TO CIRCULAR NO. DPAR 14 DSY 92.
Dated 1-1-1993
SOFA SETS
BOOK SHELFS
Armed Typist
Fold
ing
Big
Piece
Small
Piece
CHAIRS
MISCELLANEOUS
TABLES
Designation
SL
NO
Revo- Box
lying Type
L’
Shaped
U’
Shaped
Offi
cers
Assis
tants
Typists
Ordi
nary
Table
Glass
Teapoy
Stool
Revo
lving
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
19
5
6
18
4
17
3
0
1
1
2
2
1
20
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
2
1
3
1
2
1
3
0
3
3
15
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
2
1
15
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
2
Secys./Spl.Secys.
2
1
1
0
2
0
2
2
6
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
Per Est.of Commrs.
0
4
0
1
1
1
2
1
7
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
2
Ad cl 1. S ecys/J t. S e cy s
1
5
6
Per.Est.of Addl.
1
1
1
1
0
2
0
1
1
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
2
1
7
0
2
2
0
0
0
1
2
1
Ministers &
Ministers of State
2
Per.Est.of Ministers
& Ministers of State
3
Commissioners &
Secys/Joint Secys.
7
C
Dy.Secys. & Officers
1
of Equal status
8
Per.Est.of Dy.Secys.
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
2
0
1
1
0
1
0
4
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
Under Secys.& Offi
0
9
of Equal status
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
P.As.to Under Secys.
0
0
10
1
1
1
0
2
0
5
1
2
0
0
4
0
0
1
0
Sections/Officers
0
11
6
0
1
1
0
4
0
7
0
2
0
0
0
1
0
R&I Section
0
0
12
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Typing Pool
0
0
13
6
20
16
18
20
16
35
16
85
23
50
22
23
22
6
10
21
GRAND TOTAL :
147
SL
Designation
NO
ALMIRAH
RACKS
FILETRAYS WASTE PAPER
FILE BOX
CLOCKS
TYPEWRITERS
BASKETS
Side
File
Foot Carpet
Rack
Rack
Rest
Diwan Small
Big
Photo Screen English Por
Kan-
table
nada
38
39
Plastic Bam- Plastic Wall
Time
Clock
Piece
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
Big
Small
Steel
25
26
27
28
29
boo
1
2
20
21
22
23
24
1
Ministers &
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
3
0
2
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
3
0
7
0
5
0
0
0
0
2
2
0
0
3
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
2
0
2
3 1
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
2
0
4
0
3
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
2
0
1
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
2
0
2
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
2
1
0
1
2
0
3
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
2
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
1 .
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
0
2
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
2
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
3
0
0
3
0
7
2
6
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
Ministers of State
2
Per.Est.of Ministers
8c Ministers of State
3
Commissioners &
Secys./Spl.Secys.
4
Per Est.of Commrs.
5
Addl.Secys/Jt.Secys
G
Per.Est.of Addl.
Secys./Joint Secys.
7
Dy.Secys. 8c Officers
of Equal status
8
Per.Est.of Dy.Secys.
9
Under Secys.8c Offi
of Equal status
10
P.As.to Under Secys.
11
Sections/Officers
12
R&I Section
2
3
0
0
4
0
7
0
7
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
13
Typing Pool
2
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
GRAND TOTAL :
36
34
27
27
43
26
58
40
53
39
35
31
34
37
40
40
41
44
39
44
Typing Pools shall be provided with Typewriter (with cover). Typist Table & Chair, depending on the strength, in addition, two stools. ALMIRAH. Side Rack one each shall also be provided.
148
ANNEXURE TO CIRCULAR NO. DPAR 14 DSY 92.
OTHER STATIONERY ARTICLES
Dated 1-1-1993
Pen
Kinto
Paper
Cutter
14
15
16
17
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
0
0
2
2
1
1
1
Punch
Stapler
Stencil
Pl + Pen
Ash
Trays
Pencil
Poc
Calling
Bell
3
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
3
1
0
0
0
5
1
3
0
0
1
. 1
1
1
1
2
0
1
1
4
1
0
1
0
3
1
2
Designation
Paper
Weight
1
2
Ministers &
1
Scissors
BOXES
Cabinet
Council
Pin
Cus
hion
4
SL
No.
TELEPHONE
Stand
Dire
13
Ministers of State
2
Per.Est.of Ministers
& Ministers of State
3
Commissioners &
Secys./Spl.Secys.
4
Per Est.of Commrs.
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
5
Addl.Secys/Jt.Secys
4
1
0
0
0
2
1
2
0
0
1
2
1
1
1
6
Per.Est.of Addl.
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
o
o
0
3
1
0
1
0
2
0
1
0
0
1
2
1
0
1
0
Secys./Joint Sccys.
7
Dy.Secys. & Officers
of Equal status
8
Per.Est.of Dy.Secys.
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
9
Under Secys.& Offi
3
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
of Equal status
10
P.As.to Under Secys.
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
11
Sections/Officers
2
1
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
12
R&I Section
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
GRAND TOTAL:
20
7
7
9
4
16
4
12
3
3
8
14
6
4
5
149
___ ,
SL Designation
NO
Brief Dicta
case Phone
Pen
Set
Matt
ress
20
21
Cushion Towel
Long
Half
Door
Carpet
Table
Qoth
F.
cushion
Cups
Sau
cers
Glass
jug
Flask
SUPPLIED BY P.W.D
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
Rubber
mat
1
2
18
19
1
Ministers &
0
0
1
1
1
1
4
2
2
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
& Ministers of Slate
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
2
2
1
1
1
12
12
6
1
1
1
Commissioners &
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
1
3
2
2
1
0
1
12
12
4
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
2
2
2
1
0
3
6
6
3
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
*1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
3
3
3
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
1
4
2
3
4
11
22
10
5
3
6
30
33
18
6
3
Ministers of State
2
3
23
22
Per.Esl.of Ministers
Secys./Spl.Secys.
4
Per Est.of Commrs.
5
Ad d 1 .Secys/J t.S ecy s
6
Per.Esl.of Addl.
Secys./Joint Secys.
7
Dy.Sccys. & Officers
of Equal status
8
I At. Es l .of Dy .S ecy s .
9
Under Sccv.s.& Offi
of Equal stall ;
10
P.As.to Under Secys.
11
Sections,Officers
12
R&I Section
2
GRAND TOTAL :
Typing Pools shall be provided with Typewriter (with cover), Typist Table & Chair, depending on the strength, in addition, two stools, Almirahs, Side Rack one each shall
also be provided.
* Who are dealing with KAT Matters.
150
Set up of the office of Divisional Commissioner
Office of the Divisional Commissioner Mysore
Mysore Division
Group-A
Gazetted Asst.l
TOTAL:
Group-B
Gazetted Manager 2
Group-C
Head Accountant
Superintendent
Revenue Auditor
A/cs Suptd.
Internal Auditor
NES Accountant
1st Dvn.Assistant
2nd Dvn.Assistant
Stenographer
Typist
Driver
1
2
6
1
2
1
26
9
5
5
2
Group-A
Group-B
Group-C
Group-D
Gazetted Asst 1
Gazetted Manager 2
1
Head Accountant
Accounts Suptd.(IAP)
1
10
Shirastedar
4
Rev.Auditors
Accountant
1
1st Division Assistant 14
2nd Division Assistant 19
Stenographer
3
Typist
7
Driver
1
Daftari
Binder
Jamedar
Daffedar
Peon
1
1
1
1
12
80
Office of the Divisional Commissioner Belgaum
Group-A
Group-B
Group-C
Group-D
Gazetted Asst.l
Gazetted Manager 2
Superintendent (IAP)
1
6
Rev.Auditor
Auditor (IAP)
2
Shirastedar
8
Stenographer
3
6
Typist
1st Division Assistant 11
2nd Division Assistant 13
Driver
1
Head Accountant
1
Hawaldar
Binder
Attender
Peon
Cycle Orderly
Watchman
Sweeper
2
52
1
TOTAL
16
2
1
Belgaum Division
TOTAL:
88
Office of the Divisional Commissioner Gulbarga
Gulbarga Division
TOTAL:
TOTAL
4
1
1
13
2
2
2
25
60
2
1
Group-D
Binder
Jamedar
Daffedar
Peons
Cycle Orderly
Watchman
Sweeper
TOTAL
2
1
1
11
2
2
2
76
21
151
1
- 1 (TO
03734 °oL
A''
/ */
v
> . Ci
1
■
I
■
I
I
t
District, Sub Division Taluka and Hobli level set up of
Agriculture Department
DESIGNATION
STATE SECTOR
Z.P SECTOR
TOTAL
Joint Director Of Agriculture
NIL
16
16
Deputy Director Of Agriculture
1
39
40
Assistant Director Of Agriculture
22
262
284
Agriculture Officer
122
209
331
Assistant Agriculture Officer
318
1975
2293
Agriculture Assistants
125
2599
2724
TOTAL
588
5100
5688
i
1
I
I
I
1
152
I
'■•I
I
■ ’ ■ I
a
DETAILS OF POSTS IN FOREST DEPARTMENT
GROUP-A
368
1 Principal Chief Conservator Of Forest
3
GROUP-B
855
2 Chief Conservator Of Forest
8
GROUP-C
7667
3 Conservator Of Forest
25
GROUP-D
1427
4 Deputy Conservator Of Forest
5 Assistant Conservator of Forest.
152
180
TOTAL
10317
TOTAL
368
Details Of Posts Of Conservator of Forest And Deputy Conservatoif’ of Forest in the Districts
Mysore District
Conservator of Forest, Mysore
Conservator of Forest,Wild life,Mysore
Director of Project Tiger.
1
2
3
1 Deputy Conservator of Forest,Mysore
2 Deputy Conservator of Forest,Hunsur
3 Deputy Conservator of Forest,Mysore(vigilance)
4 Deputy Conservator of Forest,Mysore,Z P
5 Deputy Conservator of Forest, Wild Life,Hunsur
6 Deputy Conservator of Forest
(Working Plan& Survey),Mysore
Gulbarga District
1 Deputy Conservator of Forest,Gulbarga.
Conservator of Forest, Gulbarga.
2 Deputy Conservator of Forest,ZP Gulbarga.
Bangalore District (Urban)
1 Deputy Conservator of Forest, Bangalore (Urban)
1
Conservator of Forest (Social Forestry),
Southern Range, Bangalore
2
Conservator of Forest,
and Research),. Bangalore
Central Region (Research),Bangalore
Bangalore District (Rural)
2 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Development), Bangalore
3 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Vigilance), Bangalore
4 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Environmental Forest
till j
-I 'i If
I
I
h
r
1 Deputy Conservator of Forest, (Rural), Bangalore
2 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Z.P.), Bangalore
3 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Kaveri Wild Life),
Kanakapura.
Bellary District
Belgaum District
1 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Protection and
Management), Bellary
2 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Vigilance), Bellary
3 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Social Forestry), Bellary
4 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Research and
Utilisation), East Range, Bellary.
5 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Plan Survey), Bellary
Conservator of Forest (Research and Utilisation),
6 Deputy
1
Bellary."
u
If
tin)
1 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Protection and
Management), Belgaum.
2 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Vigilance), Belgaum
3 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Z.P.), Social Forestry,
Belgaum
4 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Plan'Review), Belgaum
5 Deputy Conservator of Forest, Gokak
.U153
■4
Uttara Kannada District
1 Conservator of Forest, Sirsi.
I
1
2
3
4
5
Deputy Conservator of Forest, Sirsi
Deputy Conservator of Forest, Hattihal
Deputy Conservator of Forest, Yallapur
Deputy Conservator of Forest, Honnavar
Deputy Conservator of Forest, Karwar
6 Deputy Conservator of Forest, JSPM-4
7 Deputy Conservator of Forest, PATC, Sirs
8 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Vigilance), Sirsi
9 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Wild Life), Dandeli.
Hassan District
1
Oi
I
Conservator of Forest, Hassan
Tumkur District
1 Deputy Conservator of Forest. Tumkur
2 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Z.P), Tumkur
3 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Social Forestry), Hassan
Shimoga District
1 Deputy Conservator of Forest. Shimoga
1
2
Conservator of Forest, Shimoga
2 Deputy Conservator of Forest. Bhadravathi
Conservator of Forest (Wild Life),. Shimoga 3 Deputy Conservator of Forest, Sagar
4 Deputy Conservator of Forest, JFPM-4
5 Deputy Conservator of Forest, PATC, Shimoga
6 Deputy Conservator of Forest, (Vigilance), Shimoga
7 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Social Forestry), Z.P,
Shimoga
8 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Tree Development),
Shimoga
9 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Working Plan & Survey).
Shimoga.
Chikmagalore District
1
2
3
4
Kodagu District
1 Conservator of Forest, Madikeri
1 Deputy Conservator of Forest, Madikeri
2 Deputy Conservator of Forest, Virajpet
.•
J
I
- 3
1 Deputy Conservator of Forest, Hassan
2 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Z.P), Hassan
3 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Vigilance), Hassan
4 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Social Forestry), Hassan
Deputy Conservator of Forest, Chikmagalore
Deputy Conservator of Forest, Koppa
Deputy Conservator of Forest (Wild Life), Chickmagalore
Deputy Conservator of Forest (Working Plan & Survey),
Chickmagalore
3 Deputy Conservator of Forest(Vigilance), Madikeri
4 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Research). Madikeri
Dakshina Kannada District
4
J
1
1
I
Dharwad District
1 Conservator of Forest
(Training & Extension)
Chamarajanagar District
I
1 Deputy Conservator of Forest, Mangalore
2 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Z.P). Mangalore
3 Deputy Conservator of Forest. Kundapur.
1 Deputy Conservator of Forest, Dharwad
Deputy Conservator of Forest (Z.P.), Dharwad
3 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Trg. & Extend.).
Gungargatta
4 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Working Plan Survey),
D harwad
1 Deputy Conservator of Forest. Chamarajanagar
2 Deputy Conservator of Forest (Wild Life).
Chamarajanagar.
3 Deputy Director. Tiger Project. Gimdlupet (Bandipura)
9
NOTE: - Other 12 Disricts have two Deputy Conservators offorest only
154
-
DETAILS OF REVENUE EXPENDITURE NON-PLAN FOR
2000-2001.
fe-
SL. REVENUE A/C’S
NO
1
2
3
4
i
I
1
i
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
NON-PLAN
RRT
Motor Vehicles
Maintenance
Materials & Supplies
Other Charges
Maintenance & Repairs
4,423.84
1,578.00
9.94
53.14
20.69
21.63
42.96
7.99
12.17
21.06
48.09
SUB-TOTAL:-
6,239.51
Other GIAs
Subsidies
Interest
1,314.73
1,200.69
2,922.59
SUB-TOTAL:-
5,438.01
Salaries (State 4- Z.P)
Pension
Wages
Travel Expenses
Office Expenses
PERCENTAGE
OF NON-PLAN
32.68%
11.66%
9.71%
8.87%
21.59%
21
Diet/Medicine
Scholarship/Stipends
Expenditure On Schemes (ZP)
Works
CSS\CPS\SPS NP Schemes
Natural Calamities
Cash & Incentive Awards
16.35
39.04
61.14
53.47
1,486.59
50.28
40.09
22
23
24
Nutrition’s
Rural Water Supply Schemes
Lumpsum
60.23
3.77
43.24
1,854.20
13.70%
Governor/Ministers
5.85
0.04%
SUB-TOTAL:-
5.85
SUB-TOTAL:-
25
I
ill
SCHEMES
15
16
17
18
19
20
I
i
13,537.57
NON-PLAN TOTAL:-
NOTE :-There are 31 items of expenditure. The salary component of Z.P has been merged
with State Sector and the other items under which the expenditure is neglible have
been ignored.
155
I
5.
Period of transfer:
[1] Transferring authority shall ensure that the number of employees transferred in any
year shall be as minimum as possible.
[2] No transfers shall ordinarily be done during the months other than the month of April
and May. At other times of the year, any transfer should be only under extraordinary
circumstances, and only with prior approval of the Chief Minister.
II
[3] Transfers once made cannot be altered or modified within the same years without
previous approval of the Chief Minister.
i
I
[4] Transfer cannot be claimed as a matter of right and a transfer should not be effected to
award punishment.
6.
Deputation on transfer:
No Government employee shall ordinarily be posted on deputation outside the parent
department more than five years. A persons who has served for more than five years
outside the parent department on deputation shall serve at least two years in the parent
department before he is transferred on deputation further.
7.
Husband and wife:
[1] As far as possible where both husband and wife are Government employee they shall
be transferred to work in the same place or a place nearer to the place in which the
other spouse is working.
1
[2] Notwithstanding anything contained in section 3 and 5 they may be posted to work in
same place, but such transfers shall be against a clear vacancy or a vacancy occurred
due to transfer of a Government employee on completion of the minimum period
specified therein.
3
8.
Premature transfers:
[1] There shall ordinarily be no premature transfers except in cases where the employee
voluntarily requests for the transfer as in 3(d) or under administrative grounds as in 3
(b).
[2] Where it is necessary that premature transfer is to be done after the months of April and
May, the approval of the Chief Minister shall necessarily be obtained before such transfer.
I
[3] No order for transfer of any Government employee shall be carried out, if it results in
premature transfer of other Government employee, without previous sanction of the
Chief Minister.
[4] Where premature transfer is made on the request of the Government servant, it shall be
categorically specified in the transfer order that "the-employee is not entitled for Transfer
Allowance”.
1
1
I
i
!
9.
Posting on first appointment or on promotion:
[1] A person on first appointment or on promotion be posted to a place keeping in view his
hometown. Unless it is unavoidable, such posting order shall not be altered or modified.
[2] Government employee returning to duty after completion of 120 days leave need not
be posted to work in the same place where he was working before he went on leave by
transferring the other person who was working in his place during the period of leave.
10. Examination by Medical Board:
The Government employee who willfully avoid transfer orders and applies for leave on
medical grounds shall be invariably referred to medical Board for examination.
158
11. Vacancies on transfer.
The Transferring Authority shall always ensure that not more than twenty percent of vacancy
is available in any of the district after effecting transfer.
12. Office Bearers of Employees Association
No office bearer of the Government Employees Association shall be transferred from the
place he is working during the period of his first two tenures as office bearer in the said
place. The Transferring Authority may after confirming that the office bearer has completed
two tenures in the said place may transfer him.
13. On completion of the minimum period of service, every employee would give five options,
to indicate his place of posting. The transferring authority should on the basis of date of
retirement, disability, native place etc. prioritise the postings in case more than one employee
request for posting in the same place. Each department must finalise the transfers through
the process of counselling.
14. Rule making clause:
The State Government may after previous publication by notification make rules to carry
out the purpose of the Act.
15. Any violation of any clause under this Act can be appealed against under the normal
procedure of law or as provided under the rules propose to be issued under this Act.
159
SCHEDULE-I
(See Section 3)
Category of the Government
Servants
Minimum period of
service in a place
Maximum period of
service in a place
A Group
3
4
B Group
4
5
SCHEDULE-II
(See proviso to section 3)
Minimum
period
service in a
place
3
_______ 2____________________
1________________
Deputy Commissioner
Commercial Taxes
3
Commercial
Tax Officer
Department
3
Deputy Superintendent
Excise Department
3
Excise Inspector
Sub Inspector
2
3
Range Forest Officer
Forest Department
Assistant Conservator of Forests
2
3
Regional t ransport Officer
Motor Vehicles
Assistant Regional Transport
Department
3
Officer
3
Senior Inspect of Vehicles
3
Inspector of Motor Vehicles
District Registrar (district
Stamps and Registration
3
undervaluation supervison)
Department
3
District Registrar
3
Assistant Engineer
3
First Division Sub Registrar
Second Division Sub Registrar
2
Chief Engineer
3
Engineering Division
3
Superintendent Engineer
in PWD and Rural
3
Development & Panchayat Sub-Chief Engineer
Raj Department.
3
Executive Engineer
Assistant Executive Engineer
3
3
Assistant Engineer
Junior Engineer
2
3
Irrigation Department
Chief Engineer:
Superintendent
3
Engineer:
Sub-Chief Engineer
3
Executive Engineer
Assistant Executive Engineer
3
Assistant Engineer
3
Junior Engineer
3
Department
-
1
■
li
■
Designations
•
160
Maximum
period of
service in a
place
4
4
4
4
2
4
2
4
4
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2
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4
GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA
KARNATAKA LOKAYUKTA
BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
No. LOK/INV(G)/AR(A)/2000-2001
MULTISTOREYED BUILDING,
DR.B.R.AMBEDKAR VEEDHI,
BANGALORE-560001.
DATED 29-12-2000.
To,
The Hon’ble Chairman,
Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission,
Vidhana Soudha, Bangalore.
I
Sir,
Sub:
Furnishing of Additional information regarding the Trap and Raid
conducted by the Lokayukta, from 1986 to Oct’2000.
Ref:
This office letter of even No. dtd. 25-10-2000.
With reference to the subject cited above, I am furnishing the following additional informations
for taking further needful action in the matter.
i
!
1.
Total No. of Raid and trap cases registered
from 1986 to end of 10/2000.
2840 cases.
2.
Total No. of cases have been charge sheeted
1677 cases.
3.
Total No. of cases ended in ‘B’ report.
616 cases.
4.
Total No. of cases referred for D.E.
148 cases.
5.
Total No. of cases under investigation.
399 cases.
/
Out of 229 cases registered as raid cases its disposal sown as follows: 1.
2.
3.
81 cases have been charge sheeted in various courts of law.
64 cases ended in ‘B’ report.
84 cases under investigation with the investigating officers.
I ’
Out of 81 charge sheeted cases, the courts have disposed off the said cases as shown below: - '
1.
2.
3.
4.
Conviction
Acquitted
Discharge
Charge abate summary in 3 cases
in 2 cases
in 13 cases
in 2 cases
161
I
As on 31-10-2000, the total pending trial in the various courts is 61 cases (Raid cases).
Out of 1677 cases charge sheeted, 101 cases ended in conviction, 385 cases ended in acquittal,
34 cases ended in discharge,.39 cases were abated, and 1118 cases are pending trial in various
courts.
I
This is.for kind information.
Yours faithfully,
sd/for Addl.Director General of Police,
Police Wing, Karnataka Lokayukta,
Bangalore.
0
*
i
si
s
.
1
162
■
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As on 31-10-2000, the total pending trial in the various courts is 61 cases (Raid cases).
Out of 1677 cases charge sheeted, 101 cases ended in conviction, 385 cases ended in acquittal,
34 cases ended in discharge, 39 cases were abated, and 1118 cases are pending trial in various
courts.
This is.for kind information.
Yours faithfully,
sd/for Addl.Director General of Police,
Police Wing, Karnataka Lokayukta,
Bangalore.
3
162
■ 1
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Forest and Wild life
SL
NO.
HEAD OF ACCOUNT
NAME OF THE SCHEME
BUDGET
PROVISION
1
2406-01-101-1-03
10.00
2
2406-01-101-2-05
Development of Sandal Wood
Under Compensatory Afforestation
Development of Degraded
Forest (State Sector)
3
2406-01-101-2-09
Rehabilitation of Degraded
Forest (State Sector)
5.81
4
2406-01-101-2-12
Bamboos and Cane Planting
0.10
5
2406-01-101-2-15
0.10
6
2406-01-101-2-16
Conservation & Development. Of Medical Plants
Sandal Estate Scheme
7
2406-01-101-2-17
0.10
8
2406-01-102-2-18
Intensive Management of Teak
Road Side Plantation (State Sector)
9
10
2406-01-102-2-19
2406-01-102-2-22
11
12
2406-01-102-2-23
2406-01-102-2-25
Raising of Seedlings for Public Distribution
Non-Clonal Orchards and seed Farms
Eco Tourism
13
2406-01-102-2-27
Support for Planting on 1Private Holdings
0.10
14
2406-01-102-2-29
Vanavigyana Kendra
0.10
15
2406-01-102-2-30
Devarakadu Pavitravana
0.10
16
2406-01-800-0-01
Vanamahotsava
6.24
17
2406-01-800-0-07
Sports and Games
6.62
18
2406-02-110-0-07
CSS for Control of Poaching
and Trading of Wild Life
1.00
19
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary
4.00
20
2406-02-110-0-10
2406-02-110-0-21
Melkote Sanctuary
4.00
21
2406-02-110-0-22
Ghataprabha Sanctuary
4.00
22
2406-02-110-0-25
Gudavi Bird Sanctuary
4.00
23
2406-02-110-0-30
Adichunchunagiri Pea-cock Sanctuary
4.00
24
2406-02-110-0-31
Arabhithittu Sanctuary
4.00
25
26
28
2406-02-112-0-01
Eco-Development In Bandipura National Park
Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited
Improvements In The Wild Life
Sanctuaries And National Park
Lalbagh Botanical Gardens Development
10.00
27 •
2406-02-110-0-39
2406-02-110-0-41
2406-02-110-0-43
29
2406-02-112-0-02
Comprehensive Development Of
Central Administrative Area
(Chamaraja Park & Vidhana Soudha
Unit Gardens) •
30
2406-02-112-0-03
Maintenance of other Parks
& Gardens in the State
319.16
31
2406-02-112-0-04
Environmental improvements
in Hospital Gardens/Public
office in the State
2.77
Maintenance & Development of
Hill Stations in the State
67.98
Development of Gardens in
Irrigation Projects
2.47
FM Cairappa Memorial Park
5.00 .
32
33
i
34
2406-02-112-0-05
2406-02-112-0-06
2406-02-112-0-12
Village Forest Committees (State Sector)
1
163
5.00
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10 •
0.10
0.10
0.50
0.50
103.92
136.37
I
i
SI Head of Account
No.
12 2401-00-800-2-23
■
13
2401-00-800-2-24
14
15
2401- 00-101-0-01
2402- 00-102-0-01
16
2402-00-102-2-22
17
18
2402-00-102-0-80
2401-00-119-1-12
19 2401-00-119-2-02
20
21
22
I
23
J
2401-00-119-3-02
2401-00-800-1-31
2401-00-800-1-32
2401-00-800-2-02
24
2401-00-800-2-07
25
2401-00-800-2-09
26
27
2401-00-800-2-15
2402- 00-102-0-84
28
2402-00-102-0-85
29
30
2402-00-102-0-86
2402-00-102-0-87
31
2402-00-102-0-88
32
2402-00-102-0-01
Names of the scheme
Development of
Horticulture under
New Macro Management
Mode
Horticulture Census
in Karnataka
Soil Survey Organisation
Soil Conservation on
Watershed basisDirectorate
Sponsoring studies
and other activities
under State land use
board (Nuclens Cell)
Raidfed Dry Farming
Special Programme
for Development of
Grapes for Export
Market in Bijapur &
Belgaum regions
Demonstration of
Flowers of Floriculture
Centres
Training to Farmers
Karnataka Agricultural
Commission
Development of
Agriculture under New
Macro Management Mode
Establishment of Late
Dr. M.H.Marigowda Library
VIII Five Year Plan Scheme
for Root Tuber Crops
(100°/oG.O.I.)
Karnataka Totagarike
Prasasti
Research Support
Integrated Watershed
Management Project
(KFW assisted)
Indo Swiss Project
Watershed Development
(SDC)
ODA Assisted Watershed
Programme
(KAWAD Project)
Comprehensive Water
shed Development
Project (World Bank
Project)
Development of
Agriculture under New
Metro Management
(MODE)
Soil Conservation
Training Centres
166
<7
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Amount for
the scheme
Amount
for salary
Total
1.00
Nil
1.00
1.00
0.02
Nil
77.49
1.00
77.51
0.02
52.92
52.94
1.00
8.60
Nil
126.39
1.00
135.00
3.87
0.13
4.00
Nil
15.10
14.56
39.07
14.56
54.17
5.00
Nil
5.00
1.00
Nil
1.00
2.00
Nil
2.00
10.00
Nil
10.00
3.00
5.00
Nil
Nil
3.00
5.00
1.00
Nil
1.00
1.00
Nil
1.00
1.00
Nil
1.00
1.00
Nil
1.00
1.00
Nil
1.00
0.02
49.33
49.35
Education Department
SL HEAD OF
NO. ACCOUNTS
AMOUNT
NON-PLAN
NIL
1
2202-01-101-0-03
Primary Schools
PLAN
NIL
2
2202-01-101-0-06
Private Primary Schools
300.00
3
2202-01-104-0-00
Inspections
250.00
58.75
4
2202-01-107-0-04
Professional Growth Activites
(Teachers Centres)
NIL
38.49
5
2202-01-101-0-05
English Language And Orientation
6
2202-01-800-1-10
Training Center
Providing Education Facilities To
SC/St Children
NIL
31.16
ALREADY DELETED
7
2202-01-800-1-16
2202-01-800-1-17
Repairs To Classrooms
540.00
Ksheera-Supply Of Milk To School
Children
XXXXX
10
2202-01-800-1-31
2202-01-800-1-34
Minimum Levels Of Learning
Residential Schools For Talented
SC/ST Girls
ALREADY DELETED
ALREADY DELETED
11
2202-01-800-1-40
Commemoration Of 50th Anniversary
Of Independence Constrution Of Primary
School Building
ALREADY DELETED
12
2202-02-106-0-07
Publication Of Children’s Book Series
NIL
13
2202-02-109-0-03
Govt. High School(State Sector)
ALREADY DELETED
14
2202-02-110-2-01
Assistance To Non-Govt.
Secondary Such
415.00
4,261.00
15
16
2202-02-110-3-02
2202-02-800-4-00
Equipment To Sainik School, Bijapur
CSS Of Environmental Orientation To
School Education
10.00
1.83
17
2202-02-800-5-00
ALREADY DELETED
18
2202-03-107-1-10
Strengthening The Staff Component Of
PU Directorate
State Council For Higher Education
ALREADY DELETED
19
Component Plan For Women
ALREADY DELETED
20
2202-03-800-1-15
2202-03-102-0-14
21
2202-03-102-0-07
Institute For Management And Business
Studies
ALREADY DELETED
22
23
2202-03-112-0-08
Council For Historical Research
Shramik Vidya Peetha
ALREADY DELETED
2202-04-102-0-00
24
2202-05-103-0-06
Providing Facilities For
25
2202-80-001-0-00
26
2202-80-107-0-04
27
2202-80-107-0-05
28
2203-00-106-0-01
Upgradation Of Merit Scholarship To
SC/ST Students
Starting Of Book Bank For
29
2202-00-107-4-00
SC/ST Students
Foodcraft Institute, Bangalore.
NOT PROVIDED
SCHOLOERSHIPS
30
2203-00-112-0-02
S.K.S.J.T Institute, Bangalore.
10.00
31
2203-00-800-0-06
Materials
2203-00-800-0-13
Supply Of Instruments And Drawing
8
9
|
SCHEMES
32
Institute Of Chairs In University
Teaching Sanskrit In Secondary
Direction And Administration(General)
Education Concession To Dependants Of
Service Personnel
NIL
NIL
NIL
NOT PROVIDED
ALREADY DELETED
ALREADY DELETED
NIL
24.65
NIL
NOT
1.00
PROVIDED
70.09
ALREADY DELETED
ALREADY DELETED
Tribal Sub-Plan
XXXX.The Head Of Account 2202 01-800-1-17 is allotcd to the scheme of conslrulion of class Hoorrj
exclusive to class and an allocation of Rs. 1200.00 Lakhs has been provided under plan.
167
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Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission
No. 9, 3rd Floor, Sth Stage, M.S. Building, Bangalore - 560 001.
Phone: 2257064, 2092934
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