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Chapter 34: MISCELLANEOUS
TOPICS
Administrative Thinker's - Kautilya
The Arthashastra focuses on higher personnel and ignores lower
personnel. The qualities needed in them and their relationship
with the king is the key point. Other than recruitment the
service conditions, pay, retirement for lower and higher
personnel is neglected. Qualitative aspects of public
administration are discussed minutely.
The state has two types of functions: Constituent like law and
order, defence, security and ministrant viz. welfare services.
Other principles of public service are welfare orientation,
unity of command, division of work, coordination, planning,
budgeting, accounting, decentralization, merit based
recruitment, heirarchy and delegation of authority.
Arthashastra didn't believe in separation of executive from
judiciary. the king was the pivot of the kingdom. He was to be
assisted by advisors. But even administration could be tried
for violating rules. Arthashastra recognised importance of
foreign policies and international relations. It focused on
codifying laws and written orders.
Kautilya had a criteria for selecting officials. They were
tested for piety, lure of money, lust and fear. Those who
passed these tests were suitably placed. Officials were
transferred as per kings wishes. Mauryan administration was a
welfare state and unique as it laid emphasis on public welfare
even in an autocratic agrarian state.
Drrawbacks of arthashastra were fundamental mistrust of
officials, focus on individuals than institutions, over
centralization, excess checks and balances. relationship pf
Science of public administration with Vedas isn't valid in
todays world.
It is difficult to determine if Arthashastra refers to
administration of a period or is normative i.e. describes how
ideal administration should be. Principles of public
administration are not given but machinery of government is
described.
However a few of the principles are valid even today.
Administrative Law - Dicey
Administrative law: It covers entire gamut
of public administration including statutes, charters,
rules, regulations, procedures for smooth running of
administration. It is concerned with operation and control
of powers of administration authority with emphasis on
functions rather than structure.
Dicey's rule of law: No man is above the
law. Every person is subject to ordinary law and enables to
jurisdiction of ordinary tribunals. Every citizen is under
same responsibility for act done by him without lawful
justification. In this respect there is no distinction
between officials and private individuals.
Napolean Bonaparte's Droit Administratif:
He felt that there should be separate law for administrative
officials. This Dicey rejected as he felt this would lead to
excess administration and no grievance redress.
Features:
- Subordinates common law , rights of personal freedom,
private property to common good. stress is on public
interest than on individual interest.
- Application of flexible standard for implementation of
law.
- Interpretation of these standards by tribunals.
- Administrative law is not codified but experimental. It
puts public officials in a better position with respect to
people.
Reasons: As welfare state was formed
social interest got precedence over individual rights.
Judicialization of administration was needed for enforcing
social policy and legislation's.
Principles of administrative law:
- Power is conferred on administration by law.
- No power is absolute, uncontrolled no matter how broad
its nature is.
- There should be reasonable restriction on exercising
powers depending on the situation.
Quasi Judicial Executive body - Administrative
tribunal
- Flexible, adaptable as adjudication isn't restricted by
rigid rules of procedures.
- adequate justice, cheap and faster relief than courts.
- Can violate principles of natural justice. Summary
trials. Don't follow precedents. Lack of training in
judicial work for heads of tribunals.
Solutions could be to train tribunal heads in legal acumen.
Civil society members should be appointed. Decisions should
be accompanied by reasons. Principles of natural justice
should be followed.
Critics of Dicey:
- Droit administratif wanted separate courts for
administrators and individuals. This was to ensure more
autonomy to officials to handle contingencies and also as
normal courts couldn't get complex administrative tasks.
- Dicey however wanted single courts and one rule for
regulating individuals and administrators.
- However Dicey hailed UK law which itself gave immunity
to the sovereign so it wasn't equal.
- Also delegated legislation and administrative
adjudication was present in UK too.
- Dicey's rule of law wanted to treat rich and poor
equally and so Marx called it a creator of inequality.
- Dicey didn't take into account future development in
administration and modernization.
Public policy
- Substantive: Concerned with general welfare or
development.
- Regulatory: To regulate trade, business and safety
measures.
- Distributive: Meant for specific sections of the
society.
- Redistributive: Redistribution of policies concerned
with bringing socio economic change.
- Capitalization: Subsidies to state enterprises for
public welfare.
- Technical: Policies framed for arrangement of procedures
which a system shall provide for discharge of action by
various agencies in field.
New Public Management
Restructure government operations along market lines.
Distinguish strategic policy formulation from
implementation. Emphasize performance evaluation and quality
improvement. Stressing upon effective service provision and
value for money for customer.
Characteristics:
- Gain more service from lesser revenues.
- Replace bureaucratic structures with market strategies.
- Keep needs of customer a priority.
- Transfer delivery to lower levels.
- Distinction between policy making and execution.
- Adopt private sector managerial techniques.
- Promote competition among delivery agencies.
NPM has three goals efficiency, economy,
effectiveness.
NPM however reaffirms political administrative dichotomy by
delegating day to day administrative matters to professional
bureaucrats and dealing policies to political leadership.
NPM features:
- Focus on management, performance appraisal and
efficiency.
- Breaking bureaucracy into agencies that deal with each
other on user pay basis.
- Use of quasi markets and contracting out to foster
competition.
- Management style to emphasize on output targets,
monetary incentives, freedom to manage.