District Administration

 

District Administration

The The district is the fundamental unit of government administration below the state level in India. All Indian states are divided into districts. The districts are further divided into sub- divisions and talukas (or tehsils). The government appoints agencies and officials for managing the affairs of a district. Together, they comprise the district administration. We will study about the officials and agencies involved in the administration of a district in this chapter.

 

STRUCTURE OF DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION

The District Collector, also known as a Deputy Commissioner or District Magistrate is the head of district administration. He is appointed by the government and is an officer from the Indian Administrative Services (IAS). The District Collector is in charge of the complete administration of a district.

 

A District Collector supervising work

The District Collector has a number of officials and agencies under him to help him in this work. For example, revenue officers and Patwaris help the Collector in revenue collection and maintenance of land records respectively. 

The police help the Collector in maintaining law and order in a district. Besides government officials and agencies, districts also have courts for the administration of justice. District courts are under the control of the State High Court, not the District Collector.

 

STRUCTURE OF DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION
Maintenance of Law and Order	Revenue Administration	Civil Amenities and Development	District Civil Surgeon, Chief Medical Officer
Superintendent of police	Tehsildar		District Inspector of School
Dy.Superintendent of police	Naib Tehsildar		District Planning Officer
Inspectors	Kanungo		Executive Engineer
Sub-Inspectors	Patwari or Lekhpal		Urban local Bodies and panchayati Raj Institutions
Assistant Sub-Inspectors
Head constables

 

FUNCTIONS OF DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION

All the important functions of the district administration are carried out under the supervision of district collector. The functions of the district administration include:

1. Revenue administration, i.e., collection of revenue and maintenance of land records.
2. Maintenance of law and order.
3. Monitoring the work of municipalities and panchayats.
4. Providing amenities like education and healthcare.
5. Carrying out relief work in case of natural disasters or calamities.

6.     

REVENUE ADMINISTRATION

Collection of revenue and maintenance of land records is among the primary tasks of the district administration. At the village level, an official known as a Patwari is responsible for collecting revenue from farmers. He is also known as Lekhpal, Kanungo, Karamchari, or Village Officer. He usually looks after a group of villages.

 

Besides collecting land revenue, the Patwari keeps records of who owns land in a village and updates them regularly. He measures farmers' lands and fields and records the details. He often marks the boundaries of the lands on a map. These records are important in settling land disputes between farmers. Farmers cannot obtain bank loans without these records. Another important function of the Patwari is keeping the government informed about the crops being grown in a village.

 

The work of Patwaris is monitored by tehsildars. Tehsildars are revenue officers at the tehsil level. These officers are responsible for ensuring land records are maintained properly and farmers have access to the records. They make sure land revenue is collected on time from all villages in their area. They also hear land disputes in the area. Usually, the work of tehsildars is supervised by Sub-Divisional Officers at the sub-division level. At the district level, the entire revenue administration is supervised by the District Collector.

 

MAINTENANCE OF LAW AND ORDER

The District Collector is responsible for the maintenance of the law and order in a district. The Additional District Magistrate, Sub- Divisional Magistrate, and the Superintendent of Police help him in this task.

 

Role of Police

The Superintendent of Police is the head of the police force in a district. He has several officers working under him. For the purpose of police administration, the district is further divided into sub-divisions and circles. At the sub-division level, the Deputy Superintendent of the Police maintains law and order. Police Inspectors are in charge of circles. Each circle has a number of police stations, which look after specific areas.

 

Police stations are the fundamental unit of police administration in a district.

It is the police station where people report cases and register complaints. People can only report cases to the police station under which their area falls. The Station House Officer (SHO), usually a Sub-Inspector, is in charge of a police station. He is assisted by Assistant Sub-Inspectors, Head Constables, and Constables. These officials enquire, investigate, and take action on complaints and cases that come to them. Each district also has a jail, in charge of a jailor.

 

SUPERVISING LOCAL BODIES

The district administration plays an important role in supervising the functioning of local bodies. The District Collector monitors the work of the Panchayati Raj institutions and municipalities in the district. He acts as a link between them and the state government. In some states, there are other government officers who monitor rural or urban bodies at the district level and help implement their development plans.

 

PROVIDING CIVIC AMENITIES

The district administration is responsible for providing amenities like healthcare, education, roads, etc. The government appoints several officers to make sure these facilities are provided in a district.

 

An Inspector of Schools or District Education Officer looks after schools in the district. He heads the Education Department. A Civil Surgeon or District Medical Officer, who heads the Health Department, looks after healthcare, hospitals, and dispensaries in the district. An Executive Engineer, who heads the Public Works Department, looks after tasks like maintenance and construction of roads and bridges, etc. Officers are also appointed to ensure proper distribution of food and other essential commodities such as kerosene, sugar, etc. All these officers are supervised by the District Collector.

 

CONDUCTING RELIEF WORK

The district administration undertakes relief work in case of any natural disasters or emergencies such as earthquakes, floods, epidemics, etc. The District Collector is the overall in-charge of relief work in the district. He is also responsible for precautionary measures such as evacuation of people from areas prone to disasters.

 

JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION

In order to provide justice to the citizens of the country, the judiciary plays an important role. For this, each district resolves disputes between citizens or between citizens and the government. Disputes could be either categorized as civil or criminal.

 

Civil cases relate to property, money, land, etc., and these are resolved in civil courts. They are headed by a District Judge or an Additional District Judge.

Criminal cases relate to crimes such as theft, robbery, cheating, bribery, corruption, murder, etc., and these are resolved in criminal courts.These are presided by a Sessions Judge.

At the sub-division level, there are lower or subordinate courts. They are presided by judges such as Additional Sessions Judge, Chief Judicial Magistrate, etc. They have lesser powers than the judges of district courts. Decisions of lower courts are first heard by district courts and consequently by the High Court. Decisions of district courts can be challenged in the High Court of the concerned state.

 

New Terms District administration: Agencies and officials appointed by the government for managing the affairs of a district. District Collector: Head of the district administration; also known as Deputy Commissioner or District Magistrate. Revenue administration: Collection of revenue and maintenance of land records. Patwari: Official who collects revenue from farmers in villages; also known as Lekhpal, Kanungo, Karamchari, or Village Officer. Tehsildars: Revenue officers at the tehsil level; monitor the work of Patwaris. Sub-Divisional Officers: Revenue officers at the sub- division level; monitor the work of tehsildars. Superintendent of Police: Head of the police force in a district. Deputy Superintendent of the Police: Maintains law and order at the sub-division level. Circle: Has a number of police stations under it; each police station looks after a specific area. Police Inspectors: In charge of all the police stations in a circle. Station House Officer: Officer in charge of a police station; usually a Sub-Inspector. Jailor: Officer in charge of a jail. Inspector of Schools: Looks after schools in the district; heads the Education department. Civil Surgeon: Looks after healthcare, hospitals, and dispensaries in the district; heads the Health department. Executive Engineer: Looks after tasks such as maintenance and construction of roads and bridges, etc; heads the Public Works Department.