'Y unacademy Citizen Centric Administration Siva Prasad'Y unacademy Contents Introduction Barriers to Citizens’ Participation Core Principles for Making Governance Citizen Centric Citizens’ Participation in Administration Decentralization and Delegation Consumer Protection Special Institutional Mechanisms Process Simplification Questions'Y unacademy Decentralization and Delegation The Principle of Subsidiarity The principle states that a central authority should have a subsidiary function, performing only those tasks which cannot be performed effectively at a more immediate or local level. Application of the subsidiarity principle has three great advantages in practical terms. First, local decision-making improves efficiency, promotes self-reliance at the local level, encourages competition and nurtures innovation. Second, democracy is based on three fundamental assumptions: all citizens are equal irrespective of station and birth; the citizen is the ultimate sovereign; and the citizen has the capacity to decide what is in his best interest. Only when these principles are put in practice can a democratic system derive its full legitimacy.'Y unacademy Third, once decision-making and its consequences are integrally linked at the local level, people can better appreciate that hard choices need to be made. Such awareness promotes greater responsibility, enlightened citizenship and maturing of democracy. Decentralization Decentralization is the process of transferring decision making power closer to the people. It includes political decentralization, fiscal decentralization and administrative decentralization. The “new public management” which emerged in the 1990s in some developed countries gave a new perspective to the subject of decentralization. The governments should be creative, market oriented, decentralized, and focused on offering their “customers” the highest quality services. The governments should “steer rather than row” and facilitate and ensure service provision rather than itself undertaking service delivery. This could be achieved by deregulating and privatizing those activities that could be carried out by the private sector or even by citizens’ groups.'Y unacademy Delegation Delegation is primarily about entrusting one’s authority to others. This means that persons to whom authority has been delegated can take decisions and act independently. They also assume responsibility for their actions. Chester Barnard first enunciated the principle of delegation in the context of effective administration. Barriers to Effective Delegation © Reluctance by the superior to delegate © Reluctance by the subordinates to accept delegationOO 0 0 010 oO 'Y unacademy Facilitators of Delegation Transparency - subordinates are provided with the required information. Open communication Subordinates are made to feel important. Authority is equated with responsibility. Acceptance of responsibility and good performance is rewarded. Acculture of trust and risk-taking is developed. Constructive feedback is given. Standards to measure and evaluate performance are prescribed in advance.'Y unacademy Consumer Protection The Consumer Protection Act was passed in 1986 to protect the interests of the consumers. The objective of this law is to provide a simple, fast and inexpensive mechanism to the citizens to redress their grievances in specified cases. The Act envisages a three-tier quasi-judicial machinery at the National, State and District levels; National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission - known as “National Commission”, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission known as “State Commission” and District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum - known as “District Forum”. The Act also provides for establishment of Consumer Protection Councils at the Union, State and District levels, whose main objectives are to promote and protect the rights of consumers.ooo? 'Y unacademy Other Laws which Seek to Protect Consumers’ Interests Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. Essential Commodities Act and Rules there under The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 and The Standards of Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Act, 1985 oe and Regulations and Bye Laws under the Municipal Acts of the tates The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954, The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, The Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Act, 1956, The Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995 (under the Essential Commodities Act) Mandatory Certification Scheme of Bureau of Indian Standards under various laws The Cinematograph Act, 1952.e00000 'Y unacademy Special Institutional Mechanisms The basic premise behind making administration citizen-centric is to ensure that the benefits of good governance are available to all sections of society. The Indian State has also constituted several Commissions through statutes to safeguard the rights of different sections of society. Some of these Commissions are as follows: National Human Rights Commission National Commission for Women National Commission for Protection of Child Rights National Backward Classes Commission National Minorities Commission National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission'Y unacademy Process Simplification Simplifying Internal Procedures The working of most government organizations is based on the Weberian principle of decision making governed by rules and regulations to ensure objectivity and uniformity. As a result, the processes and structures in any government organization generally owe their existence to and are regulated by statutes, rules and regulations etc. There is need to bring simplification of methods to the center-stage of administrative reforms. Leaving aside specific sectoral requirements, the broad principles of such reforms must be: adoption of ‘single window’ approach, minimizing hierarchal tiers, stipulating time limits for disposal etc.'Y unacademy A system of rewards and incentives for simplification and streamlining of procedures may be introduced in each government organization. Constitution of an in-house core team of persons well versed with internal procedures. © Engaging external experts - if necessary © Getting feedback from citizens. Using Modern Technology © E-governance initiatives can be taken. o MIS, PERT, etc other new developments in technology can help simplify administration.'Y unacademy Supervision Supervision implies oversight and superintendence over the performance of others in an organization. It is carried out through directions and guidance, setting targets, helping in problem solving, monitoring of performance through conduct of inspections, checks and verifications, receipt of reports etc. Monitoring and Evaluation The feedback from citizens should be used to monitor the performance of government offices. Each government office which has public interface should have an external evaluation conducted annually in addition to those conducted by the organization itself.'Y unacademy + Rationalizing Pri r o Rationalizing & simplifying procedures like issuing of driving licenses, registration of births & deaths, building licenses & completion certificates, etc.© unacademy Administrative Re Judicial Reforms Massive Decentralization Police Reforms Funding Reforms RT Inner Pony democracy THP@RoUnd Prosecution Electoral 1S Participatory empowered local bodies Citizen Charters Time-bound Justice SS a Remove sippy pe constraints ic woe'Y unacademy Questions “The Second ARC makes a strong case for the principle of subsidiarity”. Elaborate. (2017) “Decentralized governance must serve as an instrument of realizing social change & social justice”. Comment on the statement. (2015) “Most Civil Servants in India are competent administrators, but they pay little attention to encourage people’s participation in decision-making”. Comment on the statement. (2015) Public administration today tends to be less of public in quantitative terms, but more responsive to public needs than before in qualitative terms. Examine with reference to citizen centric administration. (2013)