District Administration PDF Summary

## District Administration ### India's administrative structure: - India is divided into 28 states and eight union territories including the National Capital Territory of Delhi. - These are further divided into smaller units known as districts, tehsils and parganas. - There is no fixed size or popu...

## District Administration ### India's administrative structure: - India is divided into 28 states and eight union territories including the National Capital Territory of Delhi. - These are further divided into smaller units known as districts, tehsils and parganas. - There is no fixed size or population for a district. - Today, the country has over 700 districts. ### STRUCTURE OF DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION The official who is in charge of a district is called the District Collector, Deputy Commissioner or District Magistrate. She/He is a member of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS). Hundreds of officials work under her/him. A district is also the unit of administration for various other departments such as the police, co-operative societies, agriculture and education. Some other important officials of the district are the Deputy Collector, Tehsildar, Planning Officer, Superintendent of Police, Chief Medical Officer, District and Sessions Judge and Additional Judges. ### FUNCTIONS OF DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION The main functions include: * maintaining law and order * maintenance of land records and collection of revenue * providing civic amenities * supervising activities of the Panchayats * providing relief work ### Maintaining law and order Maintaining law and order in the district is the most important responsibility of the District Collector. She/He can pass orders to check lawlessness and rioting. She/He is assisted in this task by the Superintendent of Police. ### Officers and their working The Superintendent of Police, who is the highest ranking police officer in the district, works under the supervision of the District Collector. Her/His main aim is to ensure peace in the district. All other police officers, such as the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Inspectors, Sub Inspectors, work under him and maintain law and order. A district is divided into five or six sub-divisions, each under the charge of a Deputy Superintendent of Police. Sub-divisions are further divided into police circles. There are about ten police stations or thanas in a circle. An inspector is in charge of a circle. Sub-Inspectors, Assistant Sub-Inspectors, Head Constables and Constables work in each police station. In village level, chaukidars are appointed. There is a jail in each district. The Jailer is the official in charge. Men and women are kept in separate prisons. Prisoners are taught skills such as carpentry and carpet weaving, so that after serving their sentence, they can use these skills to earn an honest living. The police is meant to protect us and secure our rights as citizens. We must also help them in their work. We can do this by informing the police about law-breakers and by not assisting or encouraging illegal activities. ### Land records and collection of revenue Land records are important for determining the rightful owner of the land. These records are also required to enable farmers to secure loans from banks. The collection of revenue is important as the government needs money to run its various bodies. ### Officers and their working The Sub-divisional officer, Tehsildar, Naib Tehsildar or Deputy Tehsildar, Kanungo and Lekhpal (Patwari) are the officials in charge of matters concerning collection of revenue. The Sub-divisional officer is in charge of revenue collection at the sub-division level. He is the link between the District Collector and the Tehsildar. The Tehsildar is the main official in the district responsible for actual revenue collection. For maintaining land records there is a Superintendent (Land Records) and a Deputy Superintendent (Land Records) at the district level. The Kanungo and the Lekhpal or Patwari take care land records at the village level. ### Civic amenities and development The district administration provides civic amenities such as health care, education and maintenance of government buildings and roads. It also reviews the overall development of the district. ### Officers and their working The Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) is in charge of health services in a district. She/He supervises the working of hospitals and dispensaries in the district. The District Inspector of Schools or the District Education Officer is responsible for the proper functioning of schools in the district. She/He inspects schools and supervises the work of the Department of education,. The Public Works Department is in charge of constructing and maintaining government buildings. The Executive Engineer is the head of this department. ### Supervising the functioning of the Panchayati Raj System The District Collector is also responsible for supervising the functioning of the Panchayati Raj system and other local bodies. She/he makes arrangements for elections to these bodies conducted by the State Election Commission and reports to the state government if they are not functioning properly. The District Collector also has the power to dissolve them at the instructions of the state government. ### Providing relief work Emergency situations such as famines, floods, fire, epidemics and earthquakes sometimes arise in a district. The district administration provides relief to the affected citizens during such times. As citizens, it is our duty to cooperate with the district administration and assist them when such a situation arises. ### JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION Each district has a judicial set up for administration of justice. Disputes can be between citizens or between the government activities also need to be punished. Disputes are settled in courts. There are civil courts and criminal courts. Civil courts deal with civil cases and criminal courts deal with criminal cases. Cases concerning property and financial disputes are decided by civil cases of theft, assault, murder and other criminal acts are heard in criminal courts. ### Officers and their working The District Judge and the Additional District Judge are high ranking members of the highest court for civil cases in the district. The court of the Sessions Judge is the highest court in the district for criminal cases. Serious criminal cases such as murder and dacoity tried by the court of the Sessions Judge or the Additional Sessions Judge. Lower courts to the Sessions court are headed by an Assistant Sessions Judge, Chief Judicial Magistrate and Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Metropolitan Magistrate and Magistrate of First Class, Magistrate of Second Class and Special Judicial Magistrate and Executive Magistrate. The Sessions Judge can award a death sentence. The Chief Judicial Magistrate can award a sentence up to 7 years of imprisonment. A Magistrate of First Class can award a maximum sentence up to 3 years of imprisonment or a fine or both. A Magistrate of Second Class award a maximum sentence up to 2 years of imprisonment, or a fine, or both. The amount of fine depends on the nature of the crime as well as the powers of the judge. If someone is not satisfied with the judgment of a lower court, she/he can appeal against the decision to the higher courts. The High Court is the highest judicial authority in the states. The district courts function under the High Court. ### Diagrams of the District Administration The image shows diagrams representing composition and functions of the District Administration. There are three diagrams representing: * Maintenance of Law and Order * Maintenance of Land Records and Realization of Land Revenue * Civic Amenities and Development #### **1. Maintenance of Law and Order** * The head is Collector or Deputy Commissioner * Below this, the main Officer in charge is the Superintendent of Police. * Below this is the Deputy Superintendent of Police * Followed by Inspectors * Followed by Sub-Inspectors * Followed by Assistant-Sub Inspectors * Followed by Head Constables * Followed by Constables * Followed by Chaukidar and alongside the Superintendent of Police is the Jailer, and below, the Deputy Jailer. #### 2. Maintenance of Land Records and Realization of Land Revenue * The head is Collector or Deputy Commissioner * Below this, among the Officers in charge is the Tehsildar * Followed by Naib-Tehsildar * Followed by Kanungo * Followed by Patwari or Lekhpal #### 3. Civic Amenities and Development * The Head is Collector or Deputy Commissioner * Officer in charge is broken down into institutions and officers * Listed institutions and officers are: * District Civil Surgeon or Chief Medical Officer * District Inspector of Schools * District Planning Officer * Executive Engineer * Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions ### THE HINDU SUCCESSION (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2005 The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 is a landmark. It came into force from 9 September 2005. The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act removes gender discriminatory provisions in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 and gives the following rights to daughters under Section 6. * A daughter has the same right over the property as a son. * The 2005 Act brings all agricultural land at par with other property and makes Hindu women's inheritance rights in land legally equal to men across the states. * The 2005 Act includes daughters as joint owners in the joint family property, with the same birth rights as sons to share, to claim partition and share the liabilities. * Daughters (married or not) will have the same rights as sons to reside in or seek partition of the family house. * Widows can claim and inherit the deceased's property even if they have remarried. Gender equality in possession of agricultural land can empower women increase their livelihood options increase prospects of education and health. Economically, it can improve women's security, by giving them birthright in property that cannot be taken away by men. Symbolically, all this shows that daughters and sons are equally important members of the family. The difficult question of implementing the 2005 Act still remains. We need spread legal literacy make efforts to increase social awareness of the advantages to the whole family if women own property provide legal and social aid for women seeking to assert their rights. These are only some of the many steps needed to fulfill the promise of long-due legislation.