Essay on relationship between minister and civil servants in india
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In a democracy, power vests with the people. This power is exercised through its elected representatives who have the mandate to govern them for a specific period. The civil services by virtue of its knowledge, experience and understanding of public affairs assist the elected representatives in formulating policy and are responsible for implementing these policies.
A healthy working relationship between Ministers and civil servants is critical for good governance. While the principles governing the roles and responsibilities of Ministers and
civil servants are well defined in political theory, in the actual working of this relationship
this division of responsibility becomes blurred with both sides often encroaching upon the
other’s sphere of responsibility. In any democracy, Ministers are responsible to the people
through Parliament and therefore the civil servants have to be accountable to the Minister.
However, an impartial civil service is responsible not only to the government of the day but
to the Constitution of the land to which they have taken an oath of loyalty. At the same time, implementing the policies of the duly elected government is a core function of civil servants. That is why the division of responsibility between the civil servants and ministers needs to be more clearly defined. A framework in which responsibility and accountability is well defined would be useful.
Constitutional Provisions
The Indian Constitution provides for separation of powers between the legislature, executive and judiciary with well-defined roles and responsibilities for each one of them. Since India is a parliamentary democracy, there is an interface between the legislature and the executive at the level of the Council of Ministers, which is collectively responsible to the legislature. In terms of Articles 53 and 154, the executive power of the Union and the States vests in the President or Governor directly or through officers subordinate to him. These officers constitute the permanent civil service and are governed by Part XIV of the Constitution.
The other part of the executive is the ‘political’. The President or Governor is required to act according to the aid and advice of his/her Council of Ministers, appointed under Articles 73 and 163 of the Constitution. The President and Governor frame rules for the conduct of business in the government. Work is allocated among Ministers as per the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules and the manner in which the officers are required to help the President or Governor to exercise his/her executive functions is governed by the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules. What this means is that though officers are subordinate to the President or Governor, they carry out the orders
Refurbishing of Personnel Administation – Scaling New Heights of the Council of Ministers in accordance with the rules framed in this behalf. The Rules of Business of Government do provide for the Secretary to the Government to advise his/ her Minister about the course of action proposed in a particular matter and to submit to him a note which tells him about the propriety or legality of his/her orders and suggest that either such orders not be given or that they be suitably modified. The relationship between the Secretary and the Minister is organic. The Minister has the mandate of the people to govern, but the Secretary has an equivalent constitutional mandate to advise the Minister. Once his/her advice has been suitably considered, unless the Minister passes an illegal order, the Secretary is bound to implement it. The Minister, on his/her part, is required to support the Secretary who is implementing his/her order. Once a law is framed or rules and regulations are approved, they apply to everyone, whether a member of the political
executive or of the permanent civil service. A civil servant is required to implement the orders of government without bias, with honesty and without fear or favour. It is precisely in this area that a degree of a difference of opinion often occurs between the political executive and the civil servants.
.
Areas of Conflict
The areas of potential conflict in the relationship between the political executive and the
permanent civil service can be identified as follows:
a. The concept of neutrality
b. Advisory role of civil servants in policy making
c. Statutory role of the civil servants
d. Discharge of delegated functions
e. Appointments/Recruitment to the civil services
f. Transfers and postings of civil servants
hope It helped you
so please mark as brain list
it will so kind of you
thanking you...
A healthy working relationship between Ministers and civil servants is critical for good governance. While the principles governing the roles and responsibilities of Ministers and
civil servants are well defined in political theory, in the actual working of this relationship
this division of responsibility becomes blurred with both sides often encroaching upon the
other’s sphere of responsibility. In any democracy, Ministers are responsible to the people
through Parliament and therefore the civil servants have to be accountable to the Minister.
However, an impartial civil service is responsible not only to the government of the day but
to the Constitution of the land to which they have taken an oath of loyalty. At the same time, implementing the policies of the duly elected government is a core function of civil servants. That is why the division of responsibility between the civil servants and ministers needs to be more clearly defined. A framework in which responsibility and accountability is well defined would be useful.
Constitutional Provisions
The Indian Constitution provides for separation of powers between the legislature, executive and judiciary with well-defined roles and responsibilities for each one of them. Since India is a parliamentary democracy, there is an interface between the legislature and the executive at the level of the Council of Ministers, which is collectively responsible to the legislature. In terms of Articles 53 and 154, the executive power of the Union and the States vests in the President or Governor directly or through officers subordinate to him. These officers constitute the permanent civil service and are governed by Part XIV of the Constitution.
The other part of the executive is the ‘political’. The President or Governor is required to act according to the aid and advice of his/her Council of Ministers, appointed under Articles 73 and 163 of the Constitution. The President and Governor frame rules for the conduct of business in the government. Work is allocated among Ministers as per the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules and the manner in which the officers are required to help the President or Governor to exercise his/her executive functions is governed by the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules. What this means is that though officers are subordinate to the President or Governor, they carry out the orders
Refurbishing of Personnel Administation – Scaling New Heights of the Council of Ministers in accordance with the rules framed in this behalf. The Rules of Business of Government do provide for the Secretary to the Government to advise his/ her Minister about the course of action proposed in a particular matter and to submit to him a note which tells him about the propriety or legality of his/her orders and suggest that either such orders not be given or that they be suitably modified. The relationship between the Secretary and the Minister is organic. The Minister has the mandate of the people to govern, but the Secretary has an equivalent constitutional mandate to advise the Minister. Once his/her advice has been suitably considered, unless the Minister passes an illegal order, the Secretary is bound to implement it. The Minister, on his/her part, is required to support the Secretary who is implementing his/her order. Once a law is framed or rules and regulations are approved, they apply to everyone, whether a member of the political
executive or of the permanent civil service. A civil servant is required to implement the orders of government without bias, with honesty and without fear or favour. It is precisely in this area that a degree of a difference of opinion often occurs between the political executive and the civil servants.
.
Areas of Conflict
The areas of potential conflict in the relationship between the political executive and the
permanent civil service can be identified as follows:
a. The concept of neutrality
b. Advisory role of civil servants in policy making
c. Statutory role of the civil servants
d. Discharge of delegated functions
e. Appointments/Recruitment to the civil services
f. Transfers and postings of civil servants
hope It helped you
so please mark as brain list
it will so kind of you
thanking you...
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