The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Public servants urged to address people’s problems

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 06, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Public servants urged to address people’s problems

Special Correspondent

Administration should be neutral, responsive: expert

CHENNAI: The need for public servants to properly address the problems faced by people was stressed by K. Ganesan, chairman of the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), Tamil Nadu regional branch, here on Saturday.

The public administration, he said, should be neutral, impartial and responsive.

Presiding over a seminar on “Public administration in India: past, present and future,” he said that before Independence, the public administration was confined to revenue collection and maintenance of law and order. After 1950, the civil service was democratised, and the role of civil servants had changed over the years. It recognised the role of the people in public administration. Economic policies were not only being implemented but were also sustained by the civil service.

Speaking on the course the public administration should take in future, he said the delivery system should be improved: a grievance of the people was that their problems were not being addressed properly. “Unless you address those problems, you cannot claim that you have done good service to the people.” Everyone in the government service should gear up to meet the needs of the people. And they should treat all equally.

The seminar was organised by the IIPA and Anna Adarsh College for Women.

Chief Secretary L.K. Tripathy, who released the IIPA quarterly journal “The New Administrator,” said the rigid system of administration during British rule had given way to a flexible approach to various problems. The administration was now result-oriented and pro-active, based on a consultative approach, focussing on development and improving the quality of life.

G. Palanithurai, Head, Rajiv Gandhi Chair for Panchayat Raj Studies, Department of Political Science and Development Administration, Gandhigram Rural University, wanted local institutions democratised to strengthen them. He was also for a new culture of administration and governance that should be responsive, responsible and representative.

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