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Outdated Systems of Administration in Indian States

Bahrain, May 28, 2006
Dr. Prem Joshi

"ANCIENT PATWARI SYSTEM KEEPS ORDER IN RURAL UTTARANCHAL Dehradun: Believe it or not, but an old system of keeping a vigil on law and order and collecting revenue from the public through a "Patwari" or, the local revenue officer, still prevails and keeps order in the rural areas of Uttaranchal! Though it is the State police, which is now responsible for law and order in the rural areas of Uttaranchal, hi-tech methods of law enforcement are a distant dream." (ANI)

The above news item gives us the rustic humor of 18th century. After sixty years of independence, we are still depending on outdated system of administration. Where is the PANCHAYAT RAJ system, which was implemented by Late Rajiv Gandhi with great fanfare? I am wondering when the Uttaranchal government will pay attention on such outdated system of administration of the British Raj. Will this government initiate measures to correct such lacuna in its administrative and governance systems? When Uttaranchal received the status of a full state, it was expected that all administrative systems should have been reviewed from scratch and nothing were supposed to be considered as sacrosanct.

It is the high time for politicians and administrative machinery in the state to look into these outdated systems and introduce a fresh thinking, which will enhance the image of the state as well as of Uttaranchalis. In case the state government is unable to find
competent people to evaluate its administrative systems for effective governance, let us know, we will recommend several experts in this field.

EMAIL: prem@acadjoshi.com

• Professor (Dr.) Prem Lal Joshi, University of Bahrain . The author is also Editor-in-Chief: IJAAPE, UK and on the Board of Directors of World Accounting Forum. He is listed in Maquis Who's Who in the World (23rd ed.) and International Who's Who (2005-06)

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