Transparency in Public Administration
Transparency in Public Administration in India
Siddharth Singh
The demand for transparency in the functioning of government agencies is a popular and democratic reaction to the arbitrariness and secrecy that surround the working of most government offices. Traditionally, a citizen aggrieved by the decision of a government servant either approaches a senior controlling officer of the civil servant or a public representative to get a redress of his grievance. If the latter shows indifference or fails in his efforts to help the citizen, he has no alternative but to sulk in helplessness. If a law is enacted to enable a citizen to demand details of the decision making process, he can seek legal redress of his grievance in case injustice has been done to him. The information will relieve his feeling of helplessness .
The consciousness that a civil servant has to furnish the information on the basis of which decision is taken will always keep him on his toes and he will not knowingly invite trouble by taking partisan decisions or violate the established procedures. Freedom of information is, thus, an effective antidote to the arbitrariness of the government agencies and a powerful weapon in the hands of enlightened citizens to protect their rights.
Democratic spirit can flourish only in an environment of openness and trust. Every citizen should know what the administrators, working under the overall control of people's representatives, are doing. Since administration in a democracy serves the public interest, there is no need or justification for hiding the decision making process from the public scrutiny. The citizen client should know the stages of decision making and the names of the officials entrusted with responsibilities of various level of decision making. Whenever they come across any delay in the disposal of or settlement of their case, they should be immediately told the progress of their case and the reason of the delay. They will instantly know which
Siddharth Singh
The demand for transparency in the functioning of government agencies is a popular and democratic reaction to the arbitrariness and secrecy that surround the working of most government offices. Traditionally, a citizen aggrieved by the decision of a government servant either approaches a senior controlling officer of the civil servant or a public representative to get a redress of his grievance. If the latter shows indifference or fails in his efforts to help the citizen, he has no alternative but to sulk in helplessness. If a law is enacted to enable a citizen to demand details of the decision making process, he can seek legal redress of his grievance in case injustice has been done to him. The information will relieve his feeling of helplessness .
The consciousness that a civil servant has to furnish the information on the basis of which decision is taken will always keep him on his toes and he will not knowingly invite trouble by taking partisan decisions or violate the established procedures. Freedom of information is, thus, an effective antidote to the arbitrariness of the government agencies and a powerful weapon in the hands of enlightened citizens to protect their rights.
Democratic spirit can flourish only in an environment of openness and trust. Every citizen should know what the administrators, working under the overall control of people's representatives, are doing. Since administration in a democracy serves the public interest, there is no need or justification for hiding the decision making process from the public scrutiny. The citizen client should know the stages of decision making and the names of the officials entrusted with responsibilities of various level of decision making. Whenever they come across any delay in the disposal of or settlement of their case, they should be immediately told the progress of their case and the reason of the delay. They will instantly know which