District Collector

In the ever expanding role and scope of governance at the state level, the district
administration plays an extremely crucial role in assisting the policy makers in
implementing their policies. And as head of this district administration, the District
Collector plays a pivotal role in leading the official machinery.

The institution of District Collector was first established in 1772. He belongs to the IAS
cadre. He/she is known as District Collector, District Officer, District Magistrate, Deputy
Commissioner in some states.

The nature of the role of the District Collector has been constantly changing since
Independence. Though his influence has been shrinking since, his areas of influence are
growing by the day. The main factors influencing the emerging role of the Collector are:

1. Democratic set-up in the country

2. Various attempts at de-centralization
3. Increasing Developmental Responsibilities
4. Increase in public consciousness.

The promulgation of the new constitution has weakened the position of Collector. Article
50 envisages for the separation of executive and judiciary powers. There are now separate
Judicial officers in the district and therefore the collector no longer holds the same
judicial authority as he did earlier as a District Magistrate.

The emergence of political parties post independence has diminished the importance of
the office of the Collector. Parties have become an extremely important channel of
communication between the government and people, and the collector is more than often
sidetracked while taking decisions affecting common man.

The introduction of new technical departments like Agriculture, labour, irrigation,

cooperatives etc, together with officers who head these departments at the state level,
have all led to diminishing of the authority of the Collector. Some of the technical
departments are headed by specialists and are independent of Collector.

The democratic decentralization in the form of Panchayat Raj Institutions has further
eroded the powers of the Collector. The zilla parishads have emerged as separate power
centers independent of the Collector.

Functions of the Collector

As a Collector

This is still the traditional and primary task of the collector. As the head of the Revenue
Administration of a district, his foremost task is assessment and collection of land
revenue. Khera points out 2 principles here:
 1. The revenue that is assessed must be collected in full.
2. Timely collection of dues.

Different departments make out demand lists of dues each season and send it to collector
who is responsible for recovery of loans. He is also responsible for collecting excise
duties on various commodities, he assesses the amount of relief required to each
individual, is responsible for recovery of loans and consults the state government if any
relaxation is deemed fit, distributes agricultural land. He is the manager of government
estates, lands, forest etc in the district. He also prepares land surveys and maintains all
land records. The district treasury is directly under his control, and he decides on the
allocation of funds to different departments.

As a District Magistrate

The collector’s role as a district magistrate is one of his important functions. He is

responsible for the overall law and order situation in the state. The three elements
involved in this context are:

1. Police
2. The Judiciary and
3. Jails

Functionally, the head of the police in the district is the Superintendent of Police.
However, the SP is directly answerable to the District Magistrate. It is he who gives
orders to fire or to use force. The annual report prepared by the S.P. is also submitted
through district magistrates. He can inspect police stations, police staff and police dairies.

The Indian Police Commission of 1902-05 recommended relaxation of this control and
asked DM not to interfere in management and discipline. The Royal Commission on
decentralization, however, suggested that the powers of DM vis-à-vis the police be
increased.

As far as his powers as District Magistrate are concerned, there has been a serious erosion
of his authority. Article 50 envisages for the separation of executive and judiciary. There
are now many Judicial officers in the district. The entire responsibility of judicial
proceedings are now with the High courts of the states. The collector can exercise powers
under Section 144 in case of any disturbances that may arise.

Jails are another important component of his powers. The district jail is under the control
of DM. He can visit the jail from time to time to inspect the conditions at the Jail. He
deals with problems such as grant of superior classes to prisoners, release of prisoners,
mercy petitions etc. Supreme Court, in a landmark judgement in the Gouru Venkat Reddy
case, has made it very clear that the collector should conduct his own investigation while
recommending clemency to a prisoner.
As a Coordinator

Several departments, like agriculture, irrigation, cooperatives, labour, come under the
district purview. They are headed by specialists. These departmental agencies have even
sometimes been made incharge of their own developmental programmes. They conduct
these programs on their own without the interference of the collector. This has lead to
considerable diminishing of the role of the collector. There is a serious need to strengthen
the role of collector as a coordinator because on this role depends the success of district
planning considerably. As all plans take district as the major operational unit, the
coordinating role of the collector becomes vital in ensuring that the various departments
do not work in cross-purposes. Periodic meetings with officers of different agencies will
go long way in ensuring effective coordination. If the collector is successful in removing
bottlenecks and earns the trust of different departments, he can emerge as a successful
coordinator.

As a crisis administrator

Any crisis situation tests the nerve and resilience of the Collector. The effectiveness and
credibility of the district administration is put to the sternest of all tests during a crisis.
The collector’s strength, leadership, and performance assume crucial significance in a
crisis situation. The collector is looked as a saviour in such situations. During
emergencies like natural calamities, floods, drought, famines or manmade crisis such as
riots, fires or external aggression, it is the collector who holds umbrella over the district.
It is the collector who has to see that the police arrive on time, fire brigades are called,
searches carried out for arms, hospitals alerted and the panicky public put at ease. During
famines, he is the chief authority under the famine code to undertake the relief measures.
During floods he has to organize rescue operations, take steps to check epidemics, call
the army for help, and supply food items. During external aggression, he armed with
several powers under the defence of India rules. The collector enforces civil defence
measures, responsible for protection of vital installations.

Work during crisis, T.N.Chaturvedi says “is not to be done as compensation but out of
sense of duty.” Sometimes the collector has to cross the written boundaries also.

Crisis cannot be met through rule of thumb procedure which is ascribed to routine ridden
bureaucracy but call for and bring out the higher qualities of leadership and resource –
O’Malley

As a developmental officer

The development role of collector became a focal point after the inititaition of planning in
India. Rural development is an essential precondition for the establishment of welfare
state and several social welfare programs were started in the 1950’s and 1960’s. These
programs aimed at eradicating property and improving the living standards of life. In this
task of economic development, the role of district collector is not just of an advisor alone,
but the emphasis is on leadership role in the extension and development activity.
The collector is the ex-officio chairman of the District Rural Development Agency. The
DRDA is responsible for implementation of rural developmental programs. The collector
is responsible for the several schemes implemented under this program. He also performs
developmental roels in his formal capacity as the head of the district industries centre,
Chairman of district level bankers coordination committee etc.

The role of a collector in rural development is to be viewed in terms of his relation with
the Zilla Parishad (ZP). B.Mehta suggested that the collector be made the chairman of
ZP. However, this recommendation was not accepted by many states. The constitutional
amendments and enactments or PR acts by various states reduced the border of collector
in development activities.

Miscellaneous

Apart from all the above mentioned roles, the Collector also functions as district census
officer, chief returning officer during elections, handles protocol arrangements during
visits of dignitaries, supervises the work of municipalities in the district, and compiles
and submits the annual administrative report of the district.

Conclusion

The multifarious activities performed by the collector make him almost indispensable
but, at the same time, also make him an overburdened functionary. There is unparrelled
uniqueness about the post of Collector. He can, by virtue of his position, act as a leader, a
motivator and a people’s developer.