(PYQ 2020 Mock Answer: Public administration) Indian Civil services

 B) There is a constant and continuous collision between bureaucratic values and democratic values which adversely affects development. Do you agree? Elaborate 

Answer: 

It is seen that democratic values like transparency, accountability, participative governance etc come in conflict with the bureaucratic values of the bureaucrats like Hierarchy, rules and regulations, efficiency, value neutrality etc. This conflict manifests in the following ways: 

1. Accountability - The bureaucrats are not directly accountable to the people for their actions, there is only an indirect accountability mechanism via the elected representatives 
2. Transparency is a democratic value but since we have inherited the colonial laws and procedures, the opaqueness in the system violates this principle 
3. Bureaucracy tends to treat citizens as subjects to be governed rather than as citizens to be empowered 
4. The bureaucracy keeps the citizens out of the process of governance and tends to treat citizens as outside beneficiaries in the process of development 
5. Goal displacement - the bureaucrats are more interested in implementing rules and regulations than on maximising the welfare of the people.
6. Failure of citizen centric reforms like RTI, Citizens charter and Social audit
7. The colonial attitude of the bureaucrats
8. Bureaucratic apathy 

The fact even after 75 years of independence development administration has been a failure is indicative of the impact this collision of values has on the development and growth of the country. 

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