APPENDIX III
(Vide page
252)
Wage Rates of Labour per day fixed in the Gurdaspur District, during
1971-72
|
Serial No. |
Particulars |
|
Wages rate per day (Rs.) |
|
|
1. |
Khalasi |
.. |
4.50 to 6.00 |
|
|
2. |
Cook |
.. |
11.00 |
|
|
3. |
Waterman |
.. |
4.50 |
|
|
4. |
Chowkidar |
.. |
4.50 to 6.00 |
|
|
5. |
Gardener |
.. |
4.50 to 6.00 |
|
|
6. |
Pair of bullocks with ploughman |
.. |
15.00 |
|
|
7. |
Pair of bullocks with cart and cartman |
.. |
15.00 |
|
|
8. |
Donkeyman with four donkeys |
.. |
14.00 |
|
|
9. |
Carpenter |
.. |
9.00 to 12.00 |
|
|
10. |
Blacksmith |
.. |
6.50 to 12.00 |
|
|
11. |
Dak-carrier |
.. |
4.50 |
|
|
12. |
White-washer |
.. |
6.00 |
|
|
13. |
Bearer |
.. |
6.50 |
|
|
14. |
Driver of vehicle |
.. |
12.00 |
|
(Source: Deputy Commissioner,
Gurdaspur)
APPENDIX IV
(Vide
page 256)
Work done by the Employment Exchanges in the Gurdaspur District, during 1962-1972
|
Year |
|
Registration |
Placings |
Vacancies
notified |
Vacancies
filled |
Vacancies
outstanding |
Applicants
on live register at the close of the year |
|
District
Employment Exchange, Gurdaspur |
|||||||
|
1968 |
.. |
6,580 |
1,184 |
2,211 |
1,763 |
72 |
2,905 |
|
1969 |
.. |
6,444 |
1,176 |
2,187 |
1,903 |
66 |
2,849 |
|
1670 |
.. |
6,278 |
1,084 |
1,900 |
1,651 |
82 |
3,436 |
|
1971 |
.. |
6,458 |
1,015 |
1,691 |
1,349 |
172 |
4,184 |
|
1972 |
.. |
8,527 |
1,306 |
2,109 |
1,624 |
88 |
5,115 |
|
Employment
Exchange, Batala |
|||||||
|
1968 |
.. |
4,372 |
620 |
625 |
394 |
123 |
1,719 |
|
1969 |
.. |
4,278 |
740 |
562 |
359 |
105 |
2,018 |
|
1670 |
.. |
4,454 |
869 |
865 |
615 |
145 |
2,125 |
|
1971 |
.. |
4,838 |
765 |
776 |
537 |
99 |
2,545 |
|
1972 |
.. |
5,990 |
635 |
783 |
483 |
87 |
3,875 |
|
Employment
Exchange, Pathankot |
|||||||
|
1968 |
.. |
9,664 |
1,734 |
2,133 |
1,398 |
130 |
3,229 |
|
1969 |
.. |
9,467 |
279 |
1,437 |
896 |
165 |
4,414 |
|
1670 |
.. |
9,534 |
1,253 |
1,321 |
1,078 |
207 |
4,130 |
|
1971 |
.. |
8,512 |
1,118 |
1,647 |
913 |
185 |
5,661 |
|
1972 |
.. |
10,070 |
1,035 |
1,377 |
837 |
132 |
6,602 |
(Annual Administration Reports of the
Department of Employment of Punjab, 1968 to 1972)
|
(a) |
|
|
(b) |
|
|
(c) |
|
|
(d) |
|
|
(e) |
|
|
(f) |
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
(a) Historical Background and Divisions of the District
District
administration by the agents of the Central Government has been basic feature
of the government system of this system of this country form time
immemorial. During the modern period,
the credit for discovering a happy solution to the problem of good district
administration goes to Lord Cornwallis (1786-93). He adopted certain features of Akbar’s system. The local unit of administration was the
district to which an officer was appointed to perform three main functions: to
keep the peace, collect the revenue and administration justice.1
The
dawn of independence in 1947 and the introduction of the Constitution of India in
1950 set in motion a long process of efforts to change the former ‘Law and
Order State’ into a ‘Welfare State’.
There has been a tremendous increase in the points of contact between
the officials and the public. Further,
this has necessitated a change in the administrators’ attitude towards the
public. They have no longer the
‘rulers’ and the public no longer the ‘rule’.
The administration has not only to work for the people but with the
people.
In
this background, the administrative set-up of Gurdaspur District is described
hereunder:
Administrative
Divisions.- For purpose of general and revenue administration, the district is
divided into 3 tahsils, viz. Gurdaspur,
Batala, (including sub-tahsil Dera Baba Nanak)2. All these tahsils were converted into sub-divisions in
1955.
_______________________________________________________________
1. Potter,
David C. Government in Rural India (London, 1964), pp. 3
2. The erstwhile Kanungo Circle of Narot Jaimalsingh in Tahsil Pathankot has been formed into another sub-tahsil vide-Revenue Department Notification No. 2291-Rg-I-73/3075, dated the 4th September, 1973, published in the Punjab Government Gazette Extraordinary, dated the 5th September, 1973.
The strength of
Sub-Divisional Officers, Tahsildars; and Naib-Tahsildars in the district as on
March 31, 1972, is given below:
|
Sub-Divisional/Tahsil |
|
No. of Posts |
||
|
|
Sub-Divisional Officers |
Tahsildar |
Naib-Tahsildar |
|
|
Gurdaspur |
.. |
1 |
1 |
5 |
|
Batala |
.. |
1 |
1 |
5 |
|
Pathankot |
.. |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
District Gurdaspur |
.. |
3 |
3 |
12 |
Deputy Commissioner.- In
the words of the Indian Statutory Simon Commission Report, 1930, “every inch of
soil in India forms part of a ‘District’, and at the head of every District
there is an officer-known in some provinces as the Collector and in others as
the Deputy Commissioner-who is in the eyes of most of its inhabitants ‘the
government’.”3 The Deputy
Commissioner has overall charge of the district and is the hub of the district
administration.
For
administrative purposes, the Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur, is under the
control of the Commissioner, Jullundur Division, Jullundur. He has to play triple role as Deputy
Commissioner, as Collector and as District Magistrate4 :
(i) As Deputy Commissioner, he is the executive
head of the district with multifarious responsibilities relating to
development, panchayats, local bodies, civil administration, etc. Because of the over-riding importance of his
role as well as his proximity to the people, he is considered to be the
measuring rod of efficiency in the administration.
3. Avasthi, A., Revenue
Inspections at the District Level (New Delhi, 1965), pp. 15-16 Indian
Statutory Commission Report, 1930, Vol. I, (London, 1964), p. 281
4. Sharma, S.K., Deputy Commissioner in
Punjab (New Delhi, 1971), pp. 53,80 Khera, S.S., District
Administration in India (Reprinted : Bombay, 1965), p. 32
An Offices Superintendent,
responsible to the Deputy Commissioner, supervises the work of the clerical
staff. He guides the functioning of the
different branches, each of which is headed by an Assistant who has to perform
two kinds of functions, viz. supervisory and disposal of important cases. An Assistant has one or more clerks under
him.
The
number of branches differ from district to district depending upon the
requirements in each case but the more important branches which exist in almost
all the district offices are : Registration Branch, Licensing and Passport,
Record and Issue Branch, Judicial Record Branch, Establishment Branch, Nazarat
Branch, Development Branch, Miscellaneous Branch, Complaints and Enquiries
Branch, Local Fund Branch, Copying Agency, Revenue Accounts Branch, Flood
Relief Branch and Revenue Record Branch.
(ii)
As Collector, Deputy Commissioner is the head of the revenue administration in
the district. Being the highest revenue
authority in the district, he is to keep accurate and up-to-date maintenance of
records of rights as regards the lands.
He is responsible for the collection of land revenue as well as other
kinds of Government taxes, fees and dues.
He is the appointing authority for most of the important subordinate
revenue staff in the district and supervises and controls the work of all of
them. Every district has a Treasury to
account for every financial transaction in the district on behalf of
Government. The Deputy Commissioner is
responsible for the due accounting of all money received and paid and the
punctual submission of all returns due from the District Treasury.
His
duties as Collector include looking after the general interests and welfare of
the cultivator in so far as they relate to cultivation and allied matters on which
he depends for his living. The
Collector also decides the rights of tenants, such as mutation, encroachment,
land acquisition, etc. He is
responsible for seeing that all Government properties in the district are well
cared for, and in normal agricultural distress or in emergencies like flood,
drought, scarcity, outbreak of epidemics, etc., difficulties and hardships of
the people are quickly and effectively remedied. He is responsible for the grant and eventual recovery of certain
types of loans for agricultural improvement.
He is the highest revenue judicial authority in the district. The hearing of appeals against the decisions
of subordinate revenue officers in a variety of matters also falls within his
jurisdiction.
All
the branches dealing with revenue matters are under the direct supervision of
the Assistant Superintendent (Revenue and Records) who supervises : Sadr
Kanungo’s Branch, District Revenue Accounts Branch, Veracular Records Room,
Copying Agency, Registration Branch and Rehabilitation Branch. Most of the work relating to land revenues
administration is carried on in Sadr Kanungo’s Branch. The District Revenue Accounts Branch is
under the Charge of an office assistant known as the District Revenue
Accountant (D.R.A.).
(iii)
In his capacity as District Magistrate, the Deputy Commissioner is primarily
responsible for the maintenance of law and order within his jurisdiction. For the purpose, the district police force,
under the immediate control of the Superintendent of Police, takes orders from
him. He is the head of the criminal
administration of the district. While
the internal departmental control of the police force as such vests in the
Superintendent of Police, the deployment and use of the police force in the
district is subject to the overall control and direction of the District
Magistrate.
Besides
his above mentioned duties as Deputy Commissioner, Collector and District
Magistrate, the Deputy Commissioner plays an important role as Deputy
Custodian. His duties as Deputy Custodian
are : revision against the orders of Tahsildars and Officer-in-Charge, Rural,
regarding allotment of land and houses in rural areas ; revision against the
orders of the District Rent Officer regarding allotment of houses and shops in
urban areas ; and disposal of cases received from the Assistant Custodian
(Judicial), regarding evancuee property.
The
Deputy Commissioner is the executive head of the civil administration and all
departments in the district, which overwise have their own officers, look to
him for guidance and co-ordination. He
plays an important role in the administration of municipal committees, market
committees, panchayats, panchayat samitis, community development blocks and
zila parishad, which have come into shape with the decentralisation of
authority and expansion of the Panchayati Raj.
He is also responsible for the execution of rural development schemes
under the Community Development Programmes.
He
also exercises various residuary
powers. He is also responsible for the satisfactory conduct of all general
elections held in the district from time to time. The decennial census operations also call for his active help and
participation. He maintains general
control over the administration of supply and distribution of controlled
articles. He is concerned with the
rehabilitation of displaced persons and famine relief. In short, nothing of importance takes place
in the district with which the Deputy Commissioner has not been acquainted.
Sub-Divisional
Officers (Civil),- The Sub- Divisional Officer
(Civil) is the executive head of the sub-division. He is either a junior member
of the Indian Administrative Service or a member of the State Civil Service who
had extensive experience in subordinate position, He is a miniature District
Magistrate in his smaller sphere and performs the same kind of work as the
later. But as he has to work under the direct supervision and control of the
District Magistrate, the burden of his responsibility is far less heavy.
The
Sub-Divisional Officer exercises direct control over the Tahsildar and his
staff in his respective sub division. The normal channel of Correspondence
between the Deputy Commissioner and the Tahsildar in a sub-division is the
Sub-Divisional Officer.
The
powers and responsibilities of the Sub-Divisional Officer relating to revenue,
magisterial, executive and developmental matters run on parallel lines with
those of the Deputy Commissioner but at a lower level. His revenue duties are
supervision and inspection of all matters from assessment to collection and of
the work of all official concerned with them and co-ordination of work in the
departments of revenue, agriculture, veterinary and public health within the
sub-division.
His
magisterial duties are; liaison and co-operation with the police in the
sub-division, watch over the relations between various communities and classes,
special precaution and action in emergencies, especially connected with
festivals and recommendations of District Magistrate about grant of arms
licenses. He has ample powers under the Criminal Procedure Code, the Police
Rules and other laws to exercise effects supervision over the law and other
situation in his area.
In
his executive capacity, he can call for any of the records and registers which
deal with crime from police station and ask officers, incharge of police
station, to come to him to explain matters. He commands closer contact with the
public and more intimate association with local bodies and market committees.
He
also plays an important role in t Community Development Programme. He gets all
sort of co-operative and help from other governmental officers in the
sub-division for smooth running of the administration and successful
implementation of the development schemes. He can ever correspond direct with
the Government on routine matters. On important police matters, however, he is
required to route the papers through the Deputy Commissioner.
Tahsildars
and Naib-Tahsildars.- The officer incharge of
a tahsil is called Tahsildar. He is primarily a revenue officer and is
responsible for the collection of land revenue and other dues payable to the
Government. Consequently, he has to be constantly on tour to keep in touch with
subordinate revenue officials, to observe the seasonal condition and condition
of crops, to take note of the difficulties of the cultivators and to distribute
taccavi loans. He decides urgent questions like correction of entries in
the accounts books, providing relief to the people faced with natural
calamities, etc., on the spot. But after he returns to his headquarters, he
draws up reports and recommends remission or suspension of revenue, bring the
people up-to-date, site in court to settle disputes regarding tenancy, arrears
of rent, ejectment of tenants, entries in accounts books, etc., besides doing
other kinds of work.
There
is no substantial difference between the duties of Tahsildars and the
Nib-Tahsildars excepting that the Tahsildars have been invested with the power
of Assistant Collector Class I under the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887, with
regard to the partition cases only, whereas the Naib-Tahsildars are the
Assistant Collector Class II for all purposes. In criminal powers also they
differ; the Tahsildars are normally Magistrates Class II while the Naib-Tahsildars
are Magistrates Class III.
Thw
Tahisldars and Naib-Tahsildars in the district are assisted by: a Sadr Kanungo,
as incharge of the records at he district headquarters; 3 Officer Kanungos, one
each at the tahsil headquarter; 17 field Kanungos, 6 at Gurdaspur, 7 at Batala
and 4 at Pathankot; one Special Kanungo Thur and Sem at the district
headquarter; 332 Patwaris and; 11 Naib-Patwaris.
Kanungos and Patwaris.- The word ‘Kanungo’ literally means the expounder of laws. In practice, he is a supervisor of Patwaris. He is “a man of status”, being an import and the only link between the tahsil officer and the Patwari. Each Tahsildar is assisted by an office kanungo whose main duty is to consolidate the information on different matters. Similarly, at the Deputy Commissioner’s office, there is a Sadr Kanungo who, inter alias, is incharge of Patwaris’ and Kanungos’ establishments and carries out inspections of Patwar Circles and Kanungos in addition to those by Tahisldars. The purpose of Special Kanungo or Patwari Moharir is to make the information contained in revenue records assessible to the litigating public and to the courts, by preparing extracts from the revenue records. Special Kanungo assists the courts of law in the examination of revenue records by giving evidence and by putting the records before the court and by drawing attention to those parts of the records ought to examine.
Whereas the Deputy
Commissioner is regarded as the pivot of the district administration, the
Patwari is the king-pin of the revenue administration in the district. He is the representative of Government at
the village level. Up to 1906, he was
paid by the village itself, but now he is a salaried Government servant. He has usually one or two villages in his
charge. His local knowledge is so
extensive that there is little in the way of information about the village and
its occupants which he does not know or cannot guess. Consequently, he is referred to, not unrealistically, as the eyes
and ears of the Collector. He is
indispensable as a mine of information.
The Patwari’s duties include
conducting of surveys, field inspections, recording of crops, revision of maps
or reports relating to mutations, partitions, revenue or rent, taccavi,
etc. Under the orders of the Collector,
he prepares the records of rights. He is also required to assist in the relief
of agricultural distress and census operations. He reports the crimes and prepares maps to illustrate police
enquires. Preparation of Dhal Bachh
(papers regarding distribution of revenue over holdings) is his special duty.
Lambardars.
-
Lambardar is the most important functionary in the village. His main function is to keep watch over the
law and order position in his area and report to the nearest police station in
case of breach of law. It is also duty
to collect the revenue dues of the Government from various sources and to remit
them into the treasury. He is given 5
per cent of the land revenue collections which is called pachotra. He is a sort of multipurpose official to
help the Government in gathering all sorts of date and information. He is the custodian of all the Government
properties in the village. He also
reports to the tahsildar about the deaths of assignees and pensioners and their
absence for a year. Above all, he is
the representative of the Government in the village. He is assisted by a village chowkider.
In
order to assist the rural society to transform its backward social and economic
conditions by dint of hard work and spirit of co-operation, Community
Development Programme was started in the Punjab in 1952. Introduced with a view to enlisting popular
participation in the implementation of the development programmes in the
blocks, it aims at mobilising public enthusiasm and co-operation and raising
the standard of living of the rural people.
The
district has been divided into 11 development blocks, viz., Gurdaspur,
Kahnuwan, Dorangla (with headquarters at Dinanagar), Dhariwal (with
headquarters at Kalanaur), Batala, Fatehgarh Churian, Srigobindpur, Dera Baba
Nanak, Pathankot, Dhar Kalan and Narot Jaimalsingh. Each block is under the control of a Block Development and
Panchayat Officer, who is under the administrative control of the Chairman of
the respective Block Samiti, Sub-Divisional Officer (Civil) of the respective
Sub-Division, and the District Development and Panchayat Officer at the
district level, besides being under the over-all control of the Deputy Commissioner.
Previously,
the Block Development and Panchayat Officer was called Block Development
Officer, but with the merger of Panchayat Department into the Development
Department in November 1959, his nomenclature was changed. He has been vested with the powers of
Panchayat Officer under the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952.
The
Block Development and Panchayat Officer is mainly responsible for the
successful implemnetation of development schemes in his block. He also guides and supervises the work of
the staff of the other departments in the block under his control. He is assisted by a Social Education and
Panchayat Officer, a Lady Social Education Organiser, an Overseer (popularly
known as Extension Officer), a number ofGram Sevaks and Gram Sevikas, besides
mininsterial Class III and Class IV staff.
Besides, he has a number of
Extension Officers belonging to the departements of Agriculture, Animal
Husbandry, Co-operation and Industries, who assist and advise him in their
respective spheres. This was done after
the introduction of the Panchayati Raj in the State in order to co-ordinate the
activities of various nation building departments.
(d) General Arrangement for Disposal of Business
In
addition to the Sub-Divisional Officers (Civil), Tahsildars and Block
Development and Panchayat Officers, the Deputy Commissioner is assisted by the
following officers whose designation, strength and duties are mentioned below :
|
Designation |
|
Number |
|
General Assistant |
.. |
1 |
|
Public Grievances Officer |
.. |
1 |
|
District Transport Officer |
.. |
1 |
|
District Development and Panchayat
Officer |
.. |
1 |
General Assistant.- He is the Deputy Commissioner’ personal
executive officer and assists him in all his execute and administrative
functions. As such as, he is the
principal administrative officer and attendants to routine correspondence,
attestation, complaints, etc. He does
little touring as he has to keep a vigilant eye on the district office. Almost all the branches of Deputy
Commissioner’s office are under his supervision. He is competent to correspond within the Government and other
departments in routine matters. He is
Magistrate I Class, but since the separation of the Judicial from the executive
on October 2, 1964, he tries only security cases.
Public
Grievances Officer.- There is a Public Grievance Officer at the district
headquarters who is a Senior Magistrate or an officer of an equivalent
status. He redresses the grievance of
the public in the district and expedites action on the complaints received by
him relating to all the departments. He
also acts as co-ordinating officer in the disposal of the complaints of the
public.
District
Development and Panchayat Officer.- He co-ordinates the activities of all the
development departments in the district.
The development branch of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, which deals
with planning of development programmes and agricultural production, functions
under the supervision of District Development and Panchayat Officer who is promoted
from amongst the Block Development and Panchayat Officer. All the Block Development and Panchayat
Officer in the district are under his control of the implementation of
Community Development Programme.
Civil
Defence Controller.- The Deputy Commissioner is the ex-officio Civil
Defence Controller of the district. He
is assisted by a Civil Defence Officer.
He has multifarious duties to perform at the time of aggression/conflict
or war. He is responsible for the
defence of civilian population, maintenance of fire-fighting equipment, proper
functioning of sirens, digging of trenches, first-aid, extension of hospital
facilities, electricity and water facilities, etc. He also maintains liaison wit the local, military and other
authorities and holds periodical meeting of all the officers and the
organisations concerned with civil defence.
Executive
Magistrates.- There are 6 Executive Magistrates in the district, 4 at Gurdaspur and
one each at Batala and Pathankot.
After
the separation of judiciary from the executive, the Executive Magistrate help
the District Magistrate in the maintenance of law and order. The Executive Magistrates also deal with
security/revenue cases. They are also
responsible for criminal work of the various police stations falling in their
respective jurisdiction.
Registration.- The Inspector-General of Registration, Punjab with
headquarters at Jullundur, is the head of head
of the Registration Department at the State Level. At the district level, the Deputy
Commissioner is the Registrar who supervises the registration work in the
district. In the Gurdaspur District,
the Registrar is assisted by 3 Tahsildars as Sub- Registrar, one each in the
three district tahsils of Batala, Gurdaspur and Pathankot. The state Government is authorised to
appoint any Cantonment Magistrate as Joint sub-Registrar temporarily. Naib-Tahsildar in a tahsil is the ex-officio
Joint Sub-Registrar and he undertakes the registration work only when the
regular Sub-Registrar is on leave or away from the headquarters. The Sub-Registrar and the Joint
Sub-Registrar o registration work in addition to their own duties and, thus get
monthly honorarium for it.
The Sub-Registrar registers the
documents pertaining to the properties situated in his jurisdiction. The registrar is, however, empowered to
register any document from any tahsil of his district. The Registrar hears appeals and applications
preferred to him under section 72 and 73 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908,
against refusal to register document by the Sub-Registrars under him.
A
Head Registration Clerk assists the Registrars at the district headquarters and
the clerk/readers assists the Sub-Registrar/Joint Sub-Registrars in the tahsils
in performing the registration work.
Official Receiver.- At
the district headquarters, there is an Official Receiver who is appointed by
the Government on the recommendations of the District and Session Judge. He is incharge of insolvency estates. In case a person applied for insolvency, his
property is put under his charge. He
disposes it of according to the orders of the Insolvency Court, keeping 7 ½
percent of sale proceeds as his remuneration.
He also acts as Court Auctioneer and gets 4 percent commission on the
auction proceeds.
Oath Commissioners.- There
are 19 Oath Commissioners in the district, 7 at Gurdaspur and 6 each at Batala
and Pathankot. They charge Re 1 as
attestation fee for and affidavit attested by them.
District
Attorney.- Formerly designated as Public Prosecutor/Government Pleader, the
District Attorney is appointed by the Home Secretary to the Government, Punjab
on the recommendations of the Legal Remembrance. He presents the Government
cases in the civil and Session Courts and is under the control of the Oath
Remembrancer, Punjab. He is assisted by
3 Assistant District Attorney, besides ministerial and allied Class IV
staff. The District Attorney and
Assistant District Attorneys are not allowed to engage in private practice.