Administrative Reforms in Kerala - The Vision of 3rd ARC

The Vision of 3rd ARC

The Third Administrative Reforms Commission has developed a vision of responsive administration and its recommendations were designed to attain this vision. The salient features of the vision are:

• A people centered form of governance is to be aimed at.

• Government at all levels has to give utmost importance to the citizens, and the common man in particular.

• Decentralized governance resulting in the creation of vibrant Local self- governments with clear functional domains, and the power, authority and resources to discharge the assigned functions autonomously, is most conducive for genuine people’s participation.

• Administration has to become more efficient for which greater professionalism is called for which can be achieved through constant training and through scientific methods of performance assessment.

• The administration has also to be effective achieving the objectives for which it exists.

• There is need for greater accountability to the people. This can be best achieved by creation of systems institutions facilitating people’s participation.

• The Commission has vision of a simple and rational administrative system which is understood by all the as and which is capable of rising up to the expectations of everyone.

• There is a heavy cost in running government and there has to be a constant assessment of costs and return Society has to get the value for the money it spends on administration.

• In order to attain this vision, one time reform alone would not be sufficient. There has to be a dynamic product… with constant refining and redefining.

Later, Government of Kerala has prepared a Modernising Government Programme, chiefly for implementing various recommendations of the Administrative Reforms Commissions.