Too Big to Govern?

On October 11, the Telangana government announced "a Dasara gift to the people of Telangana" with much fanfare and full-page newspaper advertisements. The youngest Indian state was "reconstituting its 10 districts into 31 smaller districts" with the promise of "bringing administration to the doorstep" of its people - a great idea that could have far-reaching impact. After all, administrators say, optimising districts is certainly a good move.

But then, does the state need 31 districts? Earlier, the plan was to have 17 districts, in line with the number of parliamentary constituencies. Says Narsing Rao, Principal Secretary to Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao: "The chief minister has always held that the number of parliamentary constituencies should not be the basis for forming new districts. The two are different. Parliamentary constituencies are subject to delimitation once in 10 or 20 years. There is no permanency as they are linked to the changing population profile." But then, economists say that administrative costs could go up because, irrespective of the size of a district, the requirements of a collectorate will remain the same in terms of staffing needs. Same would be the case with the superintendent of police.

The direct implication at the state level would translate into more time and resources spent on monitoring. The reconstitution will create 21 new districts, 25 new revenue divisions, 125 new mandals, four new police commissionerates, 23 new police subdivisions, 28 new circles and 91 police stations. Some experts say to implement it, the administrative costs will at least double. But Rao is not convinced. "There will be a small increase in the staff strength - about 3,400 new posts have been sanctioned across departments of revenue, police, panchayat and education. For the rest, we will redeploy existing staff," says Rao, adding: "If there is 1 per cent increase in number of people, it will imply only around 1 per cent increase in the establishment cost."

However, back-of-the-envelope calculations would point towards a rise in costs for setting up new administrative buildings and additional staff, among others. Even if the number of additional staff is small, it would be a recurring cost. Given that Telangana is a revenue-surplus state, it can perhaps indulge in some of this, but even with the creation of new districts it would be a challenge providing the people of the state efficient and effective administration closer to their doorstep.

Not surprisingly, the Telangana chief minister has his concerns. He has come up with a citizen charter with statutory legal backup so that the people can expect to get all the services, such as land records, sanctions, approvals and certificates, in a seamless manner. Besides, more focused monitoring and implementation of the welfare and developmental programmes will be key. How well he can deliver on his promises will probably decide whether small is beautiful.