Discuss the options open to Seema. Identify the recommended option and justify it.
Options Before Seema:
- Ignore or slow-play — ethically unacceptable; encourages wrongdoing.
- Immediate mass action & FIRs — decisive but risks institutional backlash, union unrest and complete disruption.
- Calibrated, evidence-based dismantling with parallel decongestion (Recommended).
Justification of Option 3:
Immediate (Week 1-2):
- Constitute a discreet internal preliminary enquiry by trusted officers.
- Deploy CCTV, biometric attendance, and rotate suspected subordinates without initial confrontation.
- Set up a special CLU disposal cell with new staff to clear the backlog transparently — restoring public trust and denying touts leverage.
Short-term (Month 1-2):
- Digitise application tracking; introduce time-bound disposal under Right to Public Services Act.
- Refer collected evidence to Vigilance/ACB for prosecution of identified officials and touts.
- Protect whistleblowers; anonymous grievance channel.
Long-term:
- Structural reform — auto-approval timelines, online public dashboard, third-party audit.
- Sensitisation and ethics training.
Guiding Principle: Justice must be firm but institutionally sustainable. Simultaneously deliver service and dismantle corruption — ensuring the public sees both accountability and relief.
Important Questions from GS4
A business house is working on a project that could displace a forest community from their habitat. As the administrative officer of that district, what ethical challenges are you likely to face?
An endangered tribe has developed a severe skeletal deformity. A university research has identified a mineral supplement as a possible remedy, though clinical trials are yet to be conducted. Should the District Magistrate (DM) use this research on the tribe? Discuss from the perspective of medical and administrative ethics.
Discuss how national security can be balanced with concerns of human rights.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar had cautioned that employing civil disobedience within a constitutional democracy equates to endorsing 'anarchy'. How should modern democracies navigate the ethical dilemmas posed by civil disobedience movements that aim to promote social justice against policies that may raise genuine concerns?
In what ways can an Indian Administrative Officer apply Gandhi's notion of 'trusteeship' to ensure fairness in governance?
