Administrative delay deprives people of rights, says President

Asserting that refraining from making a decision does not constitute morality, President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said a delay in administrative decision-making is tantamount to depriving people of their legitimate interests.

Addressing Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers of the 2024 batch, who had called on the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Murmu said that ethics and governance are the two sides of the same coin.

“You have to be honest and ethical. At the same time, you have to deliver results. IAS officers are expected to exercise the powers delegated to them,” she said.

The President said that refraining from making a decision does not constitute morality.

“Rather, making the right decisions in alignment with the public interest and established order represents the true essence of morality. Just as a delay in the delivery of justice is deemed a denial of justice, so too is a delay in administrative decision-making tantamount to depriving people of their legitimate interests,” Murmu said.

Quoting former Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, she said some remnants of pre-independence practices and behaviour patterns still survive in certain areas of governance. “Such practices must be eradicated. You have to contribute to this national objective,” the President said.

Addressing IAS probationers in 1947, Patel had said: “It will be your bounden duty to treat the common men in India as your own, or to put it correctly, to feel yourself to be one of them and amongst them.”

“This statement becomes especially relevant in the context of our ongoing national efforts for mental decolonisation,” Murmu said.

The President told officers that accepting the status quo may often be the most convenient option, but not necessarily the best option.

“Recognising when things need to change and having the conviction, ability and courage to see it through is the marker of an effective civil servant,” she stated.

The President stated that no effort is required to simply drift along with the flowing current.

To achieve the goal of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ and to elevate our society to the pinnacle of progress, officers will often have to move forward by striving against the tide, Murmu said, and advised them to keep the people of India, particularly the marginalised sections of society, at the very centre of their thoughts and actions, whether they are out in the field or working in the office.

She said that the neutrality of the officers will be an indicator of their fairness.

“Your sensitivity will be the measure of your commitment to inclusivity. Your credibility will be built on your transparency and sustained performance. Your integrity, defined by your personal and professional conduct, will give you the moral courage to act decisively in the public interest.

“You will have to blend compassion with rationality. You have to be sensitive without being sentimental. You have to follow the rules but not lose sight of the larger objectives,” the President said.

Murmu said, now that the country has entered into a higher orbit of development, the expectations from the IAS are also higher.

“On several occasions, you will be heading teams of experts in certain specialised areas. Therefore, the scope and pace of your learning must be very wide and rapid. Your ability to adapt to different areas and situations has to be exceptional,” she said.

The President said that the objective of a democracy is to realise the aspirations of its people.

“These aspirations are articulated through their elected representatives. It is, therefore, the duty of officers to accord priority to the issues raised by these representatives in the interest of the public,” Murmu told the officers, who are currently serving as assistant secretaries in various Union ministries and departments.