Q.Too much political interference in administration suggested to be reduced via autonomous agencies not answering to ministers. Will this make administration more people-friendly/efficient? Does democracy mean full elected control over administration?
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →The proposal captures a real tension the chapter itself identifies — too much political interference can turn the bureaucracy into a tool of the politician, so some insulation can help — but 'not answerable to ministers at all' goes too far, because it would break the chain of democratic accountability the Constitution deliberately built between the elected government and the permanent administration. Whether it makes administration more people-friendly or more efficient depends entirely on what kind of autonomy is granted, not on removing ministerial answerability altogether. And no, democracy does not require full, minute elected control over every administrative action — but it does require that the administration remain ultimately answerable to elected representatives.
The chapter itself sets up exactly this tension. On one hand, it says bureaucracy is 'expected to be politically neutral' and should not take political positions on policy matters — precisely so that when a party loses an election, the incoming government's new policies can be implemented faithfully by the same administrative machinery. It also notes real problems: people are afraid of approaching a government officer, the bureaucracy can be insensitive to the demands and expectations of the ordinary citizen, and too much political interference turns the bureaucracy into an instrument in the hands of the politician. This is a genuine argument for some institutional insulation from day-to-day political pressure — for instance, the Constitution already protects civil servants' recruitment through independent Public Service Commissions, whose members can only be removed after a Supreme Court judge's enquiry.
On the other hand, the chapter is equally clear that administration must stay under democratic control: elected representatives and ministers are meant to be in charge of government, with administration under their control and supervision, and it is the responsibility of ministers to retain political control over the administration. An agency that answers to no minister at all would break this chain entirely — it would be accountable to nobody the citizens elected, and its officers (unlike ministers) cannot be voted out. That is a serious democratic cost, not a neutral efficiency gain. …
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