Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardSituational Ethics and Administrative Dilemmas

As a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) overseeing land acquisition for a critical national highway expansion, you receive a representation from a group of marginal farmers. They present evidence suggesting that their fertile agricultural land was acquired while adjacent, uncultivated land owned by an influential developer was deliberately bypassed during the alignment survey. Halting work completely will cause severe contractual delays and financial penalties, but ignoring the petition risks violating procedural fairness and public trust. Which of the following is the most ethically sound and administratively appropriate course of action?

  1. A
    Issue an immediate district-wide suspension of all highway construction activities and order criminal proceedings against the survey team.
  2. B
    Dismiss the farmers' petition to prevent project delays and exchequer losses, advising them to file a civil lawsuit if aggrieved.
  3. Constitute a time-bound independent technical committee to re-verify the disputed alignment while allowing construction to proceed on undisputed segments.Answer
  4. D
    Informally direct the field engineers to shift the highway boundary onto the developer's land on-site to resolve the issue quickly.

Answer

The most ethically sound and administratively appropriate action is to constitute a time-bound independent technical committee to re-verify the disputed alignment while allowing construction to proceed on undisputed segments.
Constituting a time-bound, independent technical committee to investigate the disputed stretch while permitting work on undisputed segments reflects administrative prudence. It respects natural justice by investigating credible allegations of bias, adheres to proportionality by avoiding an unnecessary project-wide shutdown, and upholds public interest.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the administrative dilemma
Identified competing values: procedural justice and public trust versus operational efficiency and avoidance of exchequer loss.
Administrative decisions must balance natural justice with public interest and institutional efficiency.
2
Evaluate options against constitutional standards and administrative propriety
Determined that complete shutdown or informal alterations violate administrative balance or statutory protocol, while dismissing grievances violates natural justice.
Extreme measures or rule violations exacerbate administrative failures, whereas complete denial of grievance redressal damages public credibility.
3
Select the balanced course of action
Instituting an independent, time-bound technical review limited to the disputed section maintains due process while keeping the broader public project on schedule.
This minimizes financial loss while rigorously investigating potential corruption or procedural error.

Key Concept

Principle of Proportionality and Natural Justice in Administrative Decisions
Rate this question

Topics

Situational Ethics and Administrative Dilemmas

More questions from this topic