Place or Area Basis of Departments

Place or Area Basis of Departments:

The place where the job is to be done may be the basis for the organization of a Department. In every country, there are some areas, territories, or regions which need special attention and service. The Government of the state has to take the problems and needs of these areas into consideration. For this purpose, the government organizes several departments for looking after the needs and development of particular and specific areas. In each such case, the special area or place is taken as the basis for the formation of a department. In India, Departments organized for the development of the Kandi areas or for the development of Hilly areas of the Northeast are examples of such departments.

Merits of Area or Territory Basis:

A department may be organized on the basis of area or territory, and it can serve in all respects. According to this basis, the department is to look after the needs of a particular area. In India, administrative agencies like the Damodar Valley Corporation, and the Bhakra Nangal River Project have been organized on an area basis.

The following are the merits of departments based on area or geographical basis:

(1) Since a department organized on this basis is concerned only with a particular area, it can well satisfy all the needs and requirements of the people of the concerned area.

(2) It is very economical, as travel and communication costs and the volume of correspondence are considerably reduced.

(3) In big countries like India, the system can be utilized for an effective organization of the administration of the state.

(4) The system of organizing departments on a geographical basis is very suitable when long distances and lack of communication facilities characterize the environment.

Demerits of Geographical or Place Basis:

The disadvantages of the place basis of the departmental organization are as under:

(1) It encourages localism at the cost of national outlook and solidarity. It is parochial in approach.

(2) Geographical departments are multi-functional and this feature hinders specialization of functions.

(3) Such departments are dominated by regional interests and regional pressure groups. Their work can be detrimental to national interests.

(4) The systems check the uniformity of administrative policies. Regional variations are incapable of universal applications. Regionalism dominates nationalism.

Thus, like all other bases of departmental organization, the geographical or area basis too has several merits and demerits.