Abstract
Development work is a team effort. The continued presence of the same team thus can be expected to be more fruitful. A high turnover rate of officials at district and lower levels is considered detrimental to development. This has been recognized and reflected in the setting up of norms of minimum duration of stay for various categories of officers dealing with development. But what is the reality on the ground? In this article, Girja Sharan and S Narayanan look into the frequency of transfers of officials over decades in two districts of Rajasthan and quantify the data, concluding that it is statistically certain that no team of Collector, Sub-Divisional Officer, Tehsildar, and Block Development Officer, initially appointed, would work for even a period of two years. Chances are just one in five that the team would last one for year!
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