GS Paper IV — Q7
Sunil is a young civil servant and has a reputation for his competence, integrity, dedication and relentness pursuit of difficult…
Sunil is a young civil servant and has a reputation for his competence, integrity, dedication and relentness pursuit of difficult and onerous jobs. Considering his profile, he was picked up by his bosses to handle a very challenging and sensitive assignment. He was posted in a tribal dominated district notorious for illegal sand mining. Excavating sand from river belt and transporting through trucks and selling them in black market was rampant. This illegal sand mining mafia was operating with the support of local functionaries and tribal musclemen who in turn were bribing selected poor tribals and had kept the tribals under fear and intimidation.
Sunil being a sharp and energetic officer immediately grasped the ground realities and the modus operandi followed by the mafia through their devious and dubious mechanism. On making inquiries, he gathered that some of their own office employees are in hand and glove with them and have developed close unholy nexus. Sunil initiated stringent action against them and started conducting raids on their illegal operations of movement of trucks filled with sand. The mafia got rattled as not many officers in the past had taken such strong steps against the mafia. Some of the office employees who were allegedly close to mafia informed them that the officer is determined to clean up the mafia's illegal sand mining operations in that district and may cause them irreparable damage.
The mafia turned hostile and launched counter-offensive. The tribal musclemen and mafia started threatening him with dire consequences. His family (wife and old mother) were stalked and were under virtual surveillance and thus causing mental torture, agony and stress to all of them. The matter assumed serious proportions when a muscleman came to his office and threatened him to stop raids, etc., otherwise, his fate will not be different than some of his predecessors (ten years back one officer was killed by the mafia).
Identify the different options available to Sunil in attending to this situation.
Critically evaluate each of the options listed by you.
Which of the above, do you think, would be the most appropriate for Sunil to adopt and why?
(Answer in 250 words)
हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें
सुनील एक युवा लोक सेवक है तथा सक्षमता, ईमानदारी, समर्पण तथा मुश्किल और दुर्वह कामों के लिए अथक प्रयास हेतु उसकी प्रतिष्ठा है। उसकी प्रोफाइल को देखते हुए उसके अधिकारियों ने उसे एक बहुत ही चुनौतीपूर्ण और संवेदनशील कार्यभार को संभालने के लिए चुना था। उसे अवैध बालू खनन के लिए कुक्षात आदिवासी-बहुल जिले में तैनात किया गया। नदी पट्टी से, अनियंत्रित रूप से बालू उत्खनन करके ट्रकों से ढोकर उसको काला बाजार में बेचा जा रहा था। यह अवैध बालू खनन माफिया, स्थानीय कार्यकर्ताओं और आदिवासी बाहुबलियों के सहयोग से काम कर रहा था जो बदले में चुनिंदा गरीब आदिवासियों को रिश्वत देते रहते थे तथा उनको डरा और धमका कर रखते थे।
सुनील ने एक तेज और ऊर्जावान अधिकारी होने के नाते जमीनी हकीकत पहचानकर और माफिया के द्वारा कुटिल तथा संविधि तंत्र के माध्यम से अपनाए गए उनके तौर-तरीकों को तुरंत पकड़ लिया। पूछताछ करने पर उसने पाया कि उसके अपने कार्यालय के कुछ कर्मचारियों की उनसे मिलीभगत है और उन्होंने उनके साथ घनिष्ठ अवांछनीय गठजोड़ विकसित कर लिया है। सुनील ने उनके खिलाफ कड़ी कार्रवाई शुरू की और उनके बालू से भरे ट्रकों की आवाजाही के अवैध संचालन पर छापे मारना शुरू कर दिया। माफिया भड़क गया क्योंकि पहले बहुत अधिकारियों ने उनके विरुद्ध इतने बड़े कदम नहीं उठाए थे। कार्यालय के कुछ कर्मचारियों ने जो कथित तौर पर माफिया के करीब थे, उनको सूचित किया कि अधिकारी उस जिले में माफिया के अवैध बालू खनन संचालन को साफ करने के लिए दृढ़ संकल्पित है और उन्हें अपूर्णीय क्षति हो सकती है।
माफिया शत्रुतापूर्ण हो गया और जवाबी हमला शुरू किया। आदिवासी बाहुबली और माफिया ने उसको गंभीर परिणाम भुगतने की धमकी देना शुरू कर दिया। उसके परिवार (पत्नी और वृद्ध माता) का पीछा किया जा रहा था, वे उनकी वास्तविक निगरानी में थे जिससे कि उन सभी को मानसिक यातना, यंत्रणा और तनाव हो रहा था। उस समय मामले ने गंभीर रूप धारण कर लिया जब एक बाहुबली उसके कार्यालय में आया और उसको छापे मारना इत्यादि बंद करने की धमकी दी और कहा कि उसका हाल उसके पूर्व अधिकारियों से अलग नहीं होगा (दस वर्ष पूर्व माफिया द्वारा एक अधिकारी की हत्या कर दी गई थी)।
इस स्थिति को संभालने में सुनील के लिए उपलब्ध विभिन्न विकल्पों की पहचान कीजिए।
आपके द्वारा सूचीबद्ध विकल्पों का आलोचनात्मक मूल्यांकन कीजिए।
आपके विचार से उपर्युक्त में से कौन-सा विकल्प सुनील के लिए सबसे उपयुक्त होगा और क्यों?
(उत्तर 250 शब्दों में दीजिए)
Model answer
Drafted with AI by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 250-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key. How we build rubrics and answers.
(a) Options available
- Continue raids alone, as before.
- Continue enforcement but escalate: report the threats in writing to the DM, SP and department, register an FIR, and seek security for family and raiding teams.
- Seek a transfer on grounds of family safety.
- Slow down or quietly compromise with the mafia.
- Shift to depersonalised, technology-based enforcement (GPS-tracked transit permits, drones, CCTV at check-posts) and act against colluding staff.
(b) Critical evaluation
- Option 1: Shows courage and integrity, but a lone officer against an armed nexus risks his and his family's lives, and his removal would end the drive.
- Option 2: Turns a personal fight into the State's fight and protects the family; its weakness is bureaucratic delay, so interim protection is needed.
- Option 3: Meets his family duty, but rewards intimidation, demoralises honest colleagues and leaves the tribals exploited.
- Option 4: Compromises integrity, signals weakness and exposes him to charges of collusion.
- Option 5: Cuts personal exposure and insider leaks, but technology alone cannot break muscle power or the poor tribals' economic dependence.
(c) Most appropriate course
I would combine Options 2 and 5 with a community dimension: lodge an FIR for criminal intimidation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and obtain armed protection for the family; conduct joint raids with police and revenue teams; remove colluding staff and start vigilance proceedings; institutionalise e-transit passes, GPS tracking and drone monitoring of riverbeds; and win over the tribals through Gram Sabhas (PESA Act, 1996, where applicable), District Mineral Foundation funds and livelihood schemes. This protects his family through institutions rather than retreat, upholds integrity and makes enforcement outlast his own tenure.
How this answer will be evaluated
Framework: GS4 Ethical Dilemma Framework
What earns full marks: Comprehensive options, balanced critical evaluation, and a justified, actionable course of action.
Evaluation rubric
Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.
- (a) List distinct courses of action available to Sunil.
highlight— name the salient points → one line of substance each → close
Must cover
- Option to continue raids with enhanced security
- Option to seek transfer or reassignment
- Option to negotiate or compromise with mafia
- Option to escalate to higher authorities
Loses marks
- Listing vague or generic options
- Missing the option to compromise
Earns more
- Mentioning legal action against threats
- Mentioning community engagement
Extra mark
- Reference to specific police protection protocols
- (b) Assess the pros and cons of each option listed.
critically evaluate— positives → negatives/limits → conditions/safeguards → conclusion
Must cover
- Critique of compromise (undermines integrity)
- Critique of transfer (appears as defeatism)
- Critique of continuing (risk to life/family)
- Critique of escalation (bureaucratic delays)
Loses marks
- One-sided evaluation without trade-offs
- Ignoring the 'easy-but-wrong' option
Earns more
- Balanced view of security vs. duty
- Mentioning impact on public trust
Extra mark
- Reference to 'duty of care' for family
- (c) Select the best option and provide reasoning.
justify— claim → 3-4 reasons → evidence → conclusion
Must cover
- Selection of continued enforcement with institutional backing and security
- Reasoning based on public interest
- Reasoning based on integrity and duty
- Mentioning specific safety measures
Loses marks
- Choosing to compromise or transfer
- Vague reasoning without specific justification
Earns more
- Balancing personal safety with public duty
- Mentioning long-term impact on district
Extra mark
- Citing a specific Supreme Court judgment on duty
What "Critically evaluate" is asking you to do
Judge how well something has performed against the standard it set for itself — its stated aim, mandate or promise — and commit to a verdict. Name the yardstick before you judge; an unanchored judgement reads as opinion. “Critically” is not a section added at the end: name the yardstick you are judging by — the evidence, the stated objective, a constitutional principle, a rival explanation — and let a verdict close each part of the body. Where the question quotes a claim, that verdict must land on the claim itself, accepted, qualified or rejected, and not on the theme in general.
Structure that answers it
Name the yardstick — stated aim, mandate or benchmark → performance against it → shortfall against it → why the gap exists → verdict
Where marks are lost
Merits in one paragraph, demerits in the next, and a conclusion calling for a balanced and holistic approach. That is a survey with the judgement left out and it holds the answer in the middle band. The opposite error is reading “critically” as permission to attack — and with the odd pairings, critically describe or critically explain, the exposition still carries most of the marks, the judgement being a layer on it rather than a substitute for it.
Practice this exact question
Write your answer and it is marked point by point against the model answer above — what you covered, what you missed, what you got wrong.
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