Public Administration and Maharashtra Government Machinery
This domain tests whether you know who does what in Maharashtra: the constitutional offices, the secretariat-to-village chain, the panchayat and urban local body tiers, and the transparency laws that make administration answerable.
Constitutional offices and legislature
Governor under Arts 153 to 162, Chief Minister and Council of Ministers under Arts 163 and 164, Advocate General, and the Maharashtra Public Service Commission under Art 315. The Maharashtra Legislature is bicameral: Legislative Assembly with 288 seats and Legislative Council with 78 seats. The Maharashtra Lokayukta handles complaints against public functionaries.
The administrative chain
Secretariat and departments, then six revenue divisions (Konkan, Pune, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Amravati and Nagpur), then districts, then talukas, then villages. The Collector heads the district administration; the Chief Executive Officer heads the Zilla Parishad; the Tahsildar is the taluka revenue officer; the Block Development Officer links panchayats; the Gram Sevak is at village level. Know the distinction between the Collector's regulatory role and the CEO's developmental role.
Local government
Rural: Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad under the 73rd Amendment and the Eleventh Schedule. Urban: Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council and Municipal Corporation under the 74th Amendment and the Twelfth Schedule.
Transparency and delivery
Right to Information Act 2005, Maharashtra Right to Public Services Act 2015 with notified timelines and penalties, Aaple Sarkar grievance redressal, MahaDBT for benefits, and e-office for file movement.
Worked example
A citizen's welfare application is stalled at taluka level. Track it as: application received by the Tahsildar's office, verification by the Gram Sevak, recommendation by the Panchayat Samiti, sanction at district level by the Collector or the department head, disbursal through MahaDBT. If the notified timeline lapses, the Right to Public Services Act allows a first appeal and then a review, with a penalty on the responsible officer. Reasoning shown: name the office at each stage, then the remedy.
Traps that cost marks
Swapping Collector and CEO roles; misnaming divisions; forgetting that panchayats became constitutional bodies only after 1992.