As a senior officer in the Ministry, you have access to important policy decisions and upcoming big announcements such as road construction projects before they are notified in the public domain. The Ministry is about to announce a mega road project for which the drawings are already in place. Sufficient care was taken by the planners to make use of the government land with minimum land acquisition from private parties. Compensation rate for private parties was also finalized as per government rules. Care was also taken to minimize deforestation. Once the project is announced, it is expected that there will be a huge spurt in real estate prices in and around that area.
Meanwhile, the Minister concerned insists that you realign the road in such a way that it comes closer to his 20 acres farm house. He also suggests that he would facilitate purchase of a big plot of land in your wife’s name at the prevailing rate which is very nominal, in and around the proposed mega road project. He also tries to convince you by saying that there is no harm in it as he is buying the land legally. He even promises to supplement your savings in case you do not have sufficient funds to buy the land. However, by the act of realignment, a lot of agricultural land has to be acquired, thereby causing considerable financial burden on the government, and also displacement of the farmers. As if this is not enough, it will involve cutting down of a large number of trees, denuding the area of its green cover.
Faced with this situation, what will you do? Critically examine various conflicts of interest and explain what are your responsibilities as a public servant.
Approach · directive: “what will you do / critically examine / explain”
What it asks · State what you would do when the Minister asks you to realign the road near his farm house and offers help to buy land in your wife's name; examine the conflicts of interest and set out your responsibilities as a public servant.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- State what you will do when faced with this situation
- Critically examine the various conflicts of interest
- Explain your responsibilities as a public servant
Open with · the value conflict, public interest versus private gain and loyalty to the Constitution versus obedience to a Minister, as a test of whether I check the misuse of office or join it.
Cover
- Stakeholders: the Minister, my family and I, displaced farmers, the forest, the exchequer, the Ministry and public trust.
- Conflicts examined: the Minister's gain (the 2nd ARC's 'arises, or appears to arise' test); my inducement (PC Act, 1988); conduct rules on family property.
- Options table: comply quietly, refuse but stay silent, or refuse, record and escalate, each with merits and demerits.
- What I will do: refuse at once, put the case on file, seek written orders (T.S.R. Subramanian, 2013), escalate, and guard the information.
- Responsibilities: integrity, confidentiality, impartial advice, prudence with public money, care for farmers and forests, moral courage (Satyendra Dubey).
- Long-term: the 2nd ARC's monitoring units for ministers' codes in the PM's and CMs' offices; alignments changed only for recorded technical reasons.
Close with · a civil servant serves the public interest, not a Minister's estate; institutions that shield those who refuse are what let such honesty survive.
Add value (verified)
- Rule 18(2) of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 bars a government servant from acquiring or disposing of immovable property, even in a family member's name, without the previous knowledge of the prescribed authority; a proviso requires prior sanction if the transaction is with a person having official dealings with him.Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 (updated 27 February 2015), Department of Personnel and Training ↗“No Government servant shall, except with the previous knowledge of the prescribed authority, acquire or dispose of any immovable property by lease, mortgage, purchase, sale, gift or otherwise either in his own name or in the name of any member of his family”
- Rule 3(1)(xv) of the CCS (Conduct) Rules, as amended: a government servant shall not misuse his position or take decisions to derive financial or material benefits for himself, his family or his friends.Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 (updated) — Department of Personnel and Training ↗“(xv) not misuse his position as civil servant and not take decisions in order to derive financial or material benefits for himself, his family or his friends;”
- Rule 3(2)(iii)-(iv) of the CCS (Conduct) Rules: directions of superiors shall ordinarily be in writing; oral directions must be confirmed in writing, and the officer receiving one shall seek written confirmation.Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 (updated) — Department of Personnel and Training ↗“(iii) The direction of the official superior shall ordinarily be in writing. Oral direction to subordinates shall be avoided, as far as possible. Where the issue of oral direction becomes unavoidable, the official superior shall confirm it in writing immediately thereafter; (iv) A Government servant who has received oral direction from his official superior shall seek confirmation of the same in writing as early as possible”
- Supreme Court, T.S.R. Subramanian v. Union of India (31 October 2013): civil servants cannot function on oral instructions and must be protected against arbitrary pressure from superiors, the political executive and vested interests.T.S.R. Subramanian v. Union of India, Supreme Court, 31 October 2013 — Indian Kanoon ↗“civil servants cannot function on the basis of verbal or oral instructions, orders, suggestions, proposals, etc. and they must also be protected against wrongful and arbitrary pressure exerted by the administrative superiors, political executive, business and other vested interests.”
- The 2nd ARC (Box 3.1) recalls IOC officer Manjunath Shanmugam, shot dead on 19 November 2005 after refusing bribes in his fight against fuel adulteration, and NHAI official Satyendra Dubey, who exposed corruption in road construction and was found dead on 27 November 2003.Second Administrative Reforms Commission, 4th Report: Ethics in Governance — DARPG (archived copy) ↗“He refused bribes and ignored threats to his life in his fight against adulteration by the petrol pump owners. He paid the price. He was shot dead on 19th November, 2005 allegedly at the behest of corrupt petrol pump owners. Satyendra Dubey, working with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), exposed the rampant corruption in construction of roads. He was also found dead on 27th November, 2003.”
- Gandhi's Seven Social Sins (Young India, 1925), quoted in the 2nd ARC report, begin with politics without principles.Second Administrative Reforms Commission, 4th Report: Ethics in Governance — DARPG (archived copy) ↗“The Seven Social Sins, as quoted by Mahatma Gandhi in “Young India,” 1925 1. Politics without principles 2. Wealth without work 3. Leisure without conscience.”
- 2nd ARC, 4th Report (para 2.4.5): dedicated units in the offices of the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers should monitor the observance of ministers' Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct, and receive public complaints of violations.Second Administrative Reforms Commission, 4th Report: Ethics in Governance, para 2.4.5 — DARPG (archived copy) ↗“Dedicated units should be set up in the offices of the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers to monitor the observance of the Code of Ethics and the Code of Conduct. The unit should also be empowered to receive public complaints regarding violation of the Code of Conduct.”
- 2nd ARC, 4th Report: a Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct for Ministers should require that no conflict arises, or appears to arise, between their public duties and their private interests.Second Administrative Reforms Commission, 4th Report: Ethics in Governance, para 2.4 (Ethical Framework for Ministers) — DARPG (archived copy) ↗“Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises, or appears to arise, between their public duties and their private interests;”
- Rule 16(3) of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968: no member of the Service shall, without the previous knowledge of the Government, acquire immovable property in his own name or in the name of a family member (the AIS counterpart of CCS Rule 18(2)).All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, Rule 16 — copy hosted by the High Court of Tripura ↗“No member of the Service shall, except with the previous knowledge of the Government,— (a) acquire any immovable property by lease, mortgage, purchase, gift or otherwise, either in his own name or in the name of any member of his family”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2018, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 373words · Minimalist IAS
Public interest versus private gain, and loyalty to the Constitution versus obedience to a Minister: the case tests whether I check the misuse of office or join it.
Stakeholders
- The Minister; my family and I; displaced farmers; the forest; the exchequer; the Ministry; public trust.
Conflicts of interest, critically examined
- The Minister's: a road bent towards his farmhouse means extra cost, displaced farmers and felled trees for one man's gain; the 2nd ARC wants ministers bound to ensure no such conflict "arises, or appears to arise".
- Mine: his offer to fund my purchase is an inducement the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 punishes; even a market-rate deal would exploit inside information, and a legal deed cannot cure an illegitimate purpose.
- Rules anticipate it: conduct rules bar decisions bringing "financial or material benefits" to an officer's family, and property bought in a family member's name needs the authority's prior knowledge (CCS Rule 18(2); AIS Rule 16(3)).
Options weighed
| Option | Merits | Demerits |
|---|---|---|
| Comply quietly | Pleases the Minister | Corruption; farmers and forests pay |
| Refuse but stay silent | Clean hands | A pliant colleague may still oblige |
| Refuse, record, escalate | Lawful; protects the public | Minister's hostility |
What I will do
- Refuse at once: decline the land offer and the realignment, courteously but firmly.
- Put it on file: record the cost, displacement and forest case for the original alignment; seek any contrary direction in writing, since civil servants cannot act on oral instructions (T.S.R. Subramanian, 2013).
- Escalate: brief the Secretary; if pressure persists, report it in writing to the vigilance authorities.
- Guard information: no leak of the alignment; no family land purchase in the area; declare existing holdings.
My responsibilities as a public servant
- Integrity; confidentiality; impartial advice; prudence with public money; care for farmers and forests; and moral courage. The 2nd ARC recalls Satyendra Dubey of the NHAI, who exposed corruption in road construction and was found dead in 2003.
Long-term measures
- Ministers' codes with teeth: units in the Prime Minister's and Chief Ministers' offices to monitor those codes and receive public complaints, as the 2nd ARC recommended; alignments changed only for recorded technical reasons.
A civil servant serves the public interest, not a Minister's estate; institutions that shield those who refuse are what let such honesty survive.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 1 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
