RAS question
District Collector in Rajasthan is appointed by:
Correct answer: (B) State Government.
In Rajasthan, the District Collector is appointed by the State Government for the district.
Explanation
The appointment authority is the State Government, not the court, the Governor, or the Union Government. District Collectors in Rajasthan are IAS officers, and IAS officers are recruited through UPSC and allotted to state cadres. That central recruitment route does not decide the posting of a Collector to a particular Rajasthan district. The Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956, confirms the administrative rule: under Section 20, the State Government shall appoint a Collector in each district, and that Collector is also the Land Records Officer for the district. The exam trap is the difference between entry into the IAS and appointment or posting as District Collector.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The High Court is a judicial body; the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956, places appointment of a Collector in each district with the State Government, not the judiciary.
- (C) The Central Government route is relevant to IAS recruitment and cadre allocation, but the actual district posting as Collector in Rajasthan is done by the State Government.
- (D) The Governor is not the appointing authority identified here; Section 20 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956, names the State Government for appointing a Collector in each district.
Concept
This tests the distinction between civil-service recruitment and state-level district administration. RAS repeatedly asks it because Collector-related powers sit at the centre of Rajasthan's revenue and administrative structure.