Mainpuri is one of the five districts of the Agra Division of Uttar Pradesh with the divisional commissioner's headquarter at Agra.In 1801 ; it was the headquarters of the district Etawah which then comprised the present districts of Mainpuri, Etah and Etawah . In 1803, the revenue jurisdiction of the entire district was enstrusted to a collector, residing at Mainpuri. Soon after, Sauj was transferred to Farrukhabad and in 1817 Kuraoli was received from Farrukhabad. In 1824 , the old pargana of Rapri was dismembered and divided into kismal awwal, subsequently known as pargana Shikihabad, and kismat duyam, afterwards called the Mustafabad and the Ghiror parganas. Pargana Bibamau was broken up and distributed between, Barnahal, Etawah and Shikihabad, and Karhal, also a tappa of Etawah, was constituted a separate pargana. In 1837, the jurisdiction of Mainpuri was restricted to Sahawar-Karsana, Etawah-Sakit, Sirhpura, Kuraoli, Shikohabad , Mustafabad, Ghiror, Sauj, Karhal, Kishni-Nabiganj, Bhongaon, Alipur Patti and Manchhana. Bewar was received from Farrukhabad in 1840 . on the formation of the Etah district in 1845, the parganas of Sahawar-Karsana, Etah-Sakit and Sirhpura were handed over to it, and since that period the district Jurisdiction has altered little. In 1850-51 pargana Bhongaon a taluka Manchhana were united under the mane Bhongaon-Manchhana, and in 1861 pargana Sauj was broken up and divided between Karhal and Mainpuri. Later changes have for the most part been trifling, being exchanges of small areas of land between pargana and pargana within the district and with the neighboring districts of Etawah, Etah and Farrukhabad between the years 1957 and 1961 as described in chapter 1.

    He functions as a vital link between the administration of the district under him and the government. He controls, guides and advises district and regional level officers, solves inter-departmental problems and assesses the performance of officers of various departments posted in his division. On the judicial side, his jurisdiction extends to hearing appeals and revisions under the U.P. Land Revenue Act, U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act,and several other enactment's like the Arms Act. He is the chairman of the regional transport authority and exercises powers of supervision over the Zila Parishad, municipal boards and other local bodies.

    Usually, a member of the Indian Administrative Services and occasionally an officer of the State Civil Services  , the district magistrate presides over the general administration of the district . He combines in himself the functions of a magistrate and collector, appointed under the Code of Criminal Procedure and the U.P. Land Revenue Act , respectively. In his capacity as head of civil administration in the district,he ac acts as a principal co-ordinator between functionaries of various departments represented in the district.Maintenance of law and order, enforcement of various laws, rules and regulations and miscellaneous governments orders, release of prisoners, appraisal of public opinion  and avoidance of explosive situations are some of the important duties assigned to him as district magistrate and it is in their performance that he comes into close touch with the police who follow his instructions. He is the licensing authority in matters like possession of arms and ammunition, running of fair price shops and preparation of fireworks.

    As collector he is responsible for recovery of land revenue and other government dues and maintenance of an up-t0-date record of fights. Survey and record operations, Settlement, acquisition of land, rehabilitation of displaced persons and distribution of relief on calamitous occasions are some other subjects dealt with by him as the principal revenue officer of the district. It is also his responsibility to recommend suspension and remission of land revenue, whenever he considers it necessary. He also supervises the work of consolidation of holdings and hears appeals under the Consolidation of Holdings Act. The district treasury is also in his ultimate charge. He is expected to tour extensively for a long duration, particularly in the interior of his district, every year. He visits each tahsil during the rainy season for tahsil and thana inspections and in winter to acquaint himself with the condition of agriculturists and to watch the implementation of development schemes.

    Necessary certification in the case of claimants to old age or political pension, payment of compensation under the Workman's Compensation Act in case of accidents causing disability, total or partial, combating strikes and other labour problems, extension of visas,management of estates owned by the government and nazul, and supervision of the conduct of civil suits in which the State is a party, are also some of his manifold duties. The district officer acts as the chief protocol officer in the also to ensure equitable   distribulation of food-grains and other essential commodities through fair price shops with the help of the district supply officer. He is ex officio district election officer and ex officio president of the district soldiers', sailors' and airmen's board.

    The multifarious role of the district officer makes him responsible for the successful implementation of projects and schemes which are introduced by the government from time to time and relate to the general welfare of the people. Census, Van Mahotsava, wild life preservation, securing investments for post-office securities, raising of loans for the State Government and, augmenting sale of State lottery tickets are among other functions of the district office.

    He is the pivot of the planning set up in the district. For intensive social and economic development of the area in his jurisdiction he is assisted by a district planning officer at the district level and the block development officers at the block level.

    The district officer has under him five subdivisional officers, who perform duties-revenue,executive and magisterial-similar to those of the district officer though confined only to their respective  subdivisions. Since June, 1975, these officers are required to reside at their tahsil headquarters.

    For the convenience of revenue administration each of the five tahsils- Jasrana, Shikohabad, Karhal, Mainpuri, Bhongaon is in the immediate charge of a resident tahsildar who acts as a magistrate in addition to being  an assistant collector . His main duties include collection of land revenue, upkeep of land records, maintenance of law and order , disposal of cases and follow up of public welfare programmes. . He is also called upon to undertake relief duties in calamities, when necessary. Each tahsildar is also the officer in charge of the tahsil sub-treasury.

    The police organisation, which is responsible for the maintenance of law and order in the district, is headed by the superintendent of police who, though not directly subordinate to the collector , assists him . The district  magistrate is head of the criminal administration and in that capacity he  controls the district police though the superintendent of police who is in  over-all charge of the police force and  is responsible for its efficiency, discipline and proper performance of  duties. He is assisted by deputy superintendents and a large number of  subordinate officers as given in chapter 12  .

    The judicial organisation of the district is headed by the district  and sessions judge with headquarters at Mainpuri . He is the highest authority  for administration of justice in civil and criminal matters for the district.  He was also the district registrar and exercised powers vested in him under  the Indian Registration Act. but a recent change has conferred the powers of  the district registrar on one of the additional district magistrates under the  district magistrate, known as additional district magistrate (revenue) . A  sub-registrar , whose function is to register documents relating to movable  and immovable property, titles and interests of the people, is stationed at  the headquarters of each tahsil.

    The district is in the charge of a superintendent of central excise,  with headquarters at Mainpuri, under the administrative control of the  assistant collector of central excise,Farrukhabad. It is divided into four  ranges namely Mainpuri, Bewar and Kuraoli and the fourth range is a multiple   officers range manned by eight inspectors who assess and collect excise duties  on items like manufactured tobacco , electric lamps and tubes, glass and  glassware's, sodium silicate , paper and paper boards, and caps of lighting  bulbs.

    The administrative head of the department is the inspecting assistant  commissioner range II (Agra) with headquarters at Kanpur . The district is  under the charge