Appropriate assessment of lateral capacity of pile foundation is known to be a complex problem involving soil-structure interaction. Having reviewed the available methods in brief, relative paucity of simple and rational technique to evaluate lateral capacity of pile in layered soil is identified. In this context, two efficient approaches for the assessment of lateral capacity of short pile embedded in bi-layer cohesive deposit is developed. It is presumed that the allowable lateral capacity of short pile is generally dictated by the permissible lateral displacement within which pile-soil system may be assumed to be elastic. The applicability of the scheme, depicted through illustration, is believed to be of ample help at least for practical purpose.