NEW DRACULAS
Joginder Singh,
IPS (Retd.) Former Director CBI
the way, the administration in the country is run, has a vital bearing on its citizens. It is the test of good or bad governance, depending upon, from which side, you see it. In a clear reflection of how petty corruption is dogging the common man, literally right under the nose of the Central Government, in October, 2008, fifteen officials belonging to New Delhi Municipal Committee, Labour and Police, were arrested for alleged bribery and extortion, from businessmen. Their arrest was effected, as a result of a month long sting operation, which involved the use of audio-visual equipment, to expose the racket of monthly protection going on within less than two kilometres of the National Parliament.
It appears that the accused had been forcibly collecting sums up to Rs. 30,000 each as “protection money” on a monthly basis, from the shopkeepers in the area. In the event of non-payment, they would harass the shopkeepers, by confiscating their goods.
A good thing, which is happening is that common people are taking a pro-active role in conducting sting operations. A “sting operation” was conducted in the months of October, November and December, 2007 by a property dealer, at 30 different points in the Capital and over 100 traffic police personnel were caught on camera allegedly accepting bribes from Blueline bus operators as part of the widespread racket. The operation was completed at busy traffic intersections with the help of some Blueline operators who were being harassed by the traffic police, for bribes. A Vigilance Branch probe into the sting operation established their identity and led to the suspension of 98 policemen, including 11 sub-inspectors, 11 assistant sub-inspectors, 10 head constables and 66 constables. Apart from this, 10 traffic inspectors are facing departmental inquiry in this connection, along with the suspended staff.
The problem of petty corruption arises, because of vast power given in the hands of petty enforcement functionaries. At least in the National Capital and other big towns, there is a pro-active media, to raise the issues. The farther a place is from the seat of power, the more difficult it is to tackle this problem. Corruption or call it a venial extortion, has become a happy compromise, over the compliance of antique and outdated regulations. Every Government has talked of ending the Inspector Raj. But every new law has added one or two more inspectors to the already existing plethora of Inspectors. At a function, after counting the number of functionaries, who are concerned with the running of any industry, I arrived at the conclusion, that at least 35 different inspectors visit any industrial manufacturing unit. I was immediately corrected by an industrialist, who said that their number has gone up to 65, from health, electricity, labour, municipal, water, environment, sanitary, weights and measures and many other departments.
In such a context, corruption has become endemic, while, at the same time, turning out to be the preferred choice. It is a preferred choice for the simple reason that going in appeals and pointing out what is wrong is not only time consuming, but one is also not sure, whether even the genuine complaint will get any redressal. Some time back, I went to see a friend, who is running a specialised magazine in an area, which is both a bazaar and a residential area. He told me that his place of work, where he was also living, was sealed and the persons who came to seal, did not accept his magazine as a media, though it was registered with the Registrar of Newspapers . He said that he was paying Rupees One thousand per month for working in his own house. I asked him as to why he did not complain. He said that if he spent his time in complaining and going to the court, the final decision may take months, if not years. He had a choice of running around and going to the court or buy his peace of mind by paying Rs. 1000 per month. The problem in our country is that the size of bribe goes up with the earning capacity of the entrepreneurs.
Unfortunately, the extent of bribes vary from place to place and from business and industry, to business and industry. But the unfortunate truth is that they stretch from cradle to grave. People pay in hospitals to give birth, and to collect their loved ones' bodies from mortuaries, and for everything in between: garbage collection, clean water, medicines, admission to hospitals, and schools. The petty bribery acts are a hidden regressive tax, as people have to pay a certain percentage of their earnings as a bribe. Rich and influential can some times escape, but the poor have to pay much more of their incomes, to get the same medical services as the middle and richer classes.
Transparency International has placed India two points lower on this year's Corruption Perception Index than it had in 2007. The only saving grace is that compared to its neighbours, India seems to have done well. Pakistan , for instance, is at 140th position compared to India 's 74th. Nepal and Srilanka are ranked a lowly 135 and 96 respectively, China though is ranked one place above India . Another new study by Transparency
International and the Centre of Media Studies found that Indians believed public services to be more corrupt than they actually are. The Indian Corruption Study by the Centre for Media Studies has focused only on the corruption experienced by the common man in getting services from various service providers i.e. government departments. Citizens are entitled to receive these services, but are not only served poorly but very often have to pay a bribe to the service providers. It also shows that the problem of corruption in public services affecting day-to-day needs of citizens is far more serious than it is being realized by powers that be.
Three-fourths of citizens think that the level of corruption in public services has been increasing. One-third of citizens think that both the officials concerned and the users of services know how much to be paid as extra to get a job done or attended to. One-sixth of public thinks that citizens/users of government services themselves are responsible for corruption. They believe that there is no active and sustained civil society movement. The efforts are more sporadic, localized and short-lived and have never acquired a character of a larger movement. One-third of citizens think that corruption is an obvious fact where both giver and taker are familiar with modalities. They also feel that it cannot be addressed only by reforms and by adopting technologies, although they are the first order of initiatives to be taken, unless certain deterrent punitive action on those indulging in corruption are also taken. The main causes of corruption are lack of transparency and accountability in the system, absence of an effective corruption reporting mechanisms, deficiency of honesty in officials in the Government. People also feel that acceptance and extortion of bribe has become a way of life, custom and culture. Even if a person is caught, it takes ages and years to judicially punish him.
If we want to end both big and small corruption, the Government should outsource services, wherever possible. Public service departments cannot cope with all the requirements of the citizens in the field of education or health. It should purchase outputs, rather than insisting on giving its inputs, which is not physically possible for it to do. Despite the Right to Information Law, the common man is still squeezed by the petty officials, as he is not sure whether his complaint will lead to any results. There is no Whistle Blower Act in the country, despite the assurances given in Parliament in 2002 after the murder of a young engineer, Satendra Dubey. To tackle this problem, each Department should have realistic and measurable action standards, and not just statement of intent, for checking corruption and malpractices within.
Corruption can go down only when we ourselves become honest, by following Gandhiji, who said: “Be the Change You want in others.” Public servants and politicians are corrupt because we are willing to pay them for getting things done. Let each one of us do something, to fight this evil and menace.