Corruption.. Is there a way out?

The country is stuck with scams. Everyday a new scam surfaces involving politicians, bureaucrats, corporates. Media has a field day. They debate at length on the issue. A commission is appointed to look into it. He has no prosecution powers if the accused is found guilty. He takes a year (sometimes a decade) to complete the work. Submits the report. Nobody remembers the same scam anymore. Accused would have again become a MP or a MLA and sometimes might even end up as a Chief Minister ruling us.

There are agencies which are entrusted with the task of taking actions but they are not adequate. We have CBI which is powerful but not independent. We have CVC which is independent but lacks adequate power to prosecute. 

I will try to focus on what as ordinary citizen we can do to tackle this menace.

What's the way out? One thing which citizens should stop thinking or saying is:
1. I am least interested in politics. Let them do whatever they want.
2. What will happen if i change myself? Will the entire country change just because i became a law abiding citizen?

People who think this way are making the system more corrupt is what i feel. Having the belief that we can do our best to tackle corruption is the first step.



There are two approaches here to tackle corruption:

1) One is what can i do and

2) The other is what can government do to ensure the machinery is less corrupt or remove corruption all together. The second part is beyond the control of an ordinary citizen who is fighting to meet his day to day needs. There are activists involved in fighting against corruption and whenever there is an opportunity  to support the movement we can play an active role. http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/ is a website which gives us plenty of information on the measures which the government is planning to take like Lokpal bill, anti-corruption bill and the loop holes in the proposed system. They are fighting the battle at a high level and we can support them.

I would focus more on what as an individual we can contribute to stop or curtail this menace called Corruption.

Let us take a simple example here. I am caught by a policeman entering a one way road. The official fine is say 200Rs. What I tend to think is if i give the policeman 50Rs he will let me go. I offer him. He is expecting the same. He accepts it gracefully. Am happy that i saved 150 Rs. :) I made a mistake in the first place by entering a one-way road which i knew about it. And i offer a bribe to get away it. You might think i am trivializing the corruption issue but this is what happens to most of us. The same could apply to not having a Driving license, insurance. We always end up making a mistake and then offer bribe to get away. Can we take a pledge not to offer bribe and pay the actual fine for our mistake. We will be more cautious once we have paid fine. The probability of that happening again will be remote.

Another area which citizens get affected most is while purchasing land and constructing house. There are many departments out there which we often need to interact. And we end up bribing them to get the things done quickly. I know if we don't offer bribe things will get delayed. He may not do our work first time, and perhaps second time also but when we know we are right we can ensure that the work gets done quickly.

I feel mobiles can be effectively used to tackle corruption. Record a conversation where he is asking money. Contact lokayukta officials in your city. Inform them. There are honest upright officials working there. They will definitely help you. The process might take time but it is the price which we need to pay to tackle this menace.

I am a firm believer that small things like this will make a substantial difference. A week back two individuals from a village successfully ensured that a special DC Ramanjaneya was caught while taking bribe with the help of Lokayukta officials. (http://www.deccanherald.com/content/116690/urban-special-dc-2-others.html)

I know you might say the person caught will walk away at some point of time. Fact is it is beyond our control. The anti-corruption institution needs to strengthened and it will take some time. But let us do our job.

Please do not think that i am trivializing a big issue like corruption by taking a simple case on what we can do. I still believe it is in our hands. If every one of us takes a pledge not to bribe anyone this country can definitely be a better place to live with.

Take a pause and think twice before you offer a bribe next time :)

Right to Information Act

Right to information Act is a landmark legislation passed by our parliament. In this article i would like to highlight the positive changes which has taken place after the enactment of this act and how ordinary citizens can effectively employ this in our crusade to fight against corruption. The act forces the government to behave in a transparent way making it accountable. We all pay taxes and its our right to know to what extent that money is being effectively utilised. Rajeev Gandhi had made a observation that only 15 paisa out of a rupee of the government money reaches the intended beneficiary. I regret to say that we have reached a stage where some form of corruption is acceptable to many to get the task done. This is a dangerous proposition and its implications in the long run is going to hurt our country pretty badly from all aspects.

Lets get started with a brief introduction on what RTI is all about. The information has been gathered from http://www.righttoinformation.org/faqs.asp

What is RTI ?

Right to Information Act 2005 empowers every citizen to
Ask any questions from the Government or seek any information
Take copies of any government documents
Inspect any government documents.
Inspect any Government works
Take samples of materials of any Government work.

Before i tell you how and where to submit the application and the intricacies of the process i would like to highlight its importance by citing how ordinary citizens have effectively utilized this act. NDTV recently gave away RTI awards in association with ONGC and all the examples cited here are taken from their website http://rti.ndtv.com

1. Gogoi, who is one of the best-known social activists of Assam, started an RTI investigation in March 2006, followed by a social audit, that led to the expose of a Rs 1.25 crore scam in Sampoornai Gram Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) and Rs 60 lakh scam in Indira Awas Yojana in Gamariguri block of Golaghat district.

2. RAvindra Singh: For his effort to use and encourage others to use RTI Act to expose illegalities committed by Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) in selecting candidates for state civil services through exams conducted in 2003, 2005, and 2008.

3. An RTI activist, Dev Ashish Bhattacharya has filed over 100 RTIs so far on various issues. One of his noteworthy applications that had a large scale impact was the one filed with the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking information on foodgrain damage in FCI godowns.

4. Rajesh Bissa: For using RTI Act, to reveal large-scale irregularities and corruption in selection of a private partner for Rs 2500 crore road project and award of other large contracts by Chhattisgarh government.

5. Prashnath Kumar Dubey : For using RTI and the Media together to make child malnutrition one of the most important social, political and electoral issues in Madhya Pradesh.

6. Bharatsinh R. JhalaJhala conducted an RTI investigation to show that more farmers in Gujarat had been committing suicides than what the state government was prepared to admit, thus bringing to light economic distress of small farmers.

7. Ramesh Kumar Verma: For using RTI to expose doctors with fake degrees and also the scandal that facilitated their existence.

These are just instances where the RTI act has been instrumental in exposing corruption and bringing the culprits to books. It has also made the governments to take note of important issues and take quick action for the same.

Having highlighted the importance through case studies, I will come back to the intricacies of filing an application and the process involved.

Who will give me information?

One or more existing officers in every Government Department have been designated as Public Information Officers (PIO). These PIOs act like nodal officers. You have to file your applications with them. They are responsible for collecting information sought by you from various wings of that Department and providing that information to you. In addition, several officers have been appointed as Assistant Public Information Officers (APIOs). Their job is only to accept applications from the public and forward it to the right PIO.

Where do I submit application?

You can do that with the PIO or with APIO. In the case of all Central Government Departments, 629 post offices have been designated as APIOs. This means that you can go to any of these post offices and submit your fee and application at the RTI counter in these post offices. They will issue you a receipt and acknowledgement and it is the responsibility of that post office to deliver it to the right PIO. The list of these post offices is given at http://www.indiapost.gov.in/rtimanual16a.html


Is there any fee? How do I deposit that?

Yes, there is an application fee. For Central Government Departments, it is Rs 10. However, different states have prescribed different fee. For getting information, you have to pay Rs 2 per page of information provided for Central Government Departments. It is different for different states. Similarly, there is a fee for inspection of documents. There is no fee for first hour of inspection, but after that, you have to pay Rs. 5 for every subsequent hour or fraction thereof. This is according to Central Rules. For each state, see respective state rules.

Is there an application form for seeking information?

For Central Government Departments, there is no form. You should apply on a plain sheet of paper like an ordinary application. However, many states and some ministries and departments have prescribed formats. You should apply in these formats.

Download the application form from http://www.fixindia.org/right_to_information.php

Is there a time limit to receiving information?

Yes. If you file your application with the PIO, you must receive information within 30 days.
In case you have filed your application with Assistant PIO then information has to be made available within 35 days.
In case the matter to which the information pertains affects the life and liberty of an individual, information has to be made available in 48 hours.

There have been many good laws in this country but none of those laws worked. Why do you think this law would work?

This law is already working. This is because for the first time in the history of independent India, there is a law which casts a direct accountability on the officer for non-performance. If concerned officer does not provide information in time, a penalty of Rs 250 per day of delay can be imposed by the Information Commissioner. If the information provided is false, a penalty of a maximum of Rs 25000 can be imposed. A penalty can also be imposed for providing incomplete or for rejecting your application for malafide reasons. This fine is deducted from the officer’s personal salary.

There is lot of resistance from the bureaucracy to curtail the freedom and the power this RTI act gives to ordinary citizens. Tonnes of RTI activists are working to create awareness about this act amongst common man.

For me RTI is a right tool to expose corruption and it gives power to common man. I read in a daily the other day that RTI should be made as part of school curriculum to create awareness. I completely agree with the gentleman who made this proposal.

Next time if you feel something is going wrong with a government scheme or you feel that a recently constructed road with huge money is in pretty bad shape then its time to use RTI act and expose the corrupt practices.

How to expose corrupt practices of an NGO ?????

All of a sudden a need has arisen to write on something which badly needs attention. I will make a request before you read this article. Please write comments. It’s the need of the hour for this blog. And also do forward this to your friends so that something can be done.

Let me begin what I want to convey. India is home to crores of people who live below poverty line and there are lot of NGO’s working for the upliftment of them in their own way. There are lot of very good NGO’s which are professionally managed and have made a mark in their quest towards reaching the goals. Similarly there are tons of corrupt NGOs whose sole objective is to make money in the name of uplifting people.

I have come across an NGO which to the outer world is doing a great job but internally they are making crores of rupees using someone’s name. I am going to write about the corrupt practices followed in making money.

The NGO raises huge sums of money from the corporate world, especially IT companies in the name of kids and nobody gets to know how much was spent from the amount received. IT companies as part of their social commitments as well as for tax savings purpose dole out huge sums of money to them and they hardly make verification on the expenses in this regard. Let me cite a few instances of this corrupt practice.

They say that the organization has 40 employees. And they are paying an average salary of 20000 per month which amounts to Rs 8 lak per month and 96 lakhs per year. They get the money and they give 50% of it to employees and rest goes for personal expenses.

They quote a figure of Rs 24000 per year for maintenance of a boy or girl. They have around 300 kids. It amounts to 72 lakh per year. And the amount they actually spend on them is a pittance. Kids have to take bath in cold water early morning. The things (books, clothes, watches…) which are given to students by philanthropists are again sold to these kids by asking them to pay some money for the same.

These kids are talented and they regularly take part in shows organized by different groups. A sum of Rs 20000 to Rs 40000 per show is charged as fee and the kids who perform get a paltry 250Rs per head.

One of the employees of the organization who is highly talented despite having physical disabilities gets around Rs 30000 per month from a UN organization. The NGO doesn’t give the money to him and pays him a salary of Rs 6000 per month for having him employed.

One of the fund raisers for the organization approached a corporate entity. She was asked to give the accounts for last year’s contribution which they had made in lakhs. When the fund raiser asked expenditure report from the higher ups in the NGO she was forced to quit.

One of the trustees leads the life of a king. He has spent 2 lak for 2 days in a hospital for his wife for a very trivial reason. One trustee resides abroad and actively campaigns there to raise crores of rupees for the NGO. All of them own big houses at posh locations.

And these guys are all powerful. They have links with all the top politicians. If someone threatens to expose them they have solid underworld connections to ensure that the matter is dead and buried. The employees fear revolting for the same reason. The driver of a trustee was hacked to death under the guise of accident.

The NGO is neither growing nor shrinking. If it grows then it leads to public scrutiny and they fear this. If it shrinks they will not be able to get enough money. They ensure it remains afloat which suits them perfectly to make more money.
Friends I want you all to do me a favor. Suggest ways to expose this massive nature of corruption in the name of the underprivileged.

I have thought a few but want to know your opinion. Initially thought of conveying it to the print media but felt that they might capitalize on this rather than expose the corruption. But the options are open where in a credible media guy can do a good job of exposing this but how to find a credible guy.

Another option is to somehow managing to get the names of corporate world and philanthropists who have contributed handsomely to this NGO. Write a detailed letter to all asking them to ascertain whether the funds are properly utilized for what they are meant to.

I am not naming the NGO in this article as it might put the future of many genuine people working over there at stake. But certainly want to ensure that the people who are running this are held accountable.

I once again request one and all to convey their opinions to tackle this menace. Pass it on to your friends so that something can be done to make the NGO more accountable. Am just referring to one NGO but there are countless such corrupt NGOs. I do not want to generalize all of them as bad but do enquire about what they are into before you decide to contribute. I sincerely hope that through your opinions we all can do something fruitful to stop this imperil. It’s over to you all. You can place comments next to the title of the blog by clicking the numeral.