A messy basement and a clean penthouse?
Over the past couple of months, many contentious issues have emerged during meetings between the representatives of civil society and the Union government. Surprisingly, the issue that has received the most coverage is the inclusion of the Prime Minister under the ambit of the Lokpal Bill. One wonders whether the erudite PM is, as usual, used as a hapless front-end man for a larger cause – the welfare of the most powerful people in the land. The government seems bent upon ensuring that not just the Prime Minister, but also the MPs and high-ranked judges are beyond the reach of the Lokpal.
While this stance certainly questions the government’s sincerity in weeding out corruption, I want to argue that bigger issues are at stake. If the exclusion of the Prime Minister can be used as a bargaining chip to include the entire rank and file of the bureaucracy, then the compromise will be well worth it. After all, the mango man (aam aadmi) in a democracy does not interface with the head of the state or high-ranking politicians.
The middle-class deals with transport authorities, passport officers, registrars of properties and, occasionally, the cops. Meanwhile, families below the poverty line (BPL) deal with officials from the Public Distribution Systems (to avail food products at subsidized rates), government hospitals (to access free healthcare), government schools (to access free education and a midday meal for their children) and Electricity Board officials (to avail free electricity, if they happen to live in a rural area). A good number of these interactions result in a bribe being paid by those who don’t have enough to enjoy one square meal a day. As per a 2008 report released by Transparency International India and the Centre for Media Studies, Indian BPL families paid 9000 million rupees as bribes in 2007! This figure has probably increased because Manmohan Singh’s ambitious National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has expanded further into the Indian countryside. It’s already well-known that government officials implementing the NREGA scheme fudge the muster rolls. These brazen babus give jobs to the poorest of the poor on paper and pocket their fictional earnings. Clearly, grassroots-level corruption is a growth industry in India. So it’s preposterous that the government wants the office of the Lokpal to concern itself only with officials of the rank of Joint Secretary or above.
At this juncture in the debate, let us bear in mind that corruption is manifested in startlingly different ways at the top and the grassroots. At the top, corruption is associated with an obscene amount of money, a recognizable face and front-page coverage. Top-level corruption is newsworthy, and the media plays its part in pushing the accused into the shuttle service that runs between the Parliament and Tihar Jail. Agreed, these powerful goons never fully pay their dues, but let us not forget that this systemic failure has been instrumental in nurturing the Lokpal movement. In other words, corruption at the top makes us indignant.
At the grassroots, however, corruption becomes more difficult to tackle. It is propagated by a million faceless minions in the government. The amount involved in each individual transaction is not newsworthy. And, above all, the public is in cahoots and therefore forgiving. I daresay that a majority of those rooting for the Lokpal movement have, at some point or another, paid a bribe. Maybe because they jumped a red light or wanted a Domicile Certificate to enrol in a professional course.
Interestingly, as per another survey conducted by Transparency International in 2008, businesspeople too prefer to grease palms in the lower rungs of government. This survey was deployed on businesspeople operating in foreign countries and included 22 of the world’s largest and most influential economies. It was found that businesses bribed the higher echelons appreciably more only in the US, Switzerland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan. In countries such as Russia, Mexico, Italy, South Africa, South Korea, Australia, France and the UK, the businesses greased the lower rungs almost as much as the high-ranking politicians or political parties. In all other countries – India, China, Brazil, Spain, Singapore, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada and Belgium – the businesses preferred bribing the minions. This tells us that typical businesses are not interested in influencing policymaking. They just want to set up their infrastructure with minimum fuss. The minions facilitate this, causing loss to the exchequer in the process.
These minions have to be brought to book, just as much as the Kalmadis and Rajas. Fortunately, the time is apt. The Right to Information (RTI) Act now allows any citizen to file for and obtain information from any government servant. For the first time since the British unrolled its red tape in the subcontinent, the public can demand accountability from the babu. At the same time, the internet is enabling us to create dossiers on these minions (case in point being www.ipaidabribe.com). A strong, independent and ethical Lokpal can round the circle and hem the minions in. Isn’t that a delicious possibility?
It’s so delicious, in fact that the government doesn’t have to worry about the cost of maintaining a large workforce for the Lokpal. The black money unearthed and the increase in revenue due to honest practices should suffice to fund the entire institution. You must have noticed that this debate has a classic business management angle: should the solution be implemented bottom-up or top-down? Like in most cases, the answer is: both.
A messy basement cannot facilitate a clean penthouse.
Eshwar Sundaresan is a Bangalore-based writer, freelance journalist, ideator and entrepreneur. His works are Googlable.
The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.
This congress party has become a corrupt party – and unfortunately the rural areas do not realise how corrupt they have become.
Things would only change if the Urbanites would vote in larger numbers in every election.
This Government does not want a strong Lokpal bill, for obvious reasons. However, a strong Lokpal bill is the first step of start up of a long journey & hence required. Electroal, judicial & Administartive reforms that are sweeping required. We still live in the "British Raj" mentality. The laws that were created to harras the Indians are still maintained. Discretionary powers in the hand of the lower rung, highest number of pending cases in the courts (Government being the highest litigant) & undertrials suffering, ambiguous laws & guidelines. tremndous money stashed in swiss banks…… despite of all this we are having a growth rate of over 8.5%. Just think that if these were not there. what would have been the growth rate.
Hitting the baseline makes sense, but the corruption there is at such a large scale that any investiagation at that level will swamp the whole machinery. The worst is, when corruption hits an Indian national, very reluctantly returning home at the airport itself. The first person he faces is the immigration officer and that immigration officer, very authoratitively declares his passport a fake. The young man is taken aback, because one thing is he is scared of coming back home and the second thing is he has never faced this situation abroad. Rememdy is couple of hundred dollars and the fake passport becomes genuine. Believe it or not, it is my personal experience.
Easwaran,
Getting rid of a lot of unnecessary paperwork is one way and the other is to make a lot of interaction online. Why do we have to pay a bribe to get a 'khata' after the property has already been registered? 'Khata' should be mailed as a matter of routine or even dispensed with. Why is a medical examination necessary for routine renewal of a driving license, when the certificate is a farce and is given by a hole in the wall 'medical officer' in the same building as the Regional Transport Office, why is a new passport after the old one is exhausted of all pages require a police verification when the cops just come and demand a few hundred rupees and does absolutely no verification. There are hundreds of such rules that need to be eliminated or, if absolutely necessary, to be made online. Many of the regulations go back a century of more and are there in this Internet age only to generate bribes for the minions. We need a ministry of 'debureaucratisation' like what Brazil had (or maybe still has). Administrative Reforms Commissions come and go and their reports gather dust and are never implemented. An ongoing simplification of Government procedures is what is needed.
The situation in India and Pakistan is so frustrating that it makes sense to support some sort of violent reaction. But we all see that that leads us nowhere but back in the same soup. The problem is so pervasive that in my own family I cannot count people that have not profited from corruption. I am sure most families in India is just like mine.
We need to deregulate the economy as much as possible so there are fewerbabus demanding bribes.
Both coutries can flourish if educated and forward thinking people are elected to run the country. Unfortunately the rulers are uneducated with extremist views.
I think educated people of india and pakistan should move and form their own country called "pakindia"
I want to ask one question. Are not the existing laws adequate to catch and punish the corrupt? As I understand most of the laws were enacted by the British in the sub-continent and all those so called honest countries of West have the laws modeled identically. Those laws suitably cover every citizen including the Prime Minister and other High-ups. Instead of making hulla-gulla on Lokpal, we need to use our energy to find out the real cause of our incapability to implement law in its true spirit. And if we come to the conclusion that we are like that only (who love to endure corruption) and nothing can be done, then appointment of an additional authority like Lokpal, who will be only one of us, may subsidize the hulla-gulla but will eventually fail to deliver, unless the basic trait is eradicated.
Why is this being published in a Pakistani newspaper ?
Humans by nature are corrupt and greedy. God created humans he must have had reasons to imbue them with such properties. Accept this fact and be at peace
The entire system is wrong .Can we expect honesty from M Ps who spend more than ten million rupees to enter parliament From where he or she got such vast amount
I would rather call it a messy house with a clean attic, since the power he weilds at present does not warrant a "penthouse" and it is the "house" i.e. MP's that are the most corrupt.
Corruption is a growth industry in India,very true.I have observed it from 50s when Gov officers were afraid of taking bribe and now they are shamelessly demanding it.Most corruption is at the lower level which goes unnoticed.We need Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare to succeed.
Here are some reasons for corruption..
A shortage economy where people are trying to gain access to limited resources, especially when those resources are rationed by the government (when it is rationed out by a monopoly corporation, we call it monopoly rent, but it's the same thing).
Too many government regulations that have to be cleared before things get moving.
A tribal cultural mindset that only takes care of one's own family.
Here is an interesting incident that happened to me. I was at a conference and shared a ride to the airport with a 20-year old Scandinavian student. At the end of the ride, I gave her half the taxi fare. She was shocked and responded, "my university is covering this so I cannot take your money.". She could have easily taken half the money and charged her university for the ride and made some money out of it. But it was unthinkable for her. Needless to say I was impressed.
No wonder Scandinavian countries are some of the least corrupt.
bribes cannt be controlled via law. they need change of hearts and that can only happen through quran, in my view that is. eat what you earn legally though less is not an easy thing to do!!
At young age most people are not that corrupt. They will have high ideals. When the cross the age to reach the middle-age, they become greedy and corrupt to the core.
I remember an attempt not to long ago in Pakistan to pass lesiglation against corruption but the political leaders wanted to exlude themselves from it which was shamefull since they are the most corrupt in the country
Good article. Use technology to tackle corruption
@ pritash
who will ultimately make the technolgy work..will it need no men..what if those manning them are also corrupt ?
Your right, but so is Pritash. The more tech you add the lower the level of person to person interaction the lower the level of curruption. For example cameras at steet lights that take pics of those who run a red light. The person is charged directly with no nead for a cop to interact with the driver. However if you have a cop checking that all you will get is an increase rate of bribery simply because you left the decision upto an underpaid civil servant who would like to make a lot extra.