How to Control increasing corruption

                    

                     Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” – JOHN ACTON.

    Corruption means lack of integrity. It is an act done with an intent to gain some            advantage, inconsistent with official duty and the rights of others. It is not only bribery, it also relates to the abuse of power in decision-making process. It is a form of behavior that deviates from ethics, morality, traditions and law. It is a global phenomenon which has progressively increased over time, and is now rampant in all societies across the world. In simple words, corruption is use of public office for private gain.

    Corruption in India is a consequence of the nexus between bureaucrats, politicians and criminals. Earlier, bribes were paid for getting wrong things done, but now bribe is paid for getting rights things done at right time. It is a vicious circle which keeps going on. It does not shock Indians anymore to know that not only the politicians, ministers and  bureaucrats are corrupt, but even the judges, professors, doctors and NGOs, etc., also belong to the same category. Corruption is prevalent in almost every section of the society and at every level. Further, corruption has become something respectable in India, because respectable peoples are involved in it. It has its way because everyone is happy and no one has problem with it. All of us break laws everyday and we also love the fact that we can do so when it is convenient for us.

     The phenomenon of corruption is witnessed everywhere in the world, and every place

on earth is similar in this perspective. What differs is the magnitude of the problem.   

Talking about global corruption, the Transparency International, which is an NGO based

in Berlin, annually publishes Corruption Perceptions Index(CPI),which grades the

countries in accordance with the corruption persisting therein. According to the 2008

CPI, the least corrupt countries are Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden, whereas the

most corrupt country is Somalia  which ranks 180^th. India ranks 85^th, China 72^nd and UK

16^th in list.

     Causes, things and situations that water the poisonous plant of corruption are many

and complex. Some of the leading causes include overpopulation, unemployment,

poverty, illiteracy, law wages of government officials and monopoly of the elite class.

It is always the small fry who is sacrificed in any scam; the elite are never caught. It is no

wonder that the Indian democracy is fast turning into a system “by the elite, for the elite

and of the elite”.

     Corruption is like diabetes; it can be controlled but not altogether eliminated. It may

seem to be the ultimate truth to many of us. However, some are of the opinion that

abolishing the evil of corruption is not totally impossible. Actually, it is quite possible to

have a corruption free state. However, it  is highly difficult to target achieve it would

warrant cooperation from each and every citizen, every individual, every institution and

government body right from the gross-route level to the elite class. What needs to be

awakened is the inner soul, and one’s moral and ethical values.

    There are some specific measures to control the increasing corruption The Right to

Information Act (RTI) dropped on some “technicalities” or the progress in these cases is

very slow due to various reasons. It is because of this fact that corrupt officials go Scot

free. One can put an end to this using RTI. It gives one all the required information about

the government, such as what the government is doing with our tax payments. Under this

Act, one has the right to ask the government why the road outside one’s house is not

fixed and why has one not receive one’s ration card yet.

      In every government department, there is an officer appointed as Public Information

Officer (PIO), who is responsible for collecting the information wanted by the citizens

and providing them with the relevant information. Fr this there is normal fee to be paid

by the applicant. The person who approaches the PIO is not required to give any reason

or additional information other than his or her contact details. The rules have it that after

filing the application, the application must receive the information within a stipulated

period for 30 days. In case the PIO refuses to accept the application, or if the applicant

does not receive the required information within prescribed time, then the applicant can

make a formal compliant to the respective Information Commission, which has the power

to impose a penalty up to Rs.25000 on the errant PIO.  

      Secondly, if one has a grievance against any government department, one can use the

Grievance Redressal Machinery to voice his or her problem that it may be solved. But

unfortunately, the officers in charge do little about the reports of grievances that they

receive. So now, we can also keep a check on the working of grievance redressal

machinery of any department through RTI. When such applications are filed,

investigation begins into these matters and the government departments themselves start

correcting speeding up the process.

   Another potent check on corruption is the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). It was

set up by the government to advise and guide Central Government agencies in the area of vigilance. If there are any cases of corruption or any complaints thereof, then that can be

reported to the CVC and redressal of the same can be sought. If one has any doubts regarding the work of CVC or regarding a particular grievance not satisfactorily redressed, then that can also be solved using RTI Act a suggested earlier. CVC also shoulders the responsibility of creating more awareness among people regarding the

consequences of giving and talking of bribes and corruption.

      There is a need for special enactments with simplified procedures and the provision of stringent punishments. To achieve the target of corruption-free state, it is very much necessary to enact such strong laws which have no room for any discretion, and which do not leave any loopholes for the guilty to escape. If some specific precedents are set by initiating stringent actions against corrupt officials, it will certainly have a deterrent impact on the people stop them from getting involved in corrupt practices.

       The Right to Information should be added to the list of Fundamental Rights guaranteed under the constitution. Barring some confidential information which are crucial for the maintenance of national and international security, other information should be made available to general public as and when required. This may be trigger a series of positive development by helping the citizens keep a check on the functioning of the government.

        Establishment of special court for speedy justice can be a huge positive aspect. If we establish special courts in every district depending upon the jurisdictional capacity, which has minimum procedural complexities, then it would be easier for a common should be set up on the lines of the consumer courts where the common man can initiate a case directly by filling the compliant, with minimum costs. It should also be taken care of that the cases are disposed of within a given period of time.

       Transparency and accountability are a must proper functioning of a democratic system. Therefore, the functioning of the government should be made more accountable, citizen-friendly, ethical and transparent. It should always be kept in mind that the funding of election and income tax refunds is the core of corruption. Evasion of tax payment causes huge economic losses to the country. The political parties should be made to get their accounts audited regularly and their filing of income tax returns should be scrutinized carefully. There should be a strict code of enforcement for all the statutory requirements.

       A common view is that the government officials opt for corrupt means out of compulsion and not by chance. Some people are of the opinion that the wages paid are insufficient to feed their families, and so they have no choice but to accept bribes to fulfill their needs. If they are paid better, they would not be forced to supplement their incomes through illicit means. Countries like Singapore have adopted such methods to curb corruption. Now it is one among the 25 countries that plays its bureaucrats more then twice the average wage.

        But this view is not fully acceptable as officials may not always be driven to corruption by necessity; they may simply be driven by greed. The type corruption that damages the economic growth most is not petty bribery but rather the massive misappropriations of state funds by corrupt politicians and others. Secondly, paying civil servants enough to persuade hem not to accept bribes, would itself become costly for the developing country like India.

        In the ultimate analysis, the one thing which has to be ensured is proper, impartial, and biased use of various anti-corruption regulations to take strong, deterrent, and timely legal action against the offenders, irrespective of their political connections or money power. The law enforcement authorities also have a crucial role to play. They have to evoke the faith, and be fully accountable to command public confidence. These anti-corruption strategies combined with strong will and thorough cooperation from the citizens as well as all level of officials, politicians and bureaucrats will no doubt make India in times to come, a less corrupt, or rather a corruption-free state.