Corrption - How to Deal with Corruption
Read this article 'Corrption - How to Deal with Corruption'. Corruption is a serious evil in the society. It is an evil that exists from the time of civilisation and was being fought from that time. The fight against corruption is of utmost importance, as it will check the speed of engulfing the moral fiber of the nation.
Anti Corruption Agitation
Corruption Meaning of the word
According to Webster's Dictionary Corruption means impairment of integrity, virtue or moral principle, depravity, decay, decomposition; inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means; a departure from original or what is pure or correct; and bribery. Now if we apply these meanings to us, who are corrupt and who are not? According to Bhagavath Geetha moral corruption is the greatest corruption. However let us forget the broad aspect of corruption and confine to the bribery which is agitating the minds of all including those who are agitating against corruption and those who indulge in corruption. I have seen when a thief is being chased the thief also joins the chase and shout at the top of the voice more than the others.On Corruption what is happening now?
We wait for corruption to be noticed and then try for investigation, try the person/s only of one side (I e the bureaucrats and politicians) and then punish if found guilty. The persons who are more corrupt and to cover up that are bribing are let off for obvious reasons. Is it the way to fight corruption? According to me it should not be so. We should introduce a system in the administration of all departments with utmost transparency and simplified procedures. We have inherited the administrative set up introduced by the British to rule us sitting in London and siphon our wealth for their own use. Even after 64 years of independence, we have not changed the administrative set up, the judicial set up and the punishment setup.Simplify Administrative Set Up to prevent Corruption
Corruption thrives wherever complicated and ambiguous procedure exist. Therefore what is required is to simplify the procedures in every department of administration. As a first step, wherever any applications are required the same should be plain without double or hidden meaning to be interpreted according to the whims and fancies of those who are supposed to interpret. Whoever, go through the matter should get the same meaning. This will reduce the chances for corruption to a great extent. We are now having the ultra modern technology. All department records are to be computerized and the relevant details should be available in any part of the country. All of us may be remembering the situation in the reservation of tickets in the railway before about 20 – 25 years back, when people had to pay about Rs 100/- per ticket to the black marketers. With the introduction of the online reservation policy, the black-marketing is almost stopped. The queues at the railway reservation counters are reduced. Similarly in the revenue department, the area of registrations of properties or other matters were a haven for touts and brokers. Now with the compulsion of the transactions to be registered, even for the G P A, with the photos of both the parties and the signature and thumb impression in presence of the sub registrar/registrar has made it very difficult for the brokers to swindle the parties. If the revenue records are fully computerized and a procedure is introduced for the registration to be done anywhere in India by having uniform procedures and fees, whatever corruption exist can be eliminated. Similarly in the Regional Transport Office, because of the computerized system of recordings, the corruption is almost nil. If the permit issuing and road worthy certificates are also streamlined, the corruption of this department will be minimal. The same logic should be extended to all the departments so that the corruption in every department is reduced to the minimum. Is this not better to prevent chances of corruption than create conditions to indulge in bribery and the find and catch and punish the concerned persons?Corruption to fight through Judiciary System
Delayed justice delivery system is a breeding ground for corruption. The system is overburdened to such an extent that it may take about 10 years on an average in each court to declare an order. There are a number of layers for appeals. If we revise the judicial system in such a way that the judgments are given within six months from the time of filing the case in each layers of the courts, the problem will be reduced to a great extent. There should not be more than 3 levels, that is there should be the primary courts, the high courts and the Supreme Court. This will help to punish the guilty within about 2 years even in cases of appeals. This will deter the criminals. Now the situation is that the person may get the punishment mostly after the death or the opponent would have died and then the case does not stand. For this the number of courts at each level should be increased and the number of the judges suitable for the cases concerned should be increased in such a way that there is no work load to go on postponing the cases. If any side takes time to present his/her case more than once, the case should be decided against that person.
One more thing in the legal system to be taken care for is to simplify the language used in the documents. This can be interpreted only by the advocates and even they cannot guarantee the real meaning of the same as the same document can be interpreted at least to a minimum of 2. This may be more depending on the number of the parties, advocates and judges involved in the case concerned. Why we should have a system which is not understood by anybody including the persons who are to decide about the same?Simplify Procedures of Licensing to Prevent Corruption
Next is the licensing policy for business, enterprises and trade etc. The same should be pure straight and simple which is understood by any average person and the procedure simple. It should like just pay the fees and get the registration done. This will avoid the necessity to bribe.Simple Taxation policy for Avoiding Corruption
Then the last but the most important one is to make the taxation policy pure and simple. It should be straight and a reasonable one. The Government should introduce the structure so that no tax needs to be paid by those who are earning less than Rs 10,00,000/- per anum. Above that amount income upto Rs 5 crores should be taxed at 10%, from Rs 5 crores to 100 crores the rate should be 15% and above 100 crores the rate should be 20%. The maximum rate of tax should be 20% and the maximum return for any product of any company should not exceed 25%. The excess of return over the 25% should be taken over by the Government. The machinery should be strengthened to see that no one is allowed to avoid the tax. There should be strict vigilance on the self employed and the professionals like the doctors and advocates etc that they are not allowed to charge more and declare less for tax. What is the reality on the ground? Only those who are employed by Government and Public Sectors are paying tax properly. All others are evading. Now we are having persons charging 1 to 2 lakhs openly for one appearance in the court and declare a fraction of the same, fighting against corruption. The tax structure so simplified should be strictly implemented.No Donation collections by any organisations
The political parties, religious institutions, G O or NGO organisations should be allowed to collect only for payment of rent, tax, salary to employees and reasonable expenses incurred by the institutions. These organisatins should not be allowed to accumulate more than a core worth of assets throughout the country. The election expenses of all the parties should be spent through the election commission only.Notion about Common Man for Agitations
We should also change the notion about the common man or aam aadmi. It should not be those who come in AC or non AC cars in congregations of the TV Chanel rooms, press clubs, addresses in halls etc. The persons who address the congregations/meetings should not be the Gandhians who shuttle in Jet planes at others money ollected by making the false claim of fighting corruption. Even if the 'Gandhians' are sincere, those who have jumped into their band wagon are self seekers, power brokers, opportunity seekers. We are being made suckers. The real common is excluded. His very existence is not remembered who agitate in the name of common man. That is why agitations including that of anti corruption fail most of the time.Result of above Measures to Reduce Corruption
If we can force the Government and parties and organisations to the above terms we can rid of corruption to the extent of 80 – 90%. Otherwise just by having a Lokpal however strong it may be, the corruption is not going to be reduced. When the CBI, CVC, PAC, JPC, Special investigation cells, legal systems, and CID etc were introduced in the country, they were all free. Now they are also part of corruption distribution. The same is going to be the fate of the Lokpal or alokpal or whatever it may be. Whether it is the ministers, the opposition leaders, the Social Activists or any others the corruption cannot be reduced. At the most what can be done is to reduce it for a period of about 2 -3 years. Then some other persons/Gandhians have to start agitations against corruption, giving illusions amongst the public again to show that they are fighting corruption. It is not going to be nothing more or nothing less.Black Money Corruption
Now for the existing black money accumulated through corruption, a chance should be given to the concerned persons to declare the unaccounted money in the country and abroad and allow using the same as a onetime exercise by charging a penalty of 60% of the ill gotten money. The period may be about 3 months. After that period the one time leniency should not be allowed and whoever has not declared should be brought to book by confiscating their entire property and sending them to jail. If we are to take action against the existing cases it should not be against the political parties and bureaucrats alone but also the industrialists, entrepreneurs, business men and traders who are at the other end of corruption and hoarding of black money. Just consider the wealth of the top industrialists of the country and the NRIs during the last 10 years. In which other country they can amass wealth like this and show it in such an arrogance to the whole world by having the mansions of 10, 20, 30,50 and more corers ? This measure of one time leniency will take care of all the procedures involved in the present system for the Government to discuss, negotiate and lay procedures to get the details of the hidden money in foreign countries.What is needed from our Side to Prevent Corruption
For the above first we should be ready. Charity begins at home. We should introspect and judge matters after going through the 2 or more side involved instead of being guided by politicians, Social activists, NGOS etc. We can join the Social activity organisations or NGOs, but we should think and force them to take decisions in the interest of the nation and not to beat this group or that. I remember the time in Mumbai during 1950s -1960s, during the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, the colony where I was staying a group of few of us used to organize meetings in our colony where all the contesting candidates are to come and explain what they will do if get elected from the same Dias and platform and vote on the basis of their assurances. We were not allowing candidates to address individually. If our attitude is to expect a Sri Rama or Sri Krishna or Jesus or others, nothing is going to happen.
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