Freedom from corruption does not seem so far now….
Anna Hazare and his team have inspired us to raise our voices against corruption at all levels, as also against the actions of a government that appears to be averse to any changes, and adamant on preserving the loopholes in the system.
Team Anna, along with other motivated activists have taken strong steps to expose the corrupt politicians, and are leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that a strong Lokpal Bill is passed by the parliament .
Its time to unite and take firm actions to eradicate corruption from our nation.
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A perspective on the current situation:
Corruption exists in the highest of offices as well as at the grassroot/ local machinery of the government. However, a common man has little to do when he hears news about any central minister being accused of mishandling crores of public funds. We can only hope that the CBI or CVC will take him to task.
What really bothers us is that we are not able to fight corruption in our direct dealings with the government offices in our daily life, be it for getting a Driving Licence or Passport, or a new gas/ electricity connection, or for getting a vehicle registered in an RTO.
We may not be able to monitor what the telecom minister is doing, but what is disgusting is our helplessness when the government officer in any city refuses to do his work until we pay him his personal fee(bribe), on top of the actual fees.
Keeping the above argument in mind, it would make little difference if the prime minister is made answerable for corruption, but it would be immensely useful if the government officers working at the local district level are made accountable for their actions.
Inspired by the leadership of India Against Corruption, I want to share an idea that I believe would help in empowering us, the common people to fight corruption where it is most rampant, in local government offices.
We all have faced situations where we have no other option but to pay bribes for getting our work done, or to hire an agent, and pay him his hefty fees, a part of which will eventually reach the govt. officer as a kickback to do what is actually his duty and for what he is paid a salary that comes from the taxes we pay!
The main reason we find ourselves in this situation is the LACK OF INFORMATION.
We donot know where to get a form from, where to submit it, how to fill it properly, what documents to attach, how much fees is charged for that service by the govt., etc.
Who would take the trouble of getting kicked around in that shabby govt. office; it’s very easy to hire an agent, pay him few hundred bucks, and leave the rest to him.
And even if we take initiative and go by ourselves, the govt. officers will behave in as non-co-operative a manner as possible, and ensure that we get as disgusted and frustrated as they are.
We need to set up a system through which we can get the accurate information about any government procedure, like where to get the form for any task, how to fill it correctly, where to submit, how much fees is required to be paid, how to follow-up on the processing delays, whom to complain to in case of mis-conduct by any officer etc.
Also, it should be easy to access this information bank, and to update it regularly.
One way would be a Crowd-sourced blog, where any registered citizen could access information and also suggest changes to any procedural information concerning his city…. (I have elaborated it with an example later.)
Another important aspect is to make this information available in local languages, and distribute it in printed copies in every society, school, community centre, etc., so that all residents in any city will have complete information about all the 'sarkari kaam-kaaj' that they need to know, in their native language, along with Hindi and English.
So, an over-view of the entire thing is:
--> Create a web platform where people can post information about
govt. procedures in their city, like how to get a passport, driving licence etc. ( a common format can be chosen to maintain clarity and uniformity).
--> People can look up this information as per their needs.
--> Translate the information in local language and distribute hard copies to societies, residential buildings etc.
--> Provide means for the people to update any changes in these documents that reflect actual changes in the procedures.
-->If possible, get this information attested by a senior government officer, so that its integrity is established.
Actually, the government itself should maintain such a system, and in fact, a few developed countries do have such powerful public information systems where citizens can access detailed information about any govt. procedure, with both, general information common to the whole country, and regional help forums to provide an accurate ground-report of sorts.
Anyways, we live in India, and at present we do not have such a system in place, and the best thing would be to work towards establishing one for our use.
This idea occurred to me while studying the topic ‘Software Documentation’ as a part of software engineering, wherein the client is provided with a thorough and comprehensive guide about the software, so that he can use it easily.
Similarly, documentation about the procedures in any govt. office can help us to avail those govt. services more easily.
Example:
Say, I want to get my passport issued.
Normally, I would enquire with my friends about the location of the office, and go there to know the subsequent procedure.
Now, if an online information portal was available to me, I would be able to look up all the necessary information, posted there by fellow residents of my city, thus making my work much easier, and reducing the chances of getting cheated by agents or corrupt officers.
This is how the information could be organised over the portal :
1) OFFICE LOCATION
The complete Address of the concerned Office, with a GOOGLE MAPS snapshot of it as well as a photograph of the building.
Address:
Google Maps snapshot:
Photograph:
Contact Number. :
Office Timings:
2) FORM DETAILS
Information about where to get the form, for how much fees, how to fill it, and where to submit it, what documents to attach with it, etc…
à Where to get the form,
Counter number, distributing officer’s name and photograph, his work timings, his contact number, Fees for obtaining the form, a pdf document showing a specimen form.
à Filling the form :
Detailed instructiuons about filing each column of the form.
A pdf of a correctly filled form to be made available.
à Documents to be attached
Details and sample photograph of each of the documents to be attached with the form.
à Where to Submit it
Location , desk number and contact details of the officer to whom the form needs to be submitted. A photograph of that officer, seated at that counter to be attached.
Also, how much fees to be paid while submitting that form, a specimen receipt that is to be collected from that officer, and modes of payment allowed.
4) FOLLOW-UP
Expected time taken for processing of the form( this will wary from task to task…),
Whom to contact for enquiring about the status of the application, his contact details.
Whom to complain in case of denial of service by any govt. officer involved and mentioned above, ( here, once the Lokpal bill is passed, there will be a clear idea about whom to complain and how to complain…)
This format can be applied for documenting most of the procedures. However, minor changes will be required for individual processes, like for passport, police verification is an intermediate process, while for driving licence, driving test needs to be covered.
With every location, an accompanying photograph would be more helpful, and so would be a photograph of all concerned officers, seated at their desks, so that we know exactly whom to approach, and where to find them.
Our lives would have been much easier. And if someone shifted to a new city, he would get all the information he needs, at one place, in a well organised manner.
IMPORTANT :
In order to ensure the genuineness of this information, it may be attested by a senior local government official, like civil commissioner or collector, so that it gets a seal of approval and validity.
But it’s easier said than done, unless someone has direct contacts with these officers.
Crowd-Sourcing:
à All information posted on these blogs will be done so by residents of cities, and a panel of such users can validate any changes posted by others later on….
Eg:
If a new officer is appointed in the R.T.O, then his details should appear on the forum/blog, or if any new fees or changed procedure is effected, it should immediately be reflected on the forum/blog.
The emphasis here is on providing real-time, up-to-date information, otherwise it won’t be so effective.
So, these changes can be posted by any member, and can be finalised by respective city’s panel.
This crowd-sourcing can work well if more people volunteer to acquire and spread information that assists in removing corruption.
CAUTION:
This seems a good idea, and I have no doubt about its utility, once it takes form and matures. But I must share an advice which I learned the hard way..
Donot step into any govt. office and expect courteous behaviour from the so called ‘public servants’
As an individual, it’s difficult to persuade babus to co-operate in this exercise.
No one wants his job to get tougher… and as soon as they realise that this would increase their work-load, and may take away some of their daily cash inflow, you could face some heat.
Questions like
“Kis se pooch kea aye ho, kiski permission hae?” would be asked without fail.
So, the point I want to get across is this:
It’s difficult for one person to accomplish this, no matter who he/she is. Unity is required to accomplish such a task. One person cannot tolerate the non-co-operation from govt. officers and gather detailed information and get it validated and post it.
But together, WE CAN.
They can irritate and frustrate an individual but the voice of the masses cannot be ignored.
If we take it up across the nation, and get this information attested by appropriate authorities, say, by the Lokpal (once the bill is passed), then no one can object to this exercise and not work according to the procedure established by these documentations. If any officer denies any service to any citizen even though it is in the attested documentation, then it is a cognizable offence that should be examined by the lokpal.
The people will know who does what, at what time she/he is available, what are her/his duties and responsibilities. Everything will be documented and attested. And if anyone finds any officer defaulting, he/she should be reported to the lokpal.
A collective and united effort is needed to prepare detailed documentations for each govt. office procedure, and to maintain and update it, as also to distribute it in 3 languages (English, Hindi and the local language) in printed form, so that the purpose of this exercise is fulfilled.
Majority of us still do not have access to the internet, so it is crucial that all this information is circulated in printed form as well.
Once the Lokpal bill is passed, all these documentations can be attested by the Lokpal himself, and the accountability will undoubtedly be enforced.
Then, I am sure, the strength of the Lokpal will compel all our dear babus to work honestly, and the citizens can step into any govt. office fully informed and empowered, and avail services without any difficulties or losses in terms of time, money and mental peace!
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