Corruption In
India
All
luxury corrupts either the morals or the state.
-
Joubert
Corruption
in the Indian society has prevailed from time immemorial in one form or the
other. The basic inception of corruption started with our opportunistic leaders
who have already done greater damage to our nation. People who work on right
principles
are unrecognized and considered to be foolish in the modern society.
Corruption in India is a result of the connection between bureaucrats,
politicians and criminals. Earlier, bribes were paid for getting wrong things
done, but now bribe is paid for getting right things done at right time.
Further, corruption has become something respectable in India, because
respectable people are involved in it. Social corruption like less weighing of
products, adulteration in edible items, and bribery of various kind have
incessantly prevailed in the society.
In
today's scenario, if a person wants a government job he has to pay lakhs of
rupees to the higher officials irrespective of satisfying all the eligibility
criteria. In every office one has either to give money to the employee
concerned or arrange for some sources to get work done. There is adulteration
and duplicate weighing of products in food and civil supplies department by
unscrupulous workers who cheat the consumers by playing with the health and
lives of the people. In the assessment of property tax the officers charge
money even if the house is built properly according to the Government rules and
regulations.
Political
corruption is worst in India. The major cause of concern is that corruption is
weakening the political body and damaging the supreme importance of the law
governing the society. Nowadays politics is only for criminals and criminals
are meant to be in politics. Elections in many parts of the country have become
associated with a host of criminal activities. Threatening voters to vote for a
particular candidate or physically prevent voters from going in to the polling
booth – especially weaker sections of the society like tribals, dalits and
rural woman occurs frequently in several parts of the country. Recently, the
Government increased the salary of the M.P.'s from Rs.16, 000 to Rs.50, 000,
that is 300% increase to the existing salary. But many of them are unhappy with
rise and want the Government to increase the salary to a much more extent. This
clearly shows how the politicians are in constant thirst for monetary benefits
and not caring about the welfare of the people. Tax evasion is one of the most
popular forms of corruption. It is mostly practiced by Government officials and
politicians who lead to the accumulation of black money which in turn spoils
the moral of the people.
Major Factors Responsible For
Corruption:
- The most
important factor is the nature of the human being. People in general, have
a great thirst for luxuries and comforts and as a result of which they get
themselves involved in all unscrupulous activities that result in monetary
or material benefits.
- Moral and
spiritual values are not given utmost importance in educational system,
which is highly responsible for the deterioration of the society.
- The salary
paid to employees is very less and as a result of which they are forced to
earn money by illegal ways.
- The
punishments imposed on the criminals are inadequate.
- The
political leaders have spoiled the society completely. They lead a
luxurious life and do not even care about the society.
- People of
India are not awakened and enlightened. They fear to raise their voice
against anti-social elements prevailing in the society.
Measures To Control Corruption:
There are some specific measures to control increasing
corruption.
- The Right
to Information Act (RTI) 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 on any problem
which one faces. There is a Public Information Officer (PIO) appointed in
every Government department, who is responsible for collecting information
wanted by the citizens and providing them with the relevant information on
payment of a nominal fee to the PIO. If the PIO refuses to accept the
application or if the applicant does not receive the required information
on time then the applicant can make a complaint to the respective
information commission, which has the power to impose a penalty up to
Rs.25, 000 on the errant PIO.
- Another
potent check on corruption is Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). It was
setup by the Government to advise and guide Central Government agencies in
the areas of vigilance. If there are any cases of corruption or any
complaints thereof, then that can be reported to the CVC. CVC also
shoulders the responsibility of creating more awareness among people
regarding the consequences of giving and taking of bribes and corruption.
- Establishment
of special courts for speedy justice can be a huge positive aspect. Much
time should not elapse between the registration of a case and the delivery
of judgment.
- Strong and
stringent laws need to be enacted which gives no room for the guilty to
escape.
- In many
cases, the employees opt for corrupt means out of compulsion and not by
choice. Some people are of the opinion that the wages paid are
insufficient to feed their families. If they are paid better, they would
not be forced to accept bribe.
The
one thing that needs to be ensured is proper, impartial, and unbiased use of
various anti-social regulations to take strong, deterrent, and timely legal
action against the offenders, irrespective of their political influences or
money power. Firm and strong steps are needed to curb the menace and an
atmosphere has to created where the good, patriotic, intellectuals come forward
to serve the country with pride, virtue, and honesty for the welfare of the
people of India.
Tanvir