By N. Vittal, Former Central Vigilance Commissioner, Government of India
Article
Corruption is the lack of integrity. This could be lack of
financial integrity, moral integrity or intellectual integrity. When we talk
about corruption in our country we are generally referring mostly to the lack of
financial integrity.
The world bank defines corruption as ‘the use of public
office for private gain’. In this sense only the holders of public office can be
corrupt. The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1983 also defines corruption only in
the context of cases of public servants who hold public office. Corruption in
the private sector is legally considered to be cheating u/s.420 IPC or criminal
breach of trust. Corruption exists in the private sector and the public sector.
It is the root and cause of suffering practically in all spheres of our life
today. Corruption is therefore a scourge of India.
The word scourge is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as
follows : ‘scourge’ as a noun means : a whip for flogging or a person or thing
regarded as the cause of suffering. As a verb it means flog with a whip :
afflict greatly, punish. In short, ‘scourge’ is an act of causing suffering and
inflicting punishment. Our country is being punished by corruption by way of
lack of progress.
When Ms. Indira Gandhi was asked about the problem of
corruption, she qualified that it was a global phenomenon and avoided a direct
reply. Even if we look at corruption as a global phenomenon which is seen in
every society and country, the level of corruption varies from country to
country.
The latest report of Transparency International has focussed
on the sad fact that even the programmes for ‘aam admi’ and those who are
involved in these programmes are prone to corruption.
The Transparency International India Centre for Media Studies
conducted Indian corruption study 2007, a national survey of graft patterns
affecting BPL — ‘below poverty line’ households, categorised the States into
four levels to explain the extent and level of corruption — alarming, very high,
high and moderate. While levels of corruption were deemed alarming in Assam,
Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, & Nagaland, it was
very high in TN, Rajasthan, Meghalaya and Sikkim. It was deemed high in
Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Kerala, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh,
Manipur. If it is any consolation, corruption levels were moderate in the Union
Terrorities of Chandigarh and Puducherry and the nine States Andhra Pradesh,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttaranchal, WB, Mizoram and
Tripura. The survey covered 22,728 randomly selected BPL households across the
States between 2007 and January 2008.
The Below Poverty Line (BPL) households in India paid Rs.883
crore as bribe to avail basic needs during the last one year, according to
Transparency International India (TII) — CMS corruption study 2007. The Police
Department tops the chart with total bribe paid by the BPL households to the
tune of Rs.215 crore, while land records and service comes second at Rs.123.4
crore and housing comes third with a total bribe of Rs.156.6 crore.
The press report gives the details :
Corruption is not new to India, but what is shocking is
that the situation is getting worse, if a global watchdog is to be believed.
India has this year been ranked worse than China on a corruption scale devised
by Transparency International, compared to the last year when the two
countries were on par.
In a report that was released simultaneously in cities
worldwide, the organisation said the marginal slide could have had something
to do with television images of currency notes being displayed in the
Parliament during the recent debate on the trust vote.
India is ranked 85 on the corruption perception index-2008,
while China is ranked 72. Last year both the countries were ranked 72. The
index is prepared on the basis of surveys conducted in 180 countries by 13
international agencies that are associated with the organisation.
The index puts India’s integrity score at 3.4 as against 3.5
in 2007. China on the other hand has a marginally higher integrity score 3.6
this year, while Pakistan with a 2.5 integrity score has been ranked at 134 in
the list and Sri Lanka is ranked at 92 with integrity score of 3.2.
Corruption in our country is a vicious cycle starting with
political corruption, leading to bureaucratic corruption, resulting in
criminalisation of politics.
The question is whether India can continue to live with this
level of corruption. Corruption is anti economic development, anti-nation and
anti-poor. Can something be done to eliminate corruption or at least drastically
reduce the level of corruption in our day-to-day life ?
There is a silver lining that even our worst politicians so
far have not come out openly and said that corruption is good.
Information technology and communication has recorded a
healthy development in recent times. The availability of camera mobile phones
and 24X7 news channels always on the look out for sensational news has increased
significantly.
The most important tools of combating corruption are the
judiciary, the Election Commission and the media.
On the issue of remedial measures we can begin with banning all political candidates against whom criminal charges have been framed in courts from contesting elections, we can certainly stop ‘law-breakers becoming law-makers’. The media and photo camera phones can be used to catch the corrupt and punish them. The RTI Act can be used to expose corruption. I believe the use of RTI Act and use of technology will bring in greater transparency in government and semi-government organisations. Other measures would involve the following:
- Inculcating value-based education.
- Educating the citizens of their rights.
- Increased use of our judicial system and institutions like the Election Commission and the Ombudsman.
Corruption challenges us, let us confront corruption rather than accept corruption.
