Re: [www.keralites.net] ARRESTING THE PANDEMIC OF CORRUPTION

Thursday, 8 September 2011

Re: [www.keralites.net] ARRESTING THE PANDEMIC OF CORRUPTION

Whoever has written the rejoinder has not identified himself. He has in fact written it in my name which

is objectionable.You have not told me something that the world does not know. The world already knows all this and more. We do not need a Hazare to make us aware of the goings-on in the country. Do you think the

Jan Lok Pal Bill can do wonders in eradicating corruption. I do not think so.

Jai Prakash Narayan also started Nav Nirman Movement. What happened. He saw it disintegrate

before his very eyes and in his very lifetime in a few days. He died a dejected man.

The major party which was with him because of their opposition to Indira Gandhi came out of the Janata

experiment. Even now they dilly dallied till last minute before joining the bandwagon and now tell the

world it was not a resolutuion that they supported but a sense of the house. They have now stated that

they will not rally behind Hazare. They have achieved their objective of being on the right side of the public.

Have you read the article written by Swaminathan Anklesaria Iyer in TOI Sunday last. If you have

not read it., Please do. He says too much of anything is bad.

It is no use following what a leader says but people must act too. Do you think our public will act.

In the heat of the moment they will do all this and more and forget it afterwards. That is what happened

after Janata Govt came to power and disintegrated by their own weird actions.

Shanti Bhushan became Law Minister in the Janata Experiment and could he achieve anything. Now

you will say Anna was not there behind him. That is right.

People complained when the Govt was following the Socialistic pattern. Public wanted

opening of the floodgates of corruption by Globalisation and see what happened. It was thought that

corruption will come to an end if permit/quota raj was abolished. Everything has risen more than 1000 fold. These days none has any regard for any Rules and Regulations. The current trend is Make Hay While the Sun Shines. Do you know the trials and tribulations undergone by the Contract Workers. There is no worthwhile Union to protect their rights. The Left is reduced to a mere spectator because of their past actions and they cannot rise under Karat. They should find some other charismatic reader. May be Brinda is better than him. This is the right time for the third front of all right thinking people because Congress and BJP are but birds of the same feather.

Everyone is passing the buck including the lawmakers and upholders of the law and every action is delayed

and when there is delay on the part of the Govt. it is frowned upon. The Media especially the Electronic

ones of Roy, Barkha,Sardesais,Goswami and Purie just put the Govt against Opp. and vice versa and watch

the fun. They do not do their homework and do not know what questions to be asked. They are all partial

as they do not get representatives of all major parties during a discussion and bring in the same people who

repeat the same opinion like a parrot. They also have no constructive suggestions but only think their job ends once

they bring up an issue to the public on the TV. For change to happen public must rouse themselves

and they should oppose all that is bad in law and governance. They should also see that honest women/men

of integrity is elected and sent to the Legislatures so that they keep the interest of the public at large at all

times. Unless there is a total change in the mindset of every one in this country, eradication of corruption will just be a far-fetched idea and a dream!!!!!

Rgds RAMA

rom: Ramachandran Narayan <enramachandran@yahoo.com>

To: "Keralites@yahoogroups.com" <Keralites@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 8, 2011 2:30 PM
Subject: Re: [www.keralites.net] ARRESTING THE PANDEMIC OF CORRUPTION

Hazare cannot step in and stop all that you want him to do.

He can ONLY make you aware of what is happening around you and you start complaining to the concerned authorities about it from happening repeatedly.

When an individual complain about the facilities about the hospital when he visits one, you cannot ask to finish MBBS and become a doctor to find a solution. He can only complain. The authorities who run the hospital are responsible for remedial measures.

When a common person complains about the bridge, you can ask him to complete engineering degree and build a better bridge. He is expected to raise the complaint to the authorities who are paid to rectify and who should step in correct the situation.

When Hazare complain about the politician, you cannot expect to stand for MP and raise the topic in Parliament or become a minister to for a solution. He is expected raise the topic in any forum and the fellow Indian is expected to support the noble cause instead of criticizing him just for criticisms.

regards

N. Ramachandran

Our PM can not rectify the situation, because he controlled by some people who are more powerful. PM knows his limits when he crosses the"lakshman rekha" he will not remain as PM

From: Narayanan Ramachandran <nnr_rama@yahoo.com>
To: "Keralites@yahoogroups.com" <Keralites@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, 8 September 2011 8:15 AM
Subject: Re: [www.keralites.net] ARRESTING THE PANDEMIC OF CORRUPTION

Can Hazare & Co do something to reduce the Population which is the causse of all evils. Can they do

something to maintain supply of pure drinking water, availability of two square meals

a day and provision of roof over the head of poor. Also can they assist in providing

quality education to all. Stop the abuse of children under the age of 14 in the name

of providing jobs. Can they help stop the rising prices.

Do you know ordinary people cannot own a house now in Mumbai with the cost

sky-rocketing. It is the case everywhere. I shudder to think what will happen five years from now. Builders

take 30% cost in black. Can Hazare & Co. stop it.

Can they stop Police,Municipal,Rationing,Railway employees and others demanding bribes.

I do not know why Hazare & Co. fight shy of contesting for polls and then going about

solving our problems. It is easy to blame others and difficult to practice what you preach.

Can Hazare and Team solve the Kashmir issue and the Border dispute with China and

thus help us save crores of money spent on Defence which could be put to better use.

We are so steeped in corruption that even the Gods if they take birth in our

country cannot eradicate it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rgds RAMA

bv: Gangadharan Nair N <ng.puthoor@gmail.com>

To: Keralites <Keralites@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 7, 2011 5:53 AM
Subject: [www.keralites.net] ARRESTING THE PANDEMIC OF CORRUPTION

ARRESTING THE PANDEMIC OF CORRUPTION

Anti-corruption set-ups at the state and district levels will strengthen the Centre's efforts for an effective Lokpal

In the epic Mahabharata, when Draupadi (the Mother land - India) was being disrobed, the blind king Dhritarashtra (the Prime Minister - Dr. Manmohan Singh) 'watched' it silently and unashamedly. He did not stop Dushashan (the Council of Ministers - Pranab Kumar Mukerji, Kapil Sibal, Chithambaram, Salman Khurshid etc.) from this dastardly act, as the crown prince Duryodhan (Rahul Gandhi) was egging him on. Bhishma Pitamah (the President - Srimathy Pratibha Patil) sat still with deafening silence, and the wise minister Vidur (the Opposition Leaders, Sushama Swaraj & Arun Jetley) protested when Draupadi shouted in anger.

This is why the support for the Anna Hazare movement was spontaneous. People are hoping that the movement will bring about better governance in the country. If the change has to happen at the highest level through a constitutionally-empowered Lokpal, surely it will have a trickle-down effect on the morass that we see prevailing in our administrative system. Corruption has now become a part of our DNA and is now a pandemic.

Changing that will take a few generations, but we have to begin now. The issues are not just about getting a ration card or whatever without greasing palms, but also addressing the distortions that exist in the system that have spillover impacts on the society and the economy. Today, nearly all the kamdhenu posts in the country are auctioned: be it a policeman's or an engineer's or a regional transport officer's position, or a district food supply officer's post. To amplify the systemic issues, the public distribution system is one such glaring example. Research shows that only 10% of the benefits accrue to the poor, while leakages are about 43%, and the rest goes to the inefficient government system. Because the system feeds on political patronage and, hence, all parties are together in supporting it like the caste reservation system. Therefore, the incentive to politicians to support such reforms is poor. "Central government is proposing to introduce National Food Security law that would provide statutory framework to ensure food security for all… But the law will be rendered futile like PDS if it does not come up with an appropriate mechanism for its implementation.

"PDS is synonymous with corruption," says Justice D P Wadhwa in the overview chapter of the report of the Central Vigilance Committee on PDS that submitted its report to the Supreme Court in September 2009. "…there is a web of corruption woven around the PDS by politicians, bureaucrats, transporters and officials of the Food Supplies Department and Civil Supplies Corporation. They are shameless people having no inhibition depriving the poor of their food."

Another issue that has been raised in the current debate is whether the Lokpal institution itself cannot be corrupted. There is a distinct possibility of this. One instance in my own knowledge some time in early 1980s can amplify this issue. In a divisional engineer's office, a peon asked for leave. The divisional accounts officer asked for a bribe of Rs. 150 to approve it. The peon complained to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, who laid a trap and caught the accounts officer red-handed. Was he prosecuted? No, but his punishment came through a haranguing investigation leading to a settlement of Rs. 60,000 he paid as a bribe to the bureau officials to get the case squashed. In a perverse sense, this was democratization of corruption. What did the peon do? Otherwise a simple and honest man, he started demanding bribes from anyone wanting access in the engineer's office.

Today, the rates of bribe have gone up hugely as a sort of democratic right. In one instance, a patwari shocked an entrepreneur by demanding Rs.50,000, instead of the usual Rs. 5,000, for issuing a patta for an authorised conversion of land from farm to commercial use where he was going to build a hotel. All possible directions from seniors did not move the patwari to settle for less and do his job, and the entrepreneur ended up paying it. The delay would have meant other problems.

These two instances point to lack of transparency and accountability in the system and its monitoring. In both the cases, there was no system to check the progress of matters by superiors, and this is systemic. This is aided by Article 311 of the Constitution, which provides a life-long insurance to civil servants from being sacked. If one looks around, we find that very few civil servants have been sacked. The easy way out was to send them back to their home cadre as punishment. In one case this author knows of, the person was asked to resign. No effort was made to recover the huge wealth that had been accumulated. As far as politicians go, such as Sukh Ram, Antulay and many others, the track record is worse. Political compulsions do not allow prosecution, and the prosecuting machinery is influenced to go slow or weaken the charges.

This is what the proposed Lokpal will try and do, and by ensuring control over the investigative and prosecutorial machinery. The Lokpal Bills will now be debated before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice. A refreshing and welcome change is that their proceedings will be public. Having appeared before several parliamentary committees, it has not been a pleasant experience because their proceedings are not public and one is also cautioned that evidence submitted before them cannot be made public until the committee has submitted its report to the House. This author has always protested that when the House proceedings are public, how can a subsidiary body be opaque, but to no avail.

With the movement now on the Lokpal Bill that has already had a salutary impact on our economy and the governance system, we need to start a similar movement at the level of the states and our districts. Only then can we hope to arrest the pandemic of corruption.

(The author is secretary general of CUTS International)

" Vande Matharam "
"Jai Hind"

Gangadharan Nair N
ng.puthoor@gmail.com

www.keralites.net

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