Corruption

Any system of governance that gives power to officials without providing transparency in their dealings and societal supervision of their actions breeds corruption.

In India, almost all government departments function without transparency and societal supervision. The result is rampant corruption in government. Its easy for public servants to take bribes because they know that the public will never come to know the specific details of their misdeeds, which will be required for an action against them.

Since the entire government departments, from top to bottom, can be (and often are) corrupt, the departmental checks against corruption don’t work. Over the years, political leadership, i.e. people’s representatives who are at the top of administrative hierarchy, have also been turning corrupt, snuffing out hopes that any formal check on corruption will work.

Empowering the citizens through Gram Sabha in rural areas and Mohalla Sabha in urban areas to question government officials and demand inspection of government records can work like a magic against corruption.

The beauty of an open meeting of a Gram Sabha and Mohalla Sabha is that it brings all kinds of interests together so that its almost impossible to get away with telling a lie.

In a Gram Sabha meeting on 26th January 2009 in Vervada village in Badwani district of Madhya Pradesh, a few Gram Sabha members wondered aloud about the status of some benefits that were to come under Aajivika, a state government-sponsored livelihood promotion scheme.

Since two officials of the implementing agency of Aajivika were present in the meeting, they were ordered to produce the latest record of the beneficiaries of the scheme in Vervada. The official record showed that on the basis of a Gram Sabha resolution of August 2009, over 3 dozen people of the village had received 40 kg of wheat each for sowing at a nominal charge. Many of the beneficiaries were present in the meeting.

As the names were read out publicly, it turned out, however, that hardly any of the actual beneficiary figured in the list of beneficiaries named in the Gram Sabha resolution of August 2009. Which means that people other than those mentioned in Gram Sabha’s list of beneficiaries got the benefits.

Having detected an obvious case of corruption, the Gram Sabha openly castigated the Sarpanch, who had played an important role in distribution of benefits, as well as the 2 officials of the implementing agency, who pleaded ignorance of the distribution process.
Its not known whether or not the Gram Sabha later decided to recall its Sarpanch, which is allowed in Madhya Pradeshs Panchayat law, but it did pass a resolution that it wanted the state government to stop implementing the Aajivika scheme in Vervada village!

As this example shows, detecting corruption in public services at local level hardly needs the paraphernalia of a vigilance department or a specialized investigating agency. All it needs is some power for citizens to question government officials and inspect public records. Dealing with known cases of corruption and deterring corruption can also come as easily if Gram Sabha and Mohalla Sabha are given power to take penal action against officials, who are proven to have indulged in corruption, such as withholding salaries or even recall.