Due to Anna Hazare's fast, the fight against corruption has met with fervor across the country. Though i do support the Fight Against corruption and believe that it is corruption indeed which is hampering the growth of our country. Or else , if you talk about resources.. be it human , material or natural.. we have all in abundance... its just the lack of opportunity or failure to channelize of our resources. The major reason for the same being improper systems which is also a cause and effect of corruption. Our food distribution systems, public welfare schemes like NREGA, various housing schemes, employment schemes, are not actually reaching the poor in the way they should be.
Anna Hazare and team's fight to bring lokpal bill will not solve the problem of corruption. It might reduce it to some extent but not curb it since it is a reactive measure and not a proactive one. It deals with punishing the guilty and not eradicating the crime in the first place.. If people feared stringent laws then there wouldn't be any crime in our country or the world for that matter... The solution to this problem lies in changing the system. By bringing transparency into the system and continuous improvement.
RTI Act was a major step towards bringing about transparency. One of the major causes of corruption is lack of information... This can be dealt with use of technology. for. e.g. Use of technology has brought about transparency and convenience in Tax Filing and refunds. ( an input shared by a friend ). The tax refunds are faster now.
Why does corruption occur in the first place.. ok.. greed .. yes.. but lets leave the top level scams etc..lets talk about you and me.. the common people.. the public.. for example.. I need to buy a property.. I have no clue about the procedures or regulations, taxes or duties to be paid.. Still I go to the government office and am lost in the sea of people around with no clue where to go or what to do.. So what do i do... Hire an agent.. who will be the shortcut for me.. What did i do??? bought a little bit of convenience for myself... ok.. i had to pay a little extra.. but what the heck.. my job is done... without having to wait in queue.. I bought preference for myself and convenience..
Now how can this situation be avoided?... If all the systems are made online. i.e. online payment of your taxes.. stamp duty, registration etc, then this would reduce the human interface and thereby automatically reduce corruption.. because all are at the same level.. there is no preference.. and it is the easy and convenient way...and one has all the information required at one click.
Take another instance... You break the traffic rules and the cop catches you...and the cop tells you to shell out the fine... and you find out that the fine has been hiked... what do you do? pay him a bribe and drive away.. easy and convenient option... in this scenario is hiking the fine a deterrent to commit such offences or an incentive/pay to pay a bribe?
Its just that a law alone will not end corruption, we need stronger systems and a complete revamp of our system which cannot happen over a single day .. It has to be a continuous process. But yes, the Jan lokpal bill is necessary since it will empower the government to deal with the corrupt.
There are other ways also to fight corruption which perhaps has missed the media attention.. followed in the next blog...
Till then..
Sau mein se Ninyaanve beimaan... Phir bhi.. Mera Bharat Mahaan..
Jai Hind :)
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