Widening the net: Department now shifts focus from cities to villages to increase number of traps and check corruption
The epicentre of graft is shifting in Maharashtra. While cases of corruption were largely reported in Mumbai and other urban locales in the last few years, this year, there has been a drastic shift in the demography of corruption. On the occasion of International Anti Corruption Day, the State Anti Corruption Bureau, in an effort to nip the menace in the bud, has been spreading its reach across every nook and corner of the State. This year, the department, apart from concentrating only on high-profile cases of corruption in metros, has laid enormous focus on rural areas of the State.
From nabbing the clerk of a municipal council office in Bhokardan, Jalna for accepting Rs 5,000 bribe, trapping a lineman helper in Limbgav of Nanded district for accepting Rs 1,500 as bribe to arresting a revenue officer from Dahadi village in Amaravati for accepting Rs 3,000 as bribe from the respective units of the ACB, the agency has been treading lesser-known territories this year, irrespective of the bribe profile and amount. So far, while Mumbai has recorded 79 cases of corruption this year, Nasik has recorded 202 cases, followed by Pune and Aurangabad.
Vishwan Nangre Patil, additional commissioner of police, ACB said, "The quality of traps is higher in Mumbai, while the quantity is high in other areas, This is mainly because in rural areas, you have several village-level revenue officers and zilla parishad clerks who are highly corrupt and harassing. Any type of corruption is inexcusable, be it an amount of Rs 500 or Rs 5 lakh." He added that in urbane areas, the corrupt are high-ranking officers and therefore, there is a fear among the general public to go against them. That apart, the general attitude among the urban crowd is to give in to the demands and get the work done.
The department also attributes the rise in cases in rural areas to the massive awareness drive launched by the department in the last year. "We have stationed more officers in the rural ACB units and have been conducting street plays, meeting at taluka levels, sms drives, putting up banners, etc to create awareness among the rural masses," said Patil. He also added that the department put up boards outside all the government offices in rural areas to discourage people from accepting or giving bribe. "The rural public deal with government officials day in and day out, more than the urban public. Therefore, we have enhanced our focus there. Our 1064 helpline receives complaints everyday. Besides, even our Facebook and ACB web page are up-to-date with details of every case."
The ACB's Facebook page has been naming and shaming corrupt officers over the last six months by giving out details of each trap, along with names and pictures of the accused. The officials feel that with massive use of technology to spread awareness, along with drives has enhanced confidence among the victims. A senior official from ACB said, "More than anything, citizens have been boldly coming forward to complain against corrupt officials, be it in urban or rural regions. This has helped us in a 117% increase in cases this year."
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