The common man is still at the mercy of the corrupt apparatus of the bureaucracy.
After decades of protest and endless hours of discussion in Parliament, the menace of corruption continues to plague India and its citizenry at the grassroots.
The common man, be he a rickshaw puller, a street vendor, or a businessman, is still at the mercy of the corrupt apparatus of the bureaucracy.
While the Anna movement has sensitised the country to the curse of bureaucratic corruption, its heavy politicisation has led to some sections of the bureaucracy being emboldened to persist with their acts of victimisation. The lower bureaucracy may still have pushed back a bit for mounting fear of a public backlash, but the middle and senior bureaucratic circles are in no mood to relent.
This ground reality is obviously being ignored. That explains the insensitive approach on display when the prime minister says Indian industry ought not to complain about issues facing it when it comes to conducting day-to-day business.
Captains of industry have time and again raised the issue of corruption in the corridors of power, with little or no redemption.
DNA anti-corruption series
Beginning today, DNA will run a series entitled ‘Grounding the corrupt’ where readers would be encouraged to write to us with their story of corruption at the hands of the bureaucracy of all kinds: from a rationing or passport office delaying or denying what is due to you to an income-tax office delaying or denying your genuine refund to anyone in the corridors of power making extraneous demands to carry out the tasks that are supposed to be done normally. The report will be published maintaining your confidentiality after exercising due diligence of your case.
Case studies
We begin the series with a case study of blatant bureaucratic apathy from the services sector. This is one sector that the government, including the prime minister, loses no opportunity to hail as India’s key growth driver. The services sector has indeed put India on the global business map, growing rapidly over the years, even as agriculture, the mainstay of the economy, has been dwindling.
The services sector, which now accounts for about 53% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), has huge potential to realise, if only it can be freed of bureaucratic obstacles. If you add the construction industry, the contribution of the sector mounts to over 60% of the GDP. But the ground situation reflects a sordid story of neglect.
Case study 1: A services sector company (name withheld) has been clamouring for an income-tax refund due to it, but to no avail. The company has filed repeated pleas with the income tax authorities at New Delhi income tax assessing ward 18. This is for the year 2008-09 and the company has already made several pleas in writing to the officials concerned. The refund sought is Rs6.74 crore. This is despite finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s announcement in the last budget that tax refund cases would be dealt with expeditiously and without any inconvenience to taxpayers.
The company has made the plea that denial of the refund has had a debilitating impact on its cash flow management, in turn affecting its competitiveness. Delay in refunds is a recurring problem as much for ordinary assesses as for small, medium and large businesses.
Case study 2: Another services sector company in its complaint has said it faced harassment from income tax officers on the eve of assessment due in December in Mumbai. The company (name withheld) said the officials were raising unrealistic demands and threatening to double or treble the charge to fix the genuine tax amount due. The company said several other companies in the sector were facing the same problem with income tax officers brazenly seeking bribes. Faith in the senior bureaucracy is thin, the company alleged. Another set of officials would just not attend since they already had their hands full. Thus they chose to stay safe, the company alleged. The company alleged that consultants too were hand in glove to ensure that they had their share of the cake.
Invitation
DNA invites readers to write their story of victimisation at the hands of the bureaucracy with relevant certifications and evidence in support and help in this campaign to redeem citizens of the curse of corruption. You may write to us at: Zee Research Group (ZRG), New Building, Zee Network, Film City, Sector 16A, NOIDA. Phone: 0120-4698839, 0120-4698645
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