Two prominent unions of the bureaucracy have stated that measures are needed to cut through red tape and control the corruption epidemic
Two prominent unions of the bureaucracy have stated that measures are needed to cut through red tape and control the corruption epidemic
In what may be termed by some as an irony of monumental proportions, the anti-corruption winds of change sweeping across the country seem to have swept up the babus as well. The State Gazetted Officers Federation (SGOF), a body representing Class-A officers of the state administration, recently appealed to its members to take cognisance of, and respect, the public outcry against corruption and the support that has been garnered by the Anna Hazare-led agitation for the Jan Lokpal Bill.
The State Employees Union, which represents Class B and C government employees, has also decided to support the anti-graft movement by wearing black badges on Aug 22-23.u00a0In an appeal to its members, the SGOF has stated that the state bureaucracy should respect the fact that the salaries and perks given to them come from the taxes collected from the people. "We do not support the Hazare-led agitation and neither are we against it. But, we need to take cognisance of the fact that the common man is enraged over widespread corruption," said Ravindra Dhongde, president, SGOF.
"Efforts should be made to change the general feeling that you can't get your work done in government offices unless you pay a bribe. To this end, we are planning to organise a workshop in September," said GD Kulthe, the federation's secretary general.
If data from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is anything to go by, the bureaucracy has chosen a good time to wake up to the problem. Corruption cases have been going up steadily over the yearsu00a0-- from 390 in 2008 to 424 in 2009 to 528 last year and 251 between Jan and June, 2011.
Of the 251 cases this year, employees were caught red-handed while accepting bribes in 234 cases. 119 cases were registered against the police force, 111 against state revenue department officials, 40 against municipal officials, 23 against officials from the land record department and 22 against those from the state power utility. 109 people were arrested in graft cases by the ACB last year.
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