Day 40 – Q 5.How does corruption thrive in administration? Examine the milieu in which corruption festers.
5. How does corruption thrive in administration? Examine the milieu in which corruption festers.
प्रशासन में भ्रष्टाचार कैसे बढ़ता है? उस माहौल की जांच करें जिसमें भ्रष्टाचार विकसित होता है।
Introduction:
Corruption is a general term covering misuse of authority as a result of consideration of personal gains which need not be monetary. It leads to a behaviour which deviate public officials from the normal duties. This includes behaviour such as bribery, nepotism and misappropriation.
Body:
Corruption in India is all pervasive. There are very few activities in the nation that are perceived to be free from this malaise. This is reflected in India’s poor ranking in corruption perception index 81 among 180 countries.
K Santhanam Committee observes that “corruption can exist only if there is someone to corrupt and capable of corrupting”. Thus, corruption in administration thrives because of following reasons
- Lack of proper education and training of civil servants
- Low salaries
- Inadequate and insufficient supervision
- Political patronage of officials
- Complicated and dilatory procedures
- Poor public opinion
- Unwillingness of people to complain against the corrupt
Milieu in which corruption festers:
- Cumbersome administrative process- This is a major source of corruption. This is added by the negative attitude of the bureaucracy and red-tapism. This results in delays in administrative action, and the anxiety to avoid delays encourages the growth of dishonest practices such as giving speed money to dishonest officials.
- Social environment: Administrative culture is a part of the total culture of the society. In Indian society the ties of family, caste, community, religion and region are still very strong. Public servants are therefore unable to sacrifice their group loyalty for the sake of the nation. This results in corrupt practices like nepotism, favoritism, castism, etc. India is going through the process of modernization. Older values are crumbling and being replaced by materialistic ambitions. The acquisition of wealth by any means has become the chief motive which breeds corruption.
- Public cynicism: The public itself becomes a source of corruption through its cynicism. The people’s acceptance of corruption as a fact of life; and the feeling that those indicted in political or bureaucratic corruption will, invariably, go scot free, and, continue to amass more power, status, and wealth have led to a situation where even the most determined efforts to fight corruption have failed to make a significant impact.
- System of governance: The system of governance in India is also responsible for corruption with lack of transparency; accountability; grievance redressal mechanisms;
Conclusion:
There is ample evidence to show that corruption has slowed down economic progress and poverty alleviation initiatives in India. It has adversely affected the national security system, too. The most affected by corruption are the poorest and the most vulnerable groups. We need sustained efforts to address this menace by strengthening institutions (Lokpal, Lokayukta); laws (RTI, PoCA); improving governance (e-Gov).
Best answer: gargantuan
