How to Stop Corruption ?

How to Stop Corruption?

Corruption is one of the most disruptive problem faced by the world and it needs to stop without further damage to the humanity so as to have a better future for the coming generation.
India is one of the country which is suffering due to the existence of Corruption.
Impact of corruption is very hard on public life.

This is more of awkward and defaming condition than being problematic.
But it appears that the corruption is ever rising and unstoppable.
Further the people involved in corruption seem to be hiding themselves by blaming others. Even they are proud of themselves as they made more money in short time.

To worsen the condition further, those involved in corruption are able to get better promotions and opportunities.

People also have developed an opinion that it is the only way to get their work done. If not, the work will be pending for long or even might not be done.

Effects of corruption on people

Lack of quality in services:
In a system with corruption there is no quality of service. To demand quality one might need to pay for it. This is seen in many areas like municipality, electricity, distribution of relief funds etc. If a person has to purchase a like medicine, due to corruption in education then the candidate after completion of his course will not like to provide quality health service if there is not enough remuneration for his service. Further candidates who do not have the ability can also get into the same seat by purchasing it. So though he becomes a medical practitioner, he may not be competent enough.

Lack of proper justice: Corruption in judiciary system, leads to improper justice. And the victims of offense might suffer. A crime may be proved as benefit of doubt due to lack of evidence or even the evidence erased. Due to corruption in the police system, the investigation process goes on for decades. This lets the culprits roam free and even perform more crimes. There are even chances that criminals due to old age due to delayed investigation. So it lead to “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

Chances of Unemployment: This we can see with an example. The private education and training institutes are given permits to start providing education. This permit is given based on the infrastructure and sufficient recruitment of eligible staff. Here there are good chances of corruption. The institute or college managements try to bribe the quality inspectors so as to get permits. Though there are no sufficient eligible staff these institutes get permission by the inspectors leading to unemployment. Instead of 10 faculty a college is run by 5. So, even if well qualified persons wish to get job there, they will not be offered. If there was no corruption by inspectors, then there would be chance for more employment.

Poor Health and hygiene: In countries with more corruption one can notice more health problems among people. There will be no fresh drinking water, proper roads, quality food grains supply, milk adulteration, etc.
These low quality services are all done to save money by the contractors and the officials who are involved. Even the medicine provided in hospitals for the hospitals are of sub-standard quality. So all these can contribute to ill health of common man.

Pollution: Pollution is mostly emitted in the form of water pollution, air pollution and land pollution. This pollution is from vehicles and factories. The governments have a monitor on this pollution by regular check of vehicle emissions and also industrial exhausts.
Corruption in the government department lets the industry people opt to release of untreated and harmful waste into rivers and air. If there is no corruption, there can be fair probes. Then the industry personnel will treat the waste such that it is less toxic and harmless to environment and people in it. So we can mean that corruption is also the main cause of pollution.
Accidents: Sanction of driving license without proper check of driving skills in the driver leads to accidents and death. Due to corruption, there are countries where one can driving license without any tests.

Failure of genuine research: Research by individuals needs government funding. Some of the funding agencies have corrupt officers. These people sanction the funds for research to those investigators who are ready to bribe them. In doing so, they do not sanction the funds to genuine and hardworking investigators. Thus the research and development will be lagging. This seems to be not a problem to the common public. But if we notice the resistance of microbes to drugs, we can know that there were no new compounds discovered in the past few decades for efficient treatment of resistant microbes.

Effects of corruption on Society:

Disregard for officials: People start disregarding the official involved in corruption by talking negatively about him. But when they have work with him or her, they again approach them by a thought that the work is done if some monetary benefits are provided. Disregard towards officials will also build distrust. Even lower grade officer will be disrespectful to higher grade officer. So even he may not obey his orders. There were even incidents where a lower grade police officer kidnapped higher grade officer for not offering him leave when asked.

Lack of respect for rulers: Rulers of the nation like president or prime ministers lose respect among the public. Respect is main criteria in social life. People go for voting during election not only with the desire to improve their living standards by the election winner but also with respect for the leader. If the politicians involve in corruption, people knowing this will lose respect for them and will not like to cast their vote for such politicians.

Lack of faith and trust on the governments: People vote to a ruler based on their faith in him/ her. But if found to be involved in corruption people lose faith in them and may not vote next time.
A version for joining the posts linked to corruption: Sincere, honest and hard working people develop aversion to apply for the post though they like to as they believe that they also need to be involved in corruption if they get into post.

Effects of corruption on Economy:-

Decrease in foreign investment: There are many incident where in foreign investments which were willing to come to India have gone back owing to heavy corruption in the government bodies.
Delay in growth: Due to desire to mint money and other unlawful benefits, the official who need to pass the clearances for projects or industries delay the process. A work which can be done in few day may be done in months time. This leads to delay in investments, starting of industries and also growth. Even if started, company growth hinders as every work linked to officials get delayed due to need to provide bribes or other benefits

Lack of development: Many new industries wiling to get started in particular region change their plans if the region is unsuitable. If there are no proper roads, water and electricity, the companies do not wish to start up there. This hinders the economic progress of that region.

Differences in trade ratio’s: Some countries have inefficient standard control institutes. Or in other word these standard control institutes are corrupt that they can approve low quality products for sale in their country. Hence you can see countries manufacturing cheap products dump them in big markets. These countries can manufacture cheap quality products but cannot dump in countries with strict standard control institutes. They can do so only in countries with chances of corrupt officials in standard control. One best example is China products which can’t be just dumped into Europe and US markets. But can be done in Indian and African markets. So there arises trade deficit that these countries cannot manufacture their own products at cheaper price than those exporting to them. So if corruption is minimized than these countries will have less trade deficits in-terms of exports and imports with other countries and their economies can prosper.

The below are some ways which can help in removing the Corruption:

EDUCATION: With the help of education we can reduce corruption. According to a survey the least corrupt state is Kerala, because of Kerala has literacy rate is highest in India. It is due to unawareness in the field of law, public rights and procedures thereof that a common and an uneducated suffer out of the corrupt society. This suggests that if we are educated, we can understand our rights well. The first tool is ‘education’. With the help of education we can reduce corruption. According to a report by Transparency International, the least corrupt state is Kerala, the reason being that Kerala’s literacy rate is highest in India. So we can see how education effects education. In most of the states, normally a fairly large number of people are uneducated. Those who are uneducated do not know about the process, provisions and procedures through which they can get justice. Corrupt public servants try to make a fool of them and often demand bribes. It is due to unawareness in the field of law, public rights and procedures thereof that a common and an uneducated suffer out of the corrupt society. This suggests that if we are educated, we can understand our rights well.

Individual Contribution: Main cause of corruption is lack of values, student's minds must be inculcated with value's such as honesty, integrity, selflessness etc., We should be honest to ourselves. Until and unless we will not be honest, we can’t control corruption. If each of us is honest towards our profession, then corruption will automatically decrease. Ask for bills, even when you buy anything. Make it sure that the vendor also have a counter copy of the same.

Whenever you convey any message to authority, make it via registered mail or e-mail; else record the call and make sure you ask the name of the concerned with his/her employee id. Feel free to file RTIs. This can make many things move in right direction. Make it to use in a legislative way
Whenever you are fined, never give bribes; nor use political power. Ask the authority, in writing, to mention the lead time for a given task. If you forget it first time, file RTI for it.

Eligibility of politician: One can only become politician of he/she should not have any criminal record.If the members of the governing body are government officials, there will certainly be less reports of the criminal cases. The provision is that, if there is any case filed against a person then he would not be eligible for election. Unfortunately a fairly large number of them are a part of it. If the members of the governing body are government officials, there will certainly be less reports of the criminal cases. The reverse may be possible only when there are no more criminal politicians in our government. The provision is that, if there is any case filed against a person then he would not be eligible for election. But if we see 100 politicians then about 60% of those would have a criminal case against them. If these ‘criminal’ politicians are in charge of forming and implementing laws, what type of law would be formed, one can only guess! Thus during election, we should keep in mind the person for whom we shall not vote. In India there is a provision that no person as a criminal shall be allowed as a Member of Parliament or member of legislative. Unfortunately a fairly large number of them are a part of it.

Bring political parties under RTI : Currently, political parties are required to report only donations above ₹20,000 to Income Tax Department. Political parties are exempted from filing income tax returns and contributions to political parties are deductible from assessee's total income.Thus, political parties keep no record of donations less than ₹20,000. Donations only in above of ₹20,000 are reported to the Election Commission. This is crucial because about 75% of donations to political parties fall into the below ₹20,000 category. Thus, there is no record of source of funds for almost 3/4th of the funds received.

RTI will affect the smooth functioning of political parties. Political rivals will start using RTI tool with malicious intent. Existing I-T provisions enough to ensure financial transparency.

Increase in digital and e-governance: Using CCTV in the govt offices and exposing those videos in the media. Also several case studies of e-government applications from developing countries report some impact on reducing corruption. Many governments have chosen to go on-line in departments such as customs, income tax, sales tax, and property tax which have a large interface with citizens or businesses and are perceived to be more corrupt.

Corruption treatment: That means, instruments which are in use, are not running properly. For example Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 came into force on 9th September, 1988. But corruption is still flourishing. Why? Because of weak actions and proceedings towards corrupt people. People don’t have any fear of this act and the court. The act may thus be revised for its better implementation. Lack of effective corruption treatment is another reason. That means, instruments which are in use, are not running properly. Despite the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, corruption is still flourishing. Why? Because of weak actions and proceedings towards corrupt people. People don’t have any fear of this act and the court. The act may thus be revised for its better implementation.

Transparent tax structure by clean and clear enforcement: Our direct taxes are no longer unreasonable, so there's little excuse for trying to evade them. But there is an unhealthy trend in piling on surcharges on various pretexts. Also, there are tons of other taxes that can add up to quite a bit. Finally, there's the larger question of how efficiently and honestly taxpayers' money is put to use — when you see the state of government hospitals and schools, and rotten roads, you wonder where the money you paid as tax has gone.

Salary increase: This would minimize the 'need' for bribes. Their salaries could be bench-marked against corporate sector salaries. But higher salaries should be combined with exemplary punishment, including dismissal from service and a police case if an employee is caught indulging in corrupt practices. Mere transfer or suspension won't do.

Police reforms and stronger judicial: This has been discussed for decades but there's been no action. The recommendations for reforms are already there. Set a time frame for implementation. This will make the police not just a professional force that's not at the beck and call of politicians, but also a trained one with in-built checks against developing vested interests. Today the situation often is that the investigator (police officer) is answerable to the person being investigated (politician). Also, separate the police into two wings: one for investigation and the other for maintaining law and order. The two functions are different and require different skill sets.

Blacklist corrupt businessmen: Private businesses caught indulging in corrupt practices or bribing officials should be blacklisted for, say, 10 years and be barred from government projects. In the category of corrupt practices would fall use of shoddy material -- like road contractors who give one inch of tar when they are supposed to give four inches and the road crumbles after one monsoon. Bigger instances of private businesses cutting corners in public projects by colluding with corrupt officials should attract exemplary punishment.

Give equal representation to all castes/communities in all political positions and government jobs by reserving seats equally among all communities. Once there is reservation for every community and that's fixed, no community can cry hoarse playing a victim card and hence voting on caste lines. Accountability can be set in all the government jobs with hire and fire policy. i.e., if a government servant is not doing his job well he can be fired. People will agree upon the firing of incompetent and corrupt officials if they know the seat is reserved for their caste/community, and another person of the same community will be placed into that position vacated. Hence there will be no cry for caste/community based harassment of when firing a corrupt govt official. Things will improve gradually.

Feedback Collection: - There would be mandatory anonymous feedback collection for every task done by every govt official. Personnel who consistently get poor ratings below a threshold must be fired periodically. This will induce fear among the govt officials and corruption will reduce to a great extent.

Direct Contact with Government: - We can reduce corruption by increasing direct contact between government and the governed. E-governance could help a lot towards this direction. In a conference on, “Effects of Good Governance and Human Rights“ organised by National Human Right Commission, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam gave an example of the Delhi metro rail system and online railway reservation as good governance and said that all the lower courts should follow the example of the Supreme Court and High Court and make judgements available online. Similarly, Sivraj Patil said that the Right to information should be used for transparency. We have legal rights to know a lot of information. According to this act, (Right to Information act 2005), generally people should follow the procedure of law given to then when their work is not being implemented in a proper way in public services. This act is a great help in the order to control corruption.

Being Honest:- Lack of transparency and professional accountability is yet another big reason. We should be honest to ourselves. Until and unless we will not be honest, we can’t control corruption. If each of us is honest towards our profession, then corruption will automatically decrease. We need to pay attention towards professional accountability i.e., how much we are faithful and truthful towards our profession. Corruption may be controlled by handling five major professions: lekhpal, medical, revenue, police and judicial.

Investment in Security Infrastructure:- Camera in most govt offices is a must. In every ATM there are camera to keep a watch on the public taking their money. Then why not government offices have cameras to have a watch on the employ performance. Even there are many employ’s who openly take bribe in presence of common men. This public bribery is due to confidence that public wants their work more than the amount they are paying to them as bribes.

Speed up the work process in govt institutes: Most corporate offices are in full fledged running by 8-9 am. But the government offices start by 10 to 11 am and wind up by 3.30 to 4 pm with a lunch break of one & half hour in between. This indicates how much of commitment lies in the work and how fast the work goes on. If there are mistakes in the work or delay in the work, civilians have to run behind those workers to rectify or complete the work. In doing so they pay bribes to get the work done. This makes the chances of corruption more or else work is not done. So there should be accountability of daily work done in government works and targets to complete the work on time basis. Or else instead of being public servants, they tend to act as public bosses.

Make Media responsible and fix laws to be so: There are many major scams and corruption events involving media. Though the media is well aware of the corruption happening they stay silent due to their support for some political parties or else their owners get some monetary benefits from the rulers. Even there are many reporters who though come across some scam or corruption, they stay silent without revealing it for press for having received monetary benefits to do so. If media personnel are found to be guilty for not having exposed the scam or corruption intentionally, they have to be prosecuted and their license be withdrawn.

Verify the selection procedures: Many people compete for government jobs and in the process there are corruption happening in the selection of candidates for the posts. So let the selection criteria and procedure used be transparent and any misconduct from this should be punishable.
Also while allotment of natural resources for business companies, the selection of bids should be transparent. There should be online details with regards to the benefit to the government, the purchase price and even benefit to the company out of the deals. This will limit the corruption related to quid pro quo.

Keep inflation low: This is another factor for keeping corruption high and also persistent. Due to rise in prices, any amount of income seems to be insufficient. This inflation is a corruption involving politicians and businessmen. Businessmen try to rise the prices to sell their inventory or stock of goods at higher price. For this the politicians support them and are paid monetary or other benefits. This is a cheap business tactic but even the so called richest business magnets play this corruption game.

Speed up the judgment and increase the courts: Many cases of corruption take years to be given verdict. This delay in cases creates lack of fear for being corrupt and also huge time span for court trials gives sufficient time to make alterations in the witness. Establishing fast track courts and giving severe punishment for corruption practice will keep a control on corruption. Besides these there should be collective efforts from the public to prevent corruption.

The Government of India, The President of India, The Prime Minister of India should take effective measures to STOP all forms of Corruption from India. Both the Central & State Government of India and every individual of our nation should contribute so as to bring the much needed change in our country.