Corruption in Excise Department

Regular monthly payoffs in the Excise Department are nothing new. It is a practice that has continued unchecked regardless of which political front is in power. Although officials accepting bribes have been caught on several occasions, none of this has done anything to halt the onward march of corruption in the department. The recent revelations about a system of monthly payoffs in the Excise Department in Kottayam district, however, are shocking. The fact that senior officials, including Kottayam Deputy Excise Commissioner S. Ashok Kumar, were among those caught has drawn considerable attention because they were caught by Excise Commissioner Sriram Sambasiva Rao himself after detailed evidence had been gathered. The surprise inspection conducted by the Commissioner under the name 'Operation Bijapur' has exposed the contours of a major corruption system.

Seven Excise officials, including Ashok Kumar, have been suspended pending investigation. Evidence indicates that monthly payoffs of up to Rs 15,000 were being collected from a single bar, while lakhs of rupees were reaching officials in this manner from around 27 bars in the district.
Bar owners pay these monthly bribes primarily to facilitate certain violations of the law. The most important among them is violating the prescribed operating hours. Officials facilitated the early opening of bars and allowed them to operate at night beyond the stipulated hours. At bars that regularly paid the monthly payoff, officials would not conduct inspections. Even when they did, the report would state that nothing illegal was taking place. It has also been found that the proceeds of this corruption were transferred even to the bank accounts of officials' relatives.

The fact that the Commissioner himself was able to purchase liquor directly from a bar even on Chathayam day, when liquor outlets were closed, lays bare the extent of these corrupt practices. We must not, however, lose sight of the fact that not all officials in the Excise Department are complicit in corruption. Yet, when those at the top are themselves known to be collecting monthly payoffs, honest officials are often unable to discharge their duties as they should. It was based on confidential information provided by some honest officials about this corruption that the Commissioner personally conducted the operation in Kottayam, without revealing that he was the Commissioner. Commissioner Sriram Sambasiva Rao certainly deserves appreciation for taking such a step.

Corruption in the Excise Department is not confined to a single district. There is a perception that this is a government waging an uncompromising battle against drugs. Those who undermine that fight through corruption must not be spared under any circumstances. Strong measures must be taken against officials caught accepting bribes, including the confiscation of assets disproportionate to their known sources of income. Often, it is the lack of evidence that allows those taking bribes to escape. In Kottayam, however, action was taken against the officials only after all available modern forms of evidence had been gathered. With the assistance of honest officials in the Excise Department, similar operations should be carried out in every district.