New avenue for corruption

The local self-government department's order to start door-to-door inspections to find out the constructions and additions in violation of the building regulations can be assessed as an intervention to disgust the people and open a new avenue for corruption. It is natural for people to make small changes to existing homes. The changes are mainly made when the number of family members increases or for keeping vehicles. No one makes changes in the house for commercial interests. The direction that the building owner should voluntarily inform the local body secretary in writing of all such minor changes before May 15 is not practical.

Those with political clout and those ready to bribe people who come in for inspection can easily walk away without being held accountable, according to experience thus far. It is an open secret that even those who have not committed any construction violations must pay the standard amount to those who come for the inspection. No authority is willing to take action against the numerous violations found in the hotels, restaurants, and other commercial buildings built by powerful large businessmen. There is not a single party office in the state that does not make changes in structure. The officials should start conducting inspections on the houses of the common people only after fixing all those issues. There is no doubt that this single decision can cause a huge political blow to the government. If there is no money, local bodies need to find new ways to generate it. Corporations can collect lakhs if they provide proper parking facilities. They can also generate money by establishing facilities for the proper disposal of waste.

No one will blame the government if they collect money after providing proper services. However, the attempt to bring everyone into the legal trap by conducting house-to-house inspections on the basis of such an order is not suitable for a democratic government. Kerala is already a 'fine' state when it comes to fines. Things will become even worse when building fines are also introduced. As long as the disease of corruption persists among officials, such orders will only serve to strangle the common man. While small fishes will get trapped in the net of this order, big sharks will break the net and swim away. The bribe received by the officials inspecting the houses will be ten times the revenue generated by the government through this fine. So the government should think twice before opening new avenues for corruption.