Between devil and deep blue sea

Despite many government offices turning digital in the recent past, media reports that this switch has done little to eradicate the endemic, that is corruption in these offices. Even after submitting their application digitally, people are forced to visit offices when they realise the lax. Later, the officer concerned will give some indication as to the reasons for disallowing the application. It requires no Morse code to understand that the officer’s disapproval of the application is an implicit request for a bribe. Times have changed so the demand for money. As per reports, employees in government offices are now taking lakhs as bribes to favour applicants.

Departments such as revenue, sales tax check posts and motor vehicles are still breaking all records in terms of bribery. With the new provision of land classification coming into effect, the officers associated with these works are making the most to reap profits. Just last day, vigilance caught a village official who had demanded a bribe of Rs 5 lakh to approve the land classification application. Similarly, vigilance raids were conducted at border check posts and officials' residences. Lakhs were seized from all over the raids.

With the implementation of the GST system, the border check posts were subjected to end operations. Only a few states including Kerala currently have border check posts. Kerala recently stopped check posts amid allegations of rampant corruption. This ended the practice of a section of officials stopping goods vehicles at the checkpost and extorting money by conducting an inspection farce.

Even though most of the services in the revenue department and motor vehicle department getting digitized, the concerned officials have orchestrated works in a way to bring more people to offices. Most of the complexities and massive bribery deals are in land-related matters. Three-quarters of a century after the formation of the state, the mutation through the village office continues to be the biggest source of bribery.

In this digital era, land-related works including mutation would not take more than a day to complete. However, in Kerala, this work will only move at a sloth pace and we know why. The pathetic lust for money among officers continues to taint the reputation of such offices. Despite the mighty digital revolution, corruption is seeing no end in Kerala. The common man is battered from all ends. If not the village office corruption, there are myriad other scams awaiting them through mobile phones. Even highly educated people are falling victim.