Bribery in motor vehicle department, registration offices, corporations and revenue offices is not new news. There is also a perception that things will get done in these offices only if money is paid. Although many administrators have tried to curb it, the reality is that bribery exists in these departments. The news of some officials being caught by vigilance while taking bribes in these departments does not shock anyone. People approach vigilance with complaints when the issue is not sorted out despite multiple visits due to the low amount paid as a bribe. Except for people talking for a while about those caught by the vigilance, corruption and bribery have not abated in any such office.

The irregularities found in the vigilance raid in the district education offices yesterday point to the fact that bribery reigns there as well. Not all officials are corrupt but the bad reputation of corruption by a few can affect the entire department. Massive irregularities have been found in the raids conducted in the education offices. It was found that teaching posts were allotted randomly in many places. It has also been found that 4,699 applications, including the appointment of teachers and non-teachers, have been hoarded. No further action has been taken in 2,577 files including revision appeal petitions. Lightning inspection was conducted in 41 district education offices and the directorate of general education. Files are hoarded in various sessions including District Education Officer, PA, Junior Superintendent, etc. The vigilance concluded that the delay in the application submitted by the aided school management is for bribes. Vigilance had received some complaints based on this and this is what led to the raid.

Many applications like annual increments, DA arrears, leave settlements, etc. of teachers and non-teachers are not processed. At the same time, for the cases where calls come from higher-ups, the formalities are completed quickly. The mindset of employees that they should be paid bribes by applicants as well, to do their job while being paid by the government has to change. The old way of file transfer should be changed. There should also be a law to impose fines on officials who keep the file past the due date without taking a positive or negative decision. Vigilance raids should continue in other departments whether or not they receive a complaint.