Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Srinagar, Dec 16 (KINS): Although there’s been improvement since Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha took charge of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Citizens are of the opinion that corruption is still prevalent in the government offices in the UT.
They (citizens) believe that most of them pay bribes to Lower rank officials because ‘it is the only way to get work done’. “If you won’t bribe these officials, your file will never reach the higher officials for the redressal,” said one of the citizens who had come to the one of the offices here in Srinagar to get work done.
Another visitor who had come to his office and was by profession a doctor said that they even have to pay bribes to the lower officials even for the sanction of leave. “Paying them is the only way to get work done,” the doctor said.
People believe that since LG Manoj Sinha took charge they see the improvement, however, much needs to be done in this regard.
“The most common reason for paying a bribe to a government official is that ‘it was the only way to get work done’ and is. If it hadn’t been, citizens claim that it was the only way to fast-track their work. Without the bribe, it would have taken significantly a very long time,” one of the local residents here in Srinagar told news agency KINS.
He said that some officials are accepting bribes even in offices that are equipped with functional CCTVs.
“This shows that even though the administration headed by honest officers may have reduced corruption, most citizen services are still subject to bribery,” said a group of citizens.
On several occasions the government identified corrupt employees and relieved them of their duties.
“It needs to continue to do this in order to reduce the incidence of corruption and set a precedent of intolerance against bribery,” maintained one of the residents of Srinagar.
Corruption has been a major poll plank in Jammu and Kashmir for decades.
In the past all election winning parties had promised to eradicate corruption but bribes are still the most efficient means to get work done in government offices. (KINS)
