Will Guilty Babu ever Get Punished ?

Indian Bureaucracy

 

 Many developed & developing countries have focused on restructuring of their governments, to be purposive, responsive, effective and accountable in the key functions they perform in the society. This is a far cry, by what we see and hear in our country, as swift and harsh action is not being taken against a serving bureaucrat, who is found to be guilty and violating All India Service (Conduct) Rules.

A bureaucrat, with guaranteed security of service irrespective of performance, who finds himself unequal to the task he is assigned & feels insecure, becomes an authoritarian, using his position than his ability, to assert himself. He would be obsequious before his superiors or benefactors and indifferent, arrogant and inaccessible to those he is supposed to serve..

Proliferation of Bureaucracy

As India liberalized over the last two decades, there was genuine hope that the strangle hold of bureaucracy would be replaced by more efficient administration of technocrats and neutral regulators. But as the State itself got involved in welfare programs and infrastructure development, the grip of  bureaucracy on the nation's resources and exchequer has actually tightened, with the Babu emerging as ever more powerful.

 

The bureaucrats after their retirement invariably land themselves as the heads of the Regulatory Bodies, such as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and even the Vigilance Commission of India. The result is that the corruption has been institutionalized in departments handling critical public functions.

 

Neta- Babu Nexus

 

The Indian political system, which is driven by huge amounts of black money, is dependent on its obliging bureaucracy, to find ways and means to loot the exchequer and the public money. This is further aggravated by imperfect electoral process, resulting in fractured mandates, leading to the "tail wagging the dog" for political black mail and splitting the spoils.

 

The obliging Babu with political patronage, abdicates his duty of implementing the laid down policy and becomes submissive to morally bankrupt Neta. Thus the unholy nexus of Politician (Neta) and Bureaucrat (Babu) have created all pervasive system, in which Politics, Elections and Capturing  Power is driven by creating massive amounts of black money, leading to systemic corruption.

 

Scams & Babus

 

During the last few weeks, the CWG, Adarsh Housing Society, 2G Spectrum etc scams, which have shamed us globally, have come to light. In each of these cases, the Civil Servants (Babus) played the central role, forming an integral part of the decision making process. It is the Babu who helps the Neta to manipulate the decision making process and doctor the files, to amass the illegal wealth at the expense of the poor and the hungry.

 

In all the cases, the Political leaders concerned have been forced to resign or edged out, for alleged involvement in the scams, while the Military officials are facing the court of enquiry for swift and harsh punishment. The embarrassed Former Chiefs of Army and the relatives of Political leaders have given up their apartments in Adarsh.

 

But we are yet to see any such act of repentance by any bureaucrat involved in these scandals, leave alone any swift action even to suspend those found guilty. The Civil Servants, sit back pretty and enjoy their Position, Loot and Pension, as if the scams do not concern them at all. For them the punishment is the exception rather than the norm.

 

Immunity enjoyed by Bureaucrats?

 

The message that the system seems to convey is that the bureaucrat is not responsible and not accountable to the manipulations that take place in the administrative setup under his domain. How else one can interpret the fact that hardly any serving bureaucrat  has ever been punished or lost his job, in spite of so may scandals and scams taking place in the country?

 

Why have a bureaucracy, which can not be made responsive, effective and accountable in the key functions they are expected to perform, in governing the country? Will the Politicians ponder over this and do something drastic to set right things, before the "Cancer of Corruption" spreads and becomes unmanageable? The Public is equally responsible to raise their voice and fight against this Demon of Corruption.

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