Skip to main content

ON GREASING PALMS


In the recent months I have often had to face the dilemma of ‘to pay or not to pay’. In the course of buying and developing my tiny farm and farmhouse I have been required to have frequent interactions with minor bureaucracy to seek various clearances. 

It starts with registering the purchase. Converting the land use of a tiny bit of the new property. Then getting the house plan approved. Getting power connections- one for single phase for lighting and one for three phase for the borewell. Each of these steps requires supporting documentation that has to pass the scrutiny of layers of clerical staff. Can you imagine how many outstretched palms one has to encounter?

Palms being outstretched is a metaphor. What happens is that clerk begins peering into the supporting documents and asks for some more. Like asking for a ‘no-due’ certification for a yet to come power connection. Or a structural engineer’s certification in a country where even now more than half the population lives in makeshift or improvised housing. Without doubt there are well meaning IAS officers who frame the rules for the good of all. And our clerks are good at giving us good governance!

Often I thought it would be economical to cover the upturned palms with a note or two. When the palms did not withdraw I would summon the heavy hand of high authorities to bludgeon the clerk into abject submission. But no favor comes without a cost. It would entail returning the favor or cashing in accumulated IOUs. We live under a rent collecting system. It is bottom up and top down. There is no such thing as a honest government. Under our well greased system an honest government is one that delivers what has been paid for quickly.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Helen Mirren once said: Before you argue with someone, ask yourself.......

Helen Mirren once said: Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, is that person even mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of a different perspective. Because if not, there's absolutely no point. Not every argument is worth your energy. Sometimes, no matter how clearly you express yourself, the other person isn’t listening to understand—they’re listening to react. They’re stuck in their own perspective, unwilling to consider another viewpoint, and engaging with them only drains you. There’s a difference between a healthy discussion and a pointless debate. A conversation with someone who is open-minded, who values growth and understanding, can be enlightening—even if you don’t agree. But trying to reason with someone who refuses to see beyond their own beliefs? That’s like talking to a wall. No matter how much logic or truth you present, they will twist, deflect, or dismiss your words, not because you’re wrong, but because they’re unwilling to see another side. Maturity is...
Post a Comment
Read more

The battle against caste: Phule and Periyar's indomitable legacy

In the annals of India's social reform, two luminaries stand preeminent: Jotirao Phule and E.V. Ramasamy, colloquially known as Periyar. Their endeavours, ensconced in the 19th and 20th centuries, continue to sculpt the contemporary struggle against the entrenched caste system. Phule's educational renaissance Phule, born in 1827, was an intellectual vanguard who perceived education as the ultimate equaliser. He inaugurated the inaugural school for girls from lower castes in Pune, subverting the Brahminical hegemony that had long monopolized erudition. His Satyashodhak Samaj endeavoured to obliterate caste hierarchies through radical social reform. His magnum opus, "Gulamgiri" (Slavery), delineated poignant parallels between India's caste system and the subjugation of African-Americans, igniting a discourse on caste as an apparatus of servitude. Periyar's rationalist odyssey Periyar, born in 1879, assumed the mantle of social reform through the Dravidian moveme...
Post a Comment
Read more

India needs a Second National Capital

Metta Ramarao, IRS (VRS) India needs a Second National Capital till a green field New National Capital is built in the geographical centre of India. Dr B R Ambedkar in his book "Thoughts on Linguistic States" published in 1955 has written a full Chaper on "Second Capital for India" While discussing at length justfying the need to go for a second capital has clearly preferred Hyderabad over Kolkata and Mumbai. He did not consider Nagpur. Main reason he brought out in his book is the need to bridge north and south of the country. He recommended Hyderabad as second capital of India. Why we should consider Dr Ambedkar's recommendation: Delhi was central to British India. After partition, Delhi is situated at one corner of India. People from South find it daunting to visit due to distance, weather, language, culture, etc. If Hyderabad is made second capital, it will embrace all southern states. People of South India can come for work easily. Further, if Supreme Court...
Post a Comment
Read more