The Buck Stops Here, In Officers Pockets

Of the total 5,000 plus IAS officers across the country, many are so corrupt that they would laugh if reminded of their oath to serve the nation.

- Kanhaiya Bhelari And Mudit Mathur

In British times, a Collector was meant to gather revenue for the colonial authority. Even in independent India, some officers think they are entitled to ‘collect’ money for their personal pockets. That’s what an additional district magistrate (ADM) discovered when posted in a district of Mithilanchal region of Bihar. He sent a petition to the district magistrate seeking leave for three days to do some urgent work at his village. The collector called him at his official residence and ‘authoritatively’ said, “My fee against granting leave for a day is ₹1,000. You will have to pay ₹3,000 to me for three days leave.” The poor officer shelled out the money to boss.

That, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg. The district magistrate in question, an IAS officer of the 2008 batch, used to collect ₹2 lakh as bribe from the each Block Development Officer (BDOs) under his jurisdiction to allot them additional charge of Child Development Project Officer (CDPO). A sufferer of the district told Tehelka, “The DM has turned the district’s government offices into a fish market. It is very difficult to work honestly”.

The IAS officer in question has already been reprimanded by the auditor general for wrongfully drawing transport allowance for a year. He was forced to repay the money he had withdrawn but he continues in other corrupt practices because he is very close to a powerful politician.

So what is the Narendra Modi government doing about corruption in high places? In a written reply to Parliament in July 2015, the Union government admitted that 100 IAS officers have come under the CBI scanner for their alleged involvement in various corruption cases. The Union government has accorded sanction to prosecute 66 of them.