Ek haath se do, ek haath se lo!
Posted on March 30, 2011
For centuries, the world has been a silent observer to intrigues and subterfuge, plotting and planning, underhand manipulations and schemes concocted by those in power for self-gain. Indeed, there is even a term for it with ‘Machiavellianism’, being defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, as "the employment of cunning and duplicity in statecraft or in general conduct". Pay close attention to this definition, because in it are contained two powerful, highly characteristic trademarks of corruption. The quintessential techniques.
Attribute I: Duplicity The Department of Stamps and Registration stands to be one of the most corrupt departments according to the analytics on www.ipaidabribe.com. The website already has a cumulative amount of Rs. 4 crore drowned in 767 bribes in the Department of Registration and Stamps. Out of this number, 355 reports are from the state of Karnataka and 345 of these have been reported from the city of Bangalore.
But these numbers cannot be achieved singlehandedly. Therefore the need for duplicity and the creation of a larger alternate eco-system working quietly behind the scenes. Here supportive smiles hide scheming minds. Helpful hands transform us into ignorant victims of convoluted conspiracies. Indeed, the unveiling of these provides for far more interesting reading than the latest whodunit on the bestseller list.
“I had to urgently complete the process of registration of my sale as I had to leave the country to report back to my duty within the leave period sanctioned by my company. The sub-registrar, taking advantage of my helpless status started demanding money starting from Rs 50,000.Then after long persuasion and argument agreed for a lower amount and completed the entire process within 2 hours. From my observation of those two every transaction carried out over there is done through a middleman and for registration the entire office staff await looking like hungry dogs, I do appreciate their co- operation in sharing the booty at the end of the day”. –Bribe report on www.ipaidabribe.com (verbatim)
An analysis of the bribe reports on www.ipaidabribe.com also brought up to the surface the subtle emergence of certain trends which have been highlighted further in this document. These 333 reports that we received could well be classified into 5 trend categories. The following are the tags and the number of reports classified under that tag:
• Bribes asked for directly in the registration offices: 198 reports • Builder- Registration office nexus: 58 reports • Lawyer- Registration office nexus: 22 reports • Bribes paid through touts/agents: 33 reports • Reason not mentioned: 42 reports
Attribute II: Cunning
Machiavellianism is also a term that some social and personality psychologists use to describe a person's tendency to deceive and manipulate other people for their personal gain. In the bribe process, this can be translated into the behind–the-scenes or under-the-table procedures, ie, the way bribes were demanded.
First and foremost, bribes are asked directly for the ‘smooth functioning of the processes’. If not, they are tagged under the bracket of ‘facilitation fees’ or ‘mandatory amount’.
“Just like hundreds of Apartment owners in Bangalore, I was also a part of the elaborate scam (sorry scheme) by builders and Registrar office guys…Modus Operandi is same. The builder guy asks to bring 15000 in cash…he says 4000 is for the lawyer who prepares the documents and remaining 11000 as bribe…Like a typical new home owner who has his mind occupied with 100 things and not wanting to left out of a registration, I have paid the bribe.” -Bribe Report on www.ipaidabribe.com (verbatim)
With a lawyer/builder-registrar nexus in place, this process is made more standardized. The lawyer or the builder gives a letter with the break-up of the amount to be paid for the registration. There is a column titled ‘Miscellaneous’ under which the bribe amount is openly accepted.
Apart from this, there are pre-fixed amounts which the buyer is directly asked for as the registration amount. When there is a lawyer involved in the process, bribes are even accepted under the column of ‘advocate fees’ or ‘legal fees’.
“I went to the registration office at Whitefield and they asked for an outright sum of 15000/- for the registration. It was open and everyone from the bank officials to the representative of the builders said that the amount was correct and sometimes they ask for more. They said it is recession, so they are giving you a good deal.” -Bribe Report on www.ipaidabribe.com (verbatim)
Overall we located 189 bribe cases where money was demanded in the registration office itself. Within this, there are reports with people saying that the bribes are distributed to everyone involved in the process of registration from the clerk to the sub-registrar. There are also innovative ways of demanding bribes where the sub-registrar keys his expected amount into his calculator or leaves his drawer open for the bribes to be ‘dropped’ in it.
Regardless of the trend, the sub registrar himself never accepts bribes openly. The transaction takes place through office boys, clerks or a pre-decided settlement between the lawyers/builders and registrars.
Though IPAB has tracked the five prominent nexuses in the Karnataka Registration department we are sure that closer scrutiny would expose many more such collusions. Have you had an experience with any of these or other nexuses in the registration department? Write in and tell us. Hearing from you will help us track this trend better.