Our corrupt civic amenities
These days, everyone seems to be talking about corruption-in the government, bureaucracy, the Police, the Tax offices and so on. Discussions and debates on the subject are endless as we examine what needs to be done to steer the country into a corruption free zone. However, the manifestations of corruption in our daily lives-stories with an immediate and local impact are often shifted to the background while we focus on the larger picture. While the battle rages on a nationwide canvas, back in Bangalore, tax payers’ money continues to slide unnoticed into deep pockets instead of being used to improve our quality of life through better infrastructure and services. As it turns out, our civic amenities have many a corrupt story hidden away in the recesses of a public building, park or playground.
Guru Ravindranath, with the help of the RTI (Right to Information) Act, discovered multiple instances of systemic corruption in the local public works department. The puzzle that he pieces together with the help of RTI responses from the BBMP (Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike), lays bare a truly shocking picture.
Published in Citizen Matters, this article ‘Flay by the Rules’ by Sunil Tinani outlines the method used by corrupt contractors to divert the tax payer’s money meant for area development into their own pockets.
Read 'Flay by the Rules'