- I Paid A Bribe
- 13 years ago
- 671 views
Bribe to put up hoardings of a social message
- Municipal Services
- General Services
- Paid INR 1,020
I apologize for naming the person, but I don't want folks to face the same issue as me. If you are unable to change the system (I tried to pay by demand draft, but this fellow wouldn't let me go get one), atleast change the person you interact with.
There is one Mr. ********** for paid advertisements in BBMP office, Goodshed road, Bangalore who has to approve and seal every banner before it is put up across Bangalore **********. While the system is good, this fellow, and his boss, are the lynch pins who control all hoardings that are put up in their area. This makes it soo lucrative for them and they earn like thousands for just a signature (while a lot of honest other people toil day and night for their money, including me).
Anyway, I went to his office at 10.30 and this guy comes in at 11. He takes one look at my banner and says no, take it back home. (Background: My banner is a social message that asks people to turn off their engines at traffic signals and help control air pollution). The banner does not contain too much Kannada words. This was the exact reason he gave me. Being a localite, I understand this concern, but even people are sane enough to differentiate between a social message for the betterment of our society versus language.
Eventually, he told me to wait and speak with his boss who was due at 12 noon. I requested the man to give me an estimate of cost so that I can get a demand draft from the nearby bank, and I also mentioned that if they do not approve, I will cancel the DD (The initial DD amount he said was, Rs. 2760 for two weeks, at 8 locations). This guy and another fellow sitting next to him together convinced me not to go and get DD, instead pay by cash. I was convinced because he said he will give me a receipt.
In the meanwhile, there were a couple of other gentlemen who wanted to put hoardings as well, and they knew they had to grease this guy. Mind you, their hoardings were all in English and apparently he did not have a problem with that. My guess is, these gentlemen had to pay him Rs. 5,000 (I am not sure of the exact amount, but I just happened to glance at their transaction) and they got their job done.
And finally, the boss arrives at noon and this ********** took me to his boss, asked me to speak with him for approval. That fellow, with great difficulty gave me one week of time to put up my banners (talk about hassles of conveying a social message!! Social service is not free these days). He asked me to deal with this guy again.
Let me explain the delaying tactics here, I mentioned about 10 times that I will get a DD and I just wanted a name for the favoring space. This dude did not give me an exact name to put in favoring space and just to make sure, he made me wait till 12.30, so that the bank closes and DDs are not issued (yeah, BBMP does choose the right people!!). Since it is year end, all banks are closed on April 1st & 2nd. I had to put up my banners on April 1st and this bugger was my only way.
This guy finally agrees to let me put my banner for 7 days. The bribing process is as follows:
1. He showed me a newspaper article on how BBMP puts up politicians' photos, with an article that says there is no purpose with the banner. He mentioned to me that my banners did not have any purpose.
2. This was followed by an RTI request demanding the amount spent on banners that did not have any purpose for year 2010-11.
3. He eventually arrived at a point where he implied he was doing me a favor by letting me put up my banners. He said he will put a bill amount for 5 banners (Rs. 862.50) to which I argued that I will put only 5 banners or if it is too much of trouble to you, I won't put up any banners at all.
4. He agreed for a bill amount of Rs. 1380, for 8 banners and 1 week duration. He gestured the bill receipt locations where it mentions a deposit to be paid by DD and evidently he scratched that column and said you have to pay a deposit of twice the bill amount.
5. I asked him will I get that deposit back, he said I will reduce it by Rs. 400 and you can pay me Rs. 2400 and Rs. 1020 as deposit amount (hard cash). I asked him if I will get back that amount again, to which he said no.
6. I went to the ATM, withdrew Rs. 2500 and paid him five Rs. 500 notes to which he said he did not have change. I went head hunting to find a person with five Rs. 100 notes and paid him Rs. 2400.
I have a receipt for Rs. 1380, but I have no way of proving that I paid a bribe. This bozo sits on an empty table and makes thousands everyday at the expense of other people's hard work. He sits at his table barking orders on the phone to his lorry drivers who go around the ********** removing banners every day. They have a checklist that shows how many banners have been removed and how many have been left alone.
In effect, if he comes to know that I wrote this article, he will swear orders to those guys and he will make sure that my banners are torn down and claim innocence. Even worse, he has my home address & all my contact details. Considering he is the banner boy for political parties as well, I have to fear for my well being.
I respect the system, and it would've been really easy for me to call up my friend who knows people in BBMP and got the job done. But I did not. It is my personal opinion that it is not the system's fault, it the dirty minded people employed. I urge www.ipaidabribe.com to let us print the names and forward this to the concerned deparments, so that the black sheep are identified and immediately stripped of their duties.