About 95% Of Surveyed People Think Government Officials Are Corrupt; Reveals Study By Youth-Initiative

Corruption is evil that runs deep within the systems in different forms. Multiple reports released over the years highlight how corruption continues to plague the world's largest democracy. One such report released in recent years is by Transparency International titled 'Corruption Perceptions Index 2021', which ranked India at 85 among 180 countries ( 0 indicating highly corrupt and 100 indicating clean from corruption). This report, in particular, had placed India's case as 'worrisome,' considering the country's scores have remained stagnant for over a decade.

Beyond these numbers, it becomes important to understand how the public perceives these political systems elected to represent them. A recent survey by 'Youth for Anti Corruption' (YAC) acknowledged this idea and collected responses from around 36 Telangana and Andhra Pradesh districts. A whopping 95 per cent of the respondents were of the opinion that corruption is a prevalent concept in government offices.

Do Government Officials Serve Personal Interests?

YAC surveyed 36 Telangana and Andhra Pradesh districts to understand people's perspectives on corruption within governmental systems. Out of a sample of 20,211 people, 39.3 per cent of the population strongly believed corruption was rampant in the two states. As many as 64 per cent were not content with their Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), 65 per cent conveyed that there were existing corruption allegations against their MLAs, and 72 per cent said that their MLAs were not accessible to them. Further, regarding accessibility to representatives, 60 per cent of them conveyed that officials either neglected them or behaved in a hostile manner when they took their concerns and grievances to them.

At least 48 per cent of respondents said that no work had ever been completed without offering officials a bribe, and 28.4 per cent said they were faced with hurdles and hindrances if the demanded bribe was not given. According to a report by New Indian Express, 54 per cent of the respondents, fewer than 20 per cent of government officials, conduct their work with honesty. The report, which was released by former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) joint director VV Lakshminarayana, former MLA K Ramulu and YAC founder P Rajendra on December 20, conveyed the need for a stricter reform within the system to make it approachable for the public.

Losing Faith Within The System

During the report's release, Lakshminarayana said that corruption was more dangerous than cancer and posed a serious challenge to progress. He also cited the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International. He stated that Scandinavian countries like Switzerland, Norway, and Sweden, with the lowest corruption rates, were among the countries that progressed impressively over the years.

In a democracy, it is considered essential that officials and the public maintain a proper channel so as to ensure the public is heard and services are offered when needed. However, based on the survey conducted in both states, it was clear that people are reluctant to use the state-run services. This response comes amidst the launch of 'ACB 14400' mobile application this year, by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

The app was launched with the idea that there should be no scope for corruption, "whether it was the Collectorates, offices of the RDOs, sub-registrars, police stations, village secretariats or other government offices delivering citizen services", according to a report by The Hindu. In the face of such complaints, the government conveyed that stringent action would be taken against those exploiting the gullible public.

However, the survey also shed light on how people gradually lost faith even with investigative agencies like ACB and Vigilance Commission. On being asked their thoughts on which was the most corrupt department out of 23 categories, respondents placed the Revenue department in the top position, followed by Registrations, Police, and Municipal departments. At least 50 per cent of the survey respondents felt that brokers in government offices were the root cause of the corruption.

Also Read: India Among 120 Countries With Serious Corruption Problems: Report