Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government has found a unique way to tackle corruption in the state. The government is asking its officials to return the bribe money on the complaints of the citizens.
With officials in Guntur, Kadapa, Krishna and Kurnool districts personally going to the victims and returning the bribe money, the results are beginning to show.
"After a complaint came to the notice of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, the panchayat secretary of a village returned Rs 500 bribe amount to all the 10 people, from whom he had collected money. Earlier, a villager had complained about panchayat secretary taking Rs 500 to sanction pensions", said Parakala Prabhakar, advisor to the government.
As a part of real time governance initiative, the Andhra Pradesh government has started a helpline "1100" Call Center or the "People First" to address grievances of the citizens.
Not only government officials, the government is even acting against private individuals.
After a complaint, in Krishna district, a broker was made to return Rs 1000 which he had taken as a bribe for arranging a ration card for the citizen.
In Kadapa district, a victim got back Rs 1000 which he paid to get his pension sanctioned.
"As soon as we receive the complaint, we cross verify the details to check if the allegations are true. The basic idea is to return the bribe amount and teach a lesson to the officers, another official added.
The government is encouraging citizens to report any grievance on the toll-free helpline.
The government hopes the initiative will make officers scared to take bribe. But with no action against the corrupt officer, the question is will such steps have any real effect to stop corruption in the state.
Till then, if you are a victim of corruption, you can complain on 1100. You never know, some one might just knock your door to return the bribe money!
Comments
0 comment