Corruption in Himachal Pradesh

Corruption levels have increased by leaps and bound in Himachal Pradesh. Increased economic activity is one main reason for the rise of the corruption monster. Earlier it was the hotel boom when all non-Himachalis built hotels in the state against all norms. It was mainly done under benami deals. The authorities knew all about this but chose to remain silent as their mouth and pockets were stuffed with money. The second big opportunity for our leaders and the govt. babus came in the form of Industrial package allotted to the state. Baddi, Barotiwala, Nalagarh (BBN) turned into cash cow for all those who mattered. Babus paid in lakhs to get a posting in this industrial corridor so they could mint crores. Sher Singh Thakur was just one example how our bhola bhala pahari babu could make crores while being a drug inspector.

The leaders remained busy minting money and our babus too remained busy counting the same all these years. Suddenly March 2010 appears on the horizon when the party ends. The package which was originally till 2013 was curtailed to March 2010 later. Our leaders and babus are worried the money tree from the BBN belt may take a flight. These days the right kind of noises are being made about the great ‘injustice’ being done to Himachal by curtailing this package. In all this melee and mela our leaders and the enforcing agencies forgot that Himachalis were supposed to get 70% jobs in the units in BBN. There are not even 10% Himachalis in the work force in the entire BBN belt. The work force is entirely from the UP Bihar, transportation business is entirely controlled by the Punjab transporters; So how did Himachal benefit? Only our leaders and the babus made a killing out of this ‘package’.

This article is not about BBN but the entire business of corruption in the government. Corruption thrives because government has a monopoly control and therein lies the possibility of corruption. A state like Himachal has 43 departments, numerous boards, corporations and commissions to run the state. This means more cars with flashing red lights on top. The ministers, the commissioners, the departmental heads and more bureaucrats to support them. Lots of files, notings, granting of permissions. And we all know the end result is zero when it comes to implementation.

Buses keep going off the road regularly. The Chief Minister expresses ‘grief’ and his transport minister expresses ’shock’ every time there is a bus accident. The transport department could not tame the private bus operators in Shimla in terms of over crowding and music in buses. How does one expect them to tame the buses plying in the interiors? More the fact where is the will to enforce the regulations? Every Monday in Shimla, a Travera bearing a govt. number is parked behind the RKMV. All private buses plying on long routes have a mandatory stop in front of this Travera. And this ‘grief and shock’ business continues.

One can cynically observe that corruption is a horizontal issue that runs across all the verticals, and indeed they are all ministries for corruption.

We all need to understand that corruption breeds from the Top. This is no rocket science. Let me explain:

If the boss is honest, he will not tolerate dishonest business under him.
If the boss is dishonest, the people under him have his permission to be dishonest.
If the boss is dishonest, the people under him are safe being dishonest as he can not take action against them because they can implicit the boss.
If the boss is dishonest, he will not tolerate honest people working for him as he cannot have a hold on them and they can again implicit the boss.
If the boss is dishonest, he will eventually convert those working for him to be dishonest.

In any organization, the degree of corruption increases with the level in the organization. If the lowly clerk at the government office is corrupt, it means that the whole structure is corrupt and the most corrupt are at the top of the organization. Government organizations draw their inspiration from the top. The government is a collection of such organizations. The people who form the top level of the government can therefore be expected to be the most corrupt.

Corruption is so endemic to the class of politicians that it does not evoke even mild surprise, leave alone any outrage.

(A part of the article is referenced from Atanu Dey’s blog)

Sita Ram Dhiman,Sr.Leader,BSP,

CORRUPTION IN HIMACHAL PRADESH: The time of honesty has gone now. Though the corruption was also earlier but it was in very few and high places. There was no print and electronic media so active due to the facts all such type of corruptions could not had come into lame light. Now every where the right top to bottem , the corruptiopn has become a rule of the land. Previously , the corruption was in selected departments in lower level like Revenue, Forest, Police,Excise,Food, Food and Supplies etc. but it is now every where. The honest is only that officer/ official who is not able to do any important and benefited work . There is a large scale corruption in high ups. Some selected officers like Mr. Subhash Auhluwalia, Sanjai Gupta, etc. have been cought particularly on political bendatta. In public life Mr. Singhi Ram and Babu Ram Rahi have been brought to book that too on political grounds. If such type of raids are done in the business, houses and office permises of all the sitting and retired big bosses, or political leaders , ministers, ex ministers are done and their properties are assessed , it will come huge disproportionate to their income. Recently, the Vigillance has cought one police SHO, XENs, SDOs, J.Es, Patwaries, Kanungos, Tehsildars, Naib Tehsildars, Fire Services Officer, officers in the H.P.T.D.C.( date of birth Case) , against many top officers of the Police against whom complaint is pending for adjudication before the Lokayukta, overall corruption in the Government will come out. This type of activity in the Society is a dangrous point as poor are becoming the poorest and the riccher are becoming richers.

VarunM

I know about the drivers without licenses, have seen many of them.Especially when i used to go to Sanjauli.

About the undercover expose.
Someone honest under a corrupt boss/organization structure can still hit out, whistle-blower is the word i am looking for.
I have never really heard about any big whistle-blowing cases in HP, were there any? there should be though, conditions are perfect for such a thing.

VarunM

Haha, i like that you put "Chapter 1" in there.
Just came from shimla.Skyline bus had some 60 people stuffed in it with loud music (don't actually mind this part :P) ,its a comedy to see people trying to get in while the bus is moving. Dangerous yet funny still.
Didn't get that Travera thing.

On another note, do you think a blogger here in HP can ever face pressure to stop writing on such issues, will be super publicity though if it happens, you need to do some undercover expose :)

NITYIN

Thanks Varun. The chapter one is the basics of understanding corruption in our system. The govt is just fooling people by first giving statements in the media and then doing a deal with the tainted. Case in point is Sher Singh Thakur who can be dismissed from service with a maximum enquiry delay of 90 days and cases of the money he had accumulated be filed with the police. What has happened is the opposite, The govt. re-instated him (he is on a plum post right now) and then filed the case in the court. Either what the vigilance unearthed was all cooked up or our leaders were bought in a straight forward fashion.

When I used to live in Shimla, this Travera used to collect money from the private bus operators while going back to their destinations in the return journey. Do you know most of these buses are driven by drivers who do not have proper license to drive. A case in point is the bus which comes to Shimla from my village at 6 in the morning. At times the driver gets down at Theog to go to his native village near Theog and the bus is driven by someone else to Shimla who does not have a license to drive the bus. On the way back, the original driver joins his duty at Theog. Do you know the staff of these private buses is supposed to wear uniforms while on duty. Name any private bus where you find the staff with uniform. The guys in Travera are supposed to keep a check on these activities but they are more bothered about the weekly money collection.

Regarding publicity, do you really think I am writing something which is not in the common public knowledge? My main purpose of writing is to remind people of their duties and not be a mute spectator. I do it by way of provoking the people a bit. To do an under cover story one has to be in the system and basically it is when somebody rats on the second person these expose happens. I do not have the means nor inclination to do such.

Corruption in Himachal Pradesh

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