Announcing the Karmayog Corruption ROKO form  (Corruption Report On Karamayog Online)

February 2008

(ROKO = STOP, hence Corruption ROKO = STOP Corruption)

Introduction

Corruption as a phenomenon is so widespread today, that it is often difficult to know where and how to begin addressing it. The first step towards tackling corruption is reporting of the incident by persons who have experienced it. At present there are no easy mechanisms for reporting on incidents of corruption.

Karmayog has been involved with Anti-Corruption initiatives since 2006 and has been working actively with government, NGOs and concerned citizens to stop corruption by building citizenship, providing inputs for better governance, and by suggesting changes in existing government rules and procedures.

The learnings from these experiences have resulted in an understanding of causes and cures for corruption between government and citizens that can be summarised as below.

The Karmayog 2X2 grid to understand causes and cures for corruption in government

Explanation:

In situation 1, where the government and the citizen are both in the right (both are following rules and procedure), no corruption occurs.

In situation 2, where the government is in the right, but the citizen is in the wrong (citizen does not want to / is not able to follow the rules, etc.), the citizen will willingly offer a bribe.

To prevent corruption in such a situation, government must use procedures that allow minimum discretionary powers (such as computerised systems), and strict monitoring systems (such as closed circuit cameras recording transactions within the government offices).

Example: Computerised ticket booking for railways, which includes some flexibility through options of paying for faster services through the Tatkal scheme.

In situation 3, the citizen is right, but the government officer is wrong, and asks for a bribe.

In such a situation, the citizen is willing to resist corruption and follow the rules, but would like to register a complaint and suggest methods to government and other citizens on how to stop corruption, and ensure that his / her work is done.

At the moment, the grievance redressal options available to citizens are limited to lodging a complaint at the vigilance department of that government office and lodging a complaint with the concerned Anti-Corruption Bureau.

The Corruption ROKO form has been developed as a simple option for citizens to complain online against corruption that they face, where the citizen who has experienced that incident is also invited to suggest workable solutions to prevent the same.

In situation 4, both the government and the citizen are in the wrong, and the government officer demands a bribe, which the citizen willingly pays.

Such a situation arises where there are incorrect or inadequate policies and procedures in government functioning that allow such a situation to develop.

The remedy is to devise proper policies and procedures that will minimise corruption.

Value of Reporting

1. Reporting enables citizens to participate in correcting the system

While it is desirable that citizens resist corruption, on a practical level, it is difficult to do, as the cost of resisting corruption is often too great, either in terms of time or consequences to be faced.  However, almost all people who have faced corruption and been part of it want the system to be corrected, but they themselves are unable and unwilling to take the steps to make this happen.

Hence simple reporting is essential.

2. Formal reporting is essential for government to act

Government machinery moves on the basis of paper, where if government receives a letter, some action has to be taken on that. Hence even in the case of a complaint form that may be post-facto, the concerned government department has to deal with it.

Hence formal reporting (through letters or forms) of all incidents is essential.

3. Reporting enables follow-up action through use of RTI

Once a report has been formally submitted to government, it enables a citizen to follow-up on the same if no action is taken, using the Right to Information Act.

4. Reporting is a simple way to provide feedback and monitoring to government

Writing a letter to government to complain about an incident and suggest solutions is actually a simple process, but people do not know how to do this. Reporting (particularly online reporting) shows people how simple and effective it is to interact with government.

5. Reporting creates a document available with the citizen

The citizen who has complained and filed a report receives a record of his / her complaint that can be used by the citizen for further or follow-up action in the same department.

About the Corruption ROKO form

The Corruption ROKO (Corruption Report on Karmayog Online) form has been developed with the following objectives:

1. To provide an online form for citizens to complain about their experiences of corruption, as often people are reluctant to post letters or visit the concerned government offices to lodge a complaint.
2. To invite suggestions from citizens who have experienced incidents of corruption about steps to be taken by government to reduce corruption in that instance
3. To provide solutions to both government and citizens, from persons who have successfully resisted corruption, and completed their work.
4. To provide feedback to the government officers at the head of their department, about the difficulties being faced by citizens in their department, thus enabling better systems and procedures to be set up there.
5. To widely disseminate incidents and information about corruption, how it is and can be resisted, in order to increase awareness and understanding about the issue, both for government and citizens.
6. To encourage every government department to include such a form on their website, so that reporting on incidents of corruption is made easy for citizens.
7. To show a path for people to take the next steps required, such as for government to implement procedural changes in the concerned department, or for citizens to file and RTI application, etc.
8. To collate citizens’ suggestions to government and other citizens on how to stop corruption, that will enable better policies and procedures to be framed.
9. To enable professional bodies and industry associations who represent individual citizens, to take up glaring procedural lapses / mistakes / malpractices that are prevalent in existing systems, and to get these changes.

Conclusion

The Karmayog Corruption ROKO form enables citizens to complain about incidents of corruption while also suggesting solutions to government that will minimise and prevent such incidents in the future.

To fill and submit Corruption ROKO forms: https://www.karmayog.org/roko/rokoform/

To see filled Corruption ROKO forms: www.karmayog.org/roko