Mumbaikars prefer bribing to filing complaints: Study
Over 50% do not know that Anti-Corruption Bureau exists
Nikhil S Dixit.
To secure fuss-free service, more than 85 per cent of Mumbai’s residents
would not mind sliding their moral misgivings under the carpet while
slipping a bribe under the table. The interesting insight was collected
during a survey carried out by management students, who interviewed nearly
1,000 people about their attitudes towards corruption.
The survey revealed that more than 50 per cent of respondents were not aware
of the existence of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. The ACB, its website says,
was constituted with the express purpose of ‘eradicating the evil of bribery
and corruption’. But the survey found that only 12 per cent of the
respondents knew about the website. So the ACB’s online exhortation – Raise
your voice and it shall be heard! – reaches a limited audience. The news was
delivered on Monday to ACB Director-General JD Virkar.
The authors of the survey, five students of the SP Jain Institute of
Management and Research, said their remit covered all strata of Mumbai
society. “The literate, illiterate, corporate executives, bankers,
government servants, and students were interviewed,” said Suneet Garg, one
of the five.
The survey focused on three topics: perception of, and awareness about the
ACB; the bureau’s effectiveness; and recommendations to prevent corruption.
On the first count, it was discovered that more than 75 per cent of the
respondents had been asked to pay a bribe at some point. And they believed
that adding a little sweetener to a deal was a more pleasant option than
approaching the ACB.