Comments on Mr. Nripendra Mishra Article in HT A pill to cure all ill? Dec 12, 2011 sanjaybhargava@yahoo.

.com, +919999994086 Article in black. My comments in red. One hopes that the hotly contested Lokpal Bill will reach its final denouement during the winter session of Parliament. In fact, the debate on corruption in Parliament and media has focused on the single demand for the establishment of an omnipotent institution of the lokpal with its powers of enforcing the citizens charter, establishing state-level lokayuktas and encompassing the bureaucracy from a peon to head of the department. It has been trumpeted to be the panacea for the systemic ills that plague our body politic. The citizens are being assured that the institution would root out corruption from panchayat to Parliament and from the office of the patwari to prime minister.We overlook the fact that the devil always lies in the details. This oversimplified and hurried attempt to plug the structural loopholes of a failing anticorruption apparatus is short-circuiting procedural and legal complexities that will challenge the very edifice of the proposed lokpal. As Mr. Sharad Yadav said even if takes special sessions the Lokpal Bill must be passed. We tend to forget that corruption is at the root of many problems and even if was reduced and not eliminated significantly less number of people especially children would die each day. The cost of delay is enormous and we cannot wait. Using systems and prevention it is indeed possible to reduce corruption by over 80% at a cost of approx 5000 crores annually which is 50 times more than the government estimate of 100 crores but not an unreasonable sum. If anyone wants details of a basic model that can be improved contact me.

Large-scale corruption is largely within the domain of politicians and key public servants. There is no doubt that corruption exists at the level which directly hurts the common man. But the two varieties of corruption need not be tackled with the same degree of untamed fierceness. Lower level corruption can be tackled effectively if senior bureaucrats, politicians and some endemic ills like electoral corruption, black money, illegitimate assets and benami transactions are effectively rooted out. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. So let the lokpal act as an effective institution only to tackle high level corruption associated with politicians and bureaucrats. Having a clear mandate with specialised powers and a select staff will strengthen its ability to tackle corruption in the top echelons of the governmental machinery. The country can add and amend on the basis of experience gained along the way.

Petty corruption, involving relatively small amounts of bribes paid to the 57 lakh-odd Group C and D government employees, can be handled by existing institutional apparatus of the departmental vigilance wings, with the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) at the helm exercising overall supervision. The complexities of

laws and rules governing different cadres of public servants cannot be brought into one single definition. I agree with Mr. Mishra we need innovation in the methods used to fight corruption and need to eliminate root causes. Every public unit can put a corruption prevention plan in the public domain. Just as you have disaster management plans there can be corruption prevention plans. I was on the management team of PayPal when it started. PayPal fights fraud in online payments with over 100 million customers in 125 countries. If PayPal can find solutions each public unit can find solutions as well and there are plenty of experts available to help them. India is a late mover and can learn from other countries. UNODC has empanelled experts who can help.

What the current lokpal does is to encompass within its jurisdiction all and sundry, in effect turning itself into a behemoth. With a highly decentralised administrative structure like ours, it would be a logistical nightmare for a centralised institution like the lokpal to handle all cases right from high-profile scams and scandals to speed money paid to lower-level public officials. With the danger of functional overreach, there is an added risk of the lokpal collapsing under its own weight. To handle the millions of complaints that would pour in, the lokpal will need a huge organisational capacity of funds, functions and functionaries. Covering all corrupt practices within its mandate would result in diffusing its power and functions, leaving little room for specialised intervention, focused action and systemic reform. Further, to be able to carry out its functions effectively, it would need a sufficient number of, and adequately trained, personnel. In doing so, there is a chance of the lokpal becoming another parallel bureaucracy, with the remedy being worse than the disease itself. Being a mega organisation has its own set of human resource management issues. This is pertinent in the context of the institution being staffed with the same imperious officers who are part of existing government departments and ministries. The various models of the Lokpal Bill do not throw light on how its staff operation will be different from normal government protocols of service. It is difficult to imagine (or believe) that the DNA of employees stationed in a lokpal office would be significantly different from those working within the government machinery. The hope that it will be different largely stems from the fact that a select team of the lokpal would supervise the overall functioning. Perhaps, we can instill a similar sense of responsibility within the administrative leadership as a whole. The lokpal, in the name of ending endemic corruption, is abrogating the uniquely federal character of the Indian polity, one which decentralises power and prioritises collective action. Acts of corruption are localised and commonplace. So responses and solutions to address them need to be sought through a multi-pronged, bottom-up process involving local citizens and stakeholders. The lokpal, with its top-down approach, is likely to become yet another officialdom that will impose its authority from above, overriding regional actors. The government has published the draft Citizens Grievance Redressal Bill. Perhaps, the very nomenclature is faulty. It should be the Citizens Services Bill, offering certain specified efficiency in the delivery of services. There is no need to bring it

under the lokpal, as it can be a standalone act. Lokayuktas and a state-level Citizens Services Bill should respect the federal character of our Constitution. It is best left to the states to enact such legislation as per guidelines issued by the government. There will be no millions of complaints if prevention, the right structure and DNA is put in place. Why is the DMRC (Delhi Metro) more efficient than MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi). It is all a question of leadership. Mr.T.N.Seshan was able to bring changes in elections no one thought possible. The Telecom revolution in India has amazed people. Why are we so defeatist in our fight against corruption? We can and we will win. The Judicial Accountability Bill can be strengthened, but it should not be under the lokpals domain. Any attempt to subordinate the judiciary to the lokpal would endanger our democratic safety valve. I agree that judiciary should be left out of Lokpal and corruption in Judiciary should be tackled under the Judicial Accountability Bill. The CVC, on its part, can be revamped and made autonomous to tackle the junior bureaucracy. Revamping is easier said then done. If fresh DNA is required revamping will not do that.

The anti-corruption wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should be placed under the lokpal. Finally, the post of the prime minister should not be under the lokpal as he is the countrys representative both within and outside the country and must enjoy the mandate of the nation when he travels abroad or meets foreign dignitaries. This is a non issue and if the bill is continuously improved as it should be inclusion of PM or not is not that important. I believe the PM must be included as if there is prima facie evidence of corruption the PM must face it. Clinton ran USA while he was being impeached. The danger of viewing anti-corruption initiatives solely through the prism of the lokpal is that we are left with a blinkered understanding of the causes of corruption. The lokpal does not address what gives rise to opportunities of corruption; it merely attends to its symptoms, leaving the actual source untouched. It remains to be seen whether the lokpal meets its fate as a still-born baby or as the mighty Goliath its purported to be by so many. This is a wrong view of what the Lokpal should be. The Lokpal mandate should be to have single point accountability for reducing corruption in India.