Revenue Minister Jagadish Shettar in Karnataka has given his mobile phone numbers to the public to call him if they are harassed for bribe by officials of his department. Media reports say his phone has never stopped ringing since then. It is hardly a surprise. As early as in 1998 then Revenue Minister B Somashekhar, one of the most pro-active ministers to hold that department, gave his e-mail id to people.
The Internet was a luxury then. Former chief minister S M Krishna experimented with an e-mail complaint system though little is known about its impact. In a way, Shettar has displayed pragmatism in preferring the now-universal mobile phone to the trendy e-mail.
The revenue departments operations concern the day-to-day life of most citizens. Naturally, many public grievances are to do with its functioning. What is interesting here is that a majority of complaints of corruption and harassment are on matters of land records and registration. A cursory look at the reports on complaints against the revenue department that the Lok Ayukta has been receiving further confirms this. And, this is despite the department boasting of what are described the two most successful information technology-enabled reforms computerisation of land records (Bhoomi) and computerised land registration (Kaveri).
Bhoomi in particular has been internationally acclaimed as a grassroots e-governance project which has stopped the corrupt practices of village accountants (VAs). Studies have shown that people are happy with it. What has gone wrong then?
Bhoomi has almost eliminated corruption at the point of issuing the most common and crucial of land records called the RTC. At this stage, the system has become people-friendly too. Ironically, however, Bhoomi has worsened corruption around mutation (the process of updating land records).
How this has happened despite computers making the process reasonably transparent, strictly time-bound and clearly traceable with even a first-in-first-out arrangement in place, is a question which cannot be answered briefly. Suffice it to say that most, if not all, of the VAs with or without the connivance of other staff have been using all ingenuity at their disposal to make up for what they have stood to lose in issuing RTCs.
There are issues which senior officials surprise checks and researchers questionnaires cannot capture. The latest, rural digital service scheme need not address them either. One may argue that mutation is a once- or twice-in-a-lifetime transaction for a farmer. Not really so. Now even correction of a minor mistake is treated as mutation. Bhoomis successes in digitising two crore RTCs and in making their distribution reasonably efficient has camouflaged the goings-on around mutation.
Corrective measures so far have focussed only on the timely disposal of mutation applications. But corruption thrives despite adherence to the 45-day limit to dispose of applications. Speeding up the process and proofing it beyond manipulation do not necessarily put an end to corruption.
This is the story with Kaveri too. Corruption has survived information technology intervention in both cases. They beg for institutional, if not technical, fine-tuning.
In Bhoomis case it is easy to blame VAs. But there is more to it.
These underpaid street-level bureaucrats are a much abused lot. They are called to take care of most visiting dignitaries to taluk and district centres.
Very few politicians and senior officials even bother to pay their guest house or hotel bills which VAs and revenue inspectors will have to pick up. It is an unwritten rule in the department.
Sometimes the revenue staff are forced to book tickets for local politicians when they visit Bangalore.
The VAs work involves extensive travelling without adequate travel allowance. In one taluk a gala function was arranged to inaugurate the Bhoomi RTC kiosk, spending a huge amount.
Senior officials in the district then promptly asked the newly appointed Bhoomi staff and VAs to pay for it. Where will they find money for this? The answer is obvious. Some of them may be making much of these excuses but the excuse is real.
Unless the minister tackles these deep-rooted issues behind public complaints, he may soon find his phone line jammed. Receiving complaints personally on a mobile phone and then referring them back routinely to the officials concerned is not a reform to end corruption.
Deccan Herald
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