Case 9.15: The "tea money" speed

Difficulty: Medium
Syllabus point: 7: corruption
Values and laws tested: Integrity, accountability, compassion for the weak, leadership by example; Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, section 7 (undue advantage); Conduct Rules 3(1) and 3(2)

Illustrative exampleThe "tea money" speed

Rekha is a Tehsildar in a district of Rajasthan. Kamla, a widow, has not been able to get the land mutation done four months after her husband's death, so she gets neither crop insurance nor a loan. Rekha hears that a tout is telling Kamla's family, "Give two thousand, it is for 'tea and water', the file will move today." The office clerk says, "Madam, this is how everything runs here, or the file lies for months. We pass it down the line too." Kamla's son tells Rekha, "We are ready to pay, only let the work be done. We cannot fight." The file has no dispute; all the documents are complete. Rekha is new in the tehsil, and seniors have hinted that a showy crackdown in her first month would make her unpopular. Kamla's son has already borrowed money to pay the tout.

Stakeholders: Kamla and her family (the weakest party), the tout, the clerk and office staff, other applicants, Rekha, the department.
Issue: quick help and the family's helplessness against honesty and obeying the law; standing against the habit of treating corruption as "the system".
Options: A. Close her eyes because Kamla herself is ready to pay (work done at once; but corruption is accepted and other applicants keep being fleeced). B. At once have the clerk and tout suspended or arrested without thinking how Kamla's file will move (a hard message; but Kamla's work may stall, and acting without proof risks a wrong action). C. First get Kamla's file disposed of by rule the same day, then gather proof, keep Kamla safe, and take departmental and legal action against the tout and the clerk, and make mutation time-bound (more work; but it relieves both the family and the system).
Best: C. Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 makes a public servant taking an undue advantage an offence. Conduct Rules 3(1) and 3(2) demand integrity and make a supervisor responsible for the integrity of subordinates.

Lesson

Action: Short term: Kamla's mutation by rule the same day, tell her son that nothing is to be paid to anyone, a written explanation from the clerk, identify the tout and collect facts, inform a higher officer or the anti-corruption agency. Long term: a time-limit board for mutation, online tracking, regular public hearings, a transparent roster.

Practice Questions

Practice questionabout 100 words

(10 marks, 100 words) What should Rekha do? Solve with the five-step card.

Model answer

The weakest stakeholders are Kamla and her family; the tout, clerk and department are involved too. The issue is quick help against honesty. Routes: close my eyes, act harshly at once, or first do Kamla's work by rule, then act. The first accepts corruption; the second may stall her work. I choose the third, because section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act makes undue advantage an offence and Rule 3(2) makes me answerable for my subordinates' integrity. I would do the mutation today, tell her son nothing need be paid, and collect proof. Long term: time limits and tracking.

Practice questionabout 50 words

(5 marks, 50 words) Give the ethical reply to the argument "this is how everything runs here".

Model answer

"Everyone does it" does not make a wrong right; an officer's example shapes others' conduct (Gita 3.21).

Practice questionabout 50 words

(5 marks, 50 words) Suggest a long-term system to stop "speed bribes" in the office.

Model answer

Time limits, online tracking, public hearings, regular inspection.