TVK president C Joseph Vijay assumed office as chief minister on May 10 with the promise that he “will neither touch a paisa of public money nor allow anyone to do so”. He told people not to pay bribes and soon introduced a Whatsapp number for the public to send complaints.TOI spoke to a cross-section of people and found the demand for bribes has considerably come down in govt offices, but the delivery of services has slowed down in the absence of under-the-table deals. Some revenue staff continue to ask for money to issue pattas; some contractors say files do not move unless palms at municipal corporation offices are greased. Property registration remains efficient “only if a premium is paid,” as a property owner said.While the Vijay govt seems sincere in its attempt to cleanse the citizen-govt interface, its “fight against corruption” on the political front smacks of double standards. Govt is cracking down on former DMK ministers accused of corruption, while TVK rolls out the red carpet for defectors from AIADMK who face corruption charges. Officials are warned against corruption, but some of them seeking specific postings say they were asked to pay. Ministers say TVK has put an end to “party funds”, but contractors say officials have resumed the demand for bribes.G Ganesh Pandian, a builder from Madurai, says there is “visible reduction” in bribery in govt offices. “I registered a piece of land in Madurai and got building approval from the corporation without paying anything beyond the govt-prescribed fees. This is a welcome change from the earlier system,” he said.Several senior bureaucrats too vouch there has been a noticeable change in some departments like registration, revenue, prohibition and CMDA where corruption was rampant.Then there are those who disagree with people like Pandian. A property buyer’s experience at the sub-registrar’s office at Ammapet in Salem in the fourth week of August illustrates the gap between the govt’s stated commitment and the experience of ordinary people.Sakthivel (name changed) said officials demanded `20,000 to complete the registration of a property. “When I refused to pay, they said my documents were not in place. When I paid the money, the registration happened smoothly, without the additional documents,” he said.A senior minister said removal of corruption is a mission just begun. “We cannot eradicate it immediately,” he said. Now govt employees don’t demand a sum, but some of them take whatever is given.”R Rama Rao, a civil contractor, says most politicians in the ruling party have remained free of corruption so far, but early signs of a relapse are showing. “Some bureaucrats with links to scamsters are exploiting the new govt’s inexperience,” he said. Rao rejected govt claims that tenders floated during the DMK regime were scrapped to ensure transparency. “In reality, govt lacks funds to execute those projects. Bills for `2,500 crore of completed works remain unpaid to contractors in Chennai,” he said.A Ramakrishnan, an RTI activist, said govt needs to get stricter against corruption. “Despite exposing a `108-crore scam involving funds meant for women’s self-help groups in western and southern districts, govt did nothing. Instead, the audit team that unearthed the irregularities was transferred,” he said.And some of the govt decisions have come under scrutiny. Fresh tenders floated for power purchases at rates ranging from `35 to `41 per unit have raised questions over transparency. BJP functionary Vinoj P Selvam said the higher purchase rates warranted a thorough investigation. “Corruption is down, but not out. There are questions over files remaining pending indefinitely and development works not taking off,” he said.A bureaucrat in the rank of additional chief secretary said TVK functionaries who are neither ministers nor MLAs have started demanding money from contractors and others seeking govt clearance. N Veera, a TVK functionary and Mambakkam panchayat president, was arrested on charges of taking `1.3 lakh from a contractor to clear pending bills. Brick kiln owners in Kaniyambadi in Vellore district recently protested accusing TVK functionary T R Vijayakumar of demanding `1 lakh from kiln operators as bribe.The party expelled both functionaries. But their alleged involvement has raised questions about whether Vijay’s anti-corruption message has translated into discipline at the party’s lower levels.The case against former DMK minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi over allegations of collecting bribes to grant permanent recognition to private schools has brought this charge into sharper focus. The opposition has asked why similar allegations relating to AIADMK leaders including S P Velumani have not been pursued.Despite such questions, Vijay’s popularity and the party’s aggressive social media campaign have helped sustain the view that govt was against corruption.Earlier, officers were not able to take action on corrupt govt staff because of political pressure. Now there is no political intervention when honest officers want to crack down on corrupt staff. In Coimbatore corporation, three bill collectors were suspended for bribery recently — Senior official in CoimbatoreTo register new bikes, we have to bribe `100 per bike or pay a ‘flag day’ donation. If we object, we are informed that the officers at the regional transport offices are on long leave. Manpower shortage in RTOs is being misused to force us to pay bribes — Bike showroom owner in Trichy(With inputs from Ram Sundaram, Deepak Karthik, Senthilkumaran and Anushka Juliet)
