ISHAN KARAN
Ranchi, Dec. 5: The growth of Jharkhand is deeply interlinked with the growth of rampant corruption in the administrative machinery of the state. Only the form, nature and style of corruption keep on changing right since the inception of the state in 2000.
In the beginning, the corruption was much much less. The first regime of the state started in a mission mode with the development of the state as it’s the primary goal. The state had some excellent bureaucrats in its initial stage with a stalwart officer like VS Dubey as captain of the team. Everything was moving so well. Suddenly came to the ill-advised domicile policy and everything went haywire. The rise of some very selfish, greedy, power-hungry politicians, who masterminded the first coup, overthrowing the first CM, marked the beginning of the end of the ethical values of the state.
The next regime, headed by a young CM, too started with very good intentions. The state surged ahead with new ideas like calling entrepreneurs from all over the world to invest, bringing Jharkhand in the sports map by accepting to hold national games, putting a lot of emphasis on Agriculture, new educational institutions, urban development schemes and so on. Corruption was definitely there all the time but it had not yet become institutionalized.
From 2006 onwards began the era of political instability, institutionalized corruption, political opportunism and a highly corrupt, insensitive, inaccessible bureaucracy all of which doomed the fate of the state and shattered the dreams of so many Jharkhandis to see their state as the most vibrant one. Between 2006 and 2015, we saw a number of different governments coming and going. Political heads kept on changing but interestingly, bureaucracy remained the same.
Whenever a new Govt. would take over, the bureaucracy would become more and more powerful after initial hiccups. Political instability started a process wherein bureaucracy surged ahead gaining more and more strength and gradually dominating and manipulating the political bureaucracy.
This trend is most visible in the present scenario. Taking advantage of the naive and ignorant political bosses, thoroughly corrupt and tainted bureaucrats are minting money. They have all the creamy departments divided amongst themselves. They also keep their political bosses and their cronies happy by giving them a slice of the booty to keep their chair intact although it would be interesting to know what ratio is going to the political bosses.
There are of course some honest officers. These officers can be divided into two categories. First is such officers who keep to themselves, do 10 to 6 office duties and do routine work. They are not holding important portfolios and are not interested in holding any. The second category of honest officers are those who are holding important portfolios and would like to continue in their present position. And to retain their lucrative post and position which guarantee a very comfortable life for them and their families, they go to any extent to involve their political bosses in all such “financial viable” files or matters which will make their bosses a little more richer. So much for our holier- than- honest officers!!
All these happenings during the last few months have hardly dampened the spirit of our “enterprising” bureaucrats and their political bosses. It may have slowed down the process but not stopped it altogether. New ways are discovered to siphon off the ill-gotten wealth without attracting the Central Agencies. Research is going on in full swing. It is just a matter of time when we will again witness a new and renewed surge of corruption back in full force, gradually and slowly eating away the roots of our state.
