[Reader-list] 'Wholesale' and 'retail' corruption ( ipaidabribe.com)

[Patrice Riemens]

Bwo BytesforAll list/ Fred Noronha


original to:
http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/using-the-web-to-fight-corruption-1.1001921

Using the web to fight corruption

ipaidabribe.com helps highlight graft, forcing the government to change its
ways

   - By Nilima Pathak, Correspondent
   - Published: 00:00 March 31, 2012


 New Delhi: Bengaluru-based Ramesh Ramanathan is co-founder of Janaagraha
Centre for Citizenship and Democracy. Launched a decade ago, the non-profit
organisation focuses on improving urban governance in India and has touched
thousands of lives in some way or the other.

Unsurprisingly, Ramanathan has had more than 10,000 people volunteering to
work with him. Enthused by the response and disgruntled with the massive
corruption scandals afflicting the country, he launched a website. Within a
year, ipaidabribe.com has become the world's largest crowd-sourced
collection of data on corruption.

People report corruption and the ripple effect is seen with government
departments changing their work culture and attitudes, so much so that
Ramanathan is being referred to as the poster boy for urban reforms.

He spoke to *Gulf News* in an exclusive interview.

*Gulf News*: What led you to initiate the website ipaidabribe.com?

*RAMESH RAMANATHAN*: While we were agitated about wholesale corruption like
the 2G spectrum scam and the Commonwealth Games scam, at the same time, we
cared a lot about addressing the issue of retail corruption. Whether it is
related to driving licence or registering a property, greasing the palms of
officials is what an average citizen experiences on a day-to-day basis. We
decided to take the power of technology and use people's experience to
collect information. For this, we created the website which could capture
the information and then use it to change certain procedures in government
departments. Even though bribery is a serious subject, we gave it a
light-hearted name ipaidabribe.com that is easy for people to understand.

*Do you think corruption is as much an issue in other countries as in India?
*

While big-ticket wholesale corruption exists in many developed countries
across the world, everyday corruption affects Indians in a very fundamental
way. We do not get what we deserve as our right from the government and
various public-dealing offices. When we don't get the service we require,
we pay a bribe for it, and in the process lose self-respect and also our
ability to complain. This motivated us to work towards impacting people's
tolerance for corruption at all levels.

*How far has it led to improvement in services in government departments?*

In Karnataka's RTO [Regional Transport Office], from where driving licences
are issued, certain procedures have been changed. When we started
collecting information (relating to bribes/corruption), the head of the RTO
called us and said he was very embarrassed that his department was showing
as No 2 for bribery. And now that he had the evidence, he would take
action. He promptly issued show-cause notices to 20 officers.

More importantly, we had prepared a report that divulged the fact that out
of the 10 tests for a driving licence, two involved the greatest amount of
bribery. We suggested that if the procedure was changed and made less
discretionary, there would be less need for dishonesty. That's when certain
procedures were modified.

Corruption was also rampant at the sub registrar's office related to land
transactions in the peripheral areas of the city. So, rather then having
one sub-registrar office for a particular area, we suggested ‘anywhere
registration'. This meant people could choose and approach a more honest
officer in case they had a problem. So, now they have created clusters and
people can choose from five or six offices in an area. Though it has not
eliminated it, it has certainly reduced the rate of corruption.

*What's next on the agenda?*

We have asked for and have been allowed by the Karnataka government to put
up posters in 30 government offices. This will now enable people to SMS
their grievances. Most often, when a person experiences corruption, it is
at that particular time that he has the desire to report or register his
complaint. People don't pay a bribe and then go home and log on to a
website to lodge a complaint. It will make the system more effective.

*But what is the way out for those who do not have access to the internet
or are illiterate, to be able to register their complaint?*

People may not have access to websites, but most have mobile phones. They
can SMS to us on 5616151. We hope it will act as a huge deterrent to
corruption.

*Do you have plans of taking up issues at a national level?*

I do not understand why Indians have this romantic sense of ‘national
change' or a ‘national movement'. We should emphasise and focus on local
change. The important issue here is to make a difference to ‘my
neighbourhood'.

And if people in their respective areas did that, it would automatically
bring in change at the national level. We have set up an example in
Karnataka.

Now others can take up similar initiatives in their states. We are ready to
share our experience with everyone.

*Is it correct that the central government is exploring the possibility of
using the platform to report corrupt practices in the prestigious National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) scheme meant for the poor?*

We approached the Ministry of Rural Development and Jairam Ramesh, Minister
for Rural Development, reacted very positively. Once the idea is
formalised, it will be a good template.

*Have other countries approached you for assistance to start similar
practices?*

When we launched the website, we were looking at it with a social change
angle. But soon we realised that it is actually the world's first site that
has taken a unique approach to address corruption. We never thought it
would become a role model even for other countries.

People from 17 countries, including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have
approached us for assistance. And since we have no copyright issue, we are
willing to share info with them.

In Kenya, they have already set up a similar website, while Philippines and
Bhutan are working on theirs.

................................

Becoming a fighter of corruption

   - Ramesh Ramanathan was born on November 7, 1963 in Rayalacheruvu
   village in Karnataka to mother Radha and father T.S. Ramanathan.
   - Early education at St Germain's High School, Bengaluru in 1980.
   - St Joseph's College for Pre-University, Bengaluru in 1982.
   - Graduated from BITS Pilani, Bengaluru in 1986.
   - MBA from Yale University, United States in 1989.
   - Certified Financial Analyst from Association of Investment Management
   and Research in 1991.
   - Worked with Citibank in New York and London 1989-1998.
   - Left as Managing Director, European Head of Corporate Derivatives a
   $100 million business, and member of Global Markets Leadership Team,
   running a total business of $1 billion.
   - Returned to India in 1998.
   - Co-founded Janaagraha, an NGO, with his wife Swati in 2001.


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