Loopholes– Bennet Paes, Assolna
The Indian government knows well that ambiguities in their laws are a rule,
rather than an exception, but won’t reverse the equation. That’s because they
themselves need a place to hide in, when the opposition goes on a hunting
spree. And amazingly, when the roles reverse, the opposition does not perform
differently either.
Until the Supreme Court infers on the ‘exception’ part to the rule, the game of
hide-n-seek willgo on till the cows come home. In the meantime it percolates
down to the bureaucrats all over the country’s towns and villages, and the ‘aam
admi’ bears the brunt of it all.
Here’s a simple example of bureaucratic brazenness in a small State like Goa:
1) A man submits his application to the Collector’s office for a Certificate
legalizing his property records. Application is supported by necessary
notarized documents.
2) He gets an acknowledgement on the photo-copy of his application, with a
date of receipt and signature of the clerk in the Collector’s office.
NOTE: No date for completion of process and delivery. For, if this be given,
they wouldn’t know where to run for cover – THE LOOPHOLE.
3) When asked, when will it be processed, the clerk says: ‘pass by after two
weeks’.
(It costs the applicant Rs.100/- (average), and a half-day to pass by each
time).
4) Knowing well, that after 2 weeks his trip will be a waste, he postpones it
by one week.
5) Three weeks later, the clerk does not even know where his file (with
application and supporting documents) lies in his ‘piles-of-files’ office, but
he excuses himself saying: “the boss (Mamlatdar) is very busy, so pass by again
after one week”.
6) Four weeks passed by, so the Applicant dares spend his Rs.100/- + ½ day
for the third time.. This time the clerk says: “it was Diwali, and the boss
hasn’t resumed duty yet. Try your luck next week (which means test your
destiny) ”.
7) Someone tells the Applicant, he would be lucky if his work gets done the
same month next year.
8) It happens that the soothsayer was right. The Applicant’s travel expenses
alone mounted to a whopping Rs.1,000/- plus so many half-days in waste.
9) In the meantime, he keeps his court hearings postponed due to the missing
Certificate that he had applied for one year ago. Also the fees of his lawyer
keep adding up, and that keeps the lawyer’s pocket bulging.
10) The Applicant cannot bear it anymore. Someone tells him to offer the clerk
a ‘prize’ in advance, sufficient enough to satisfy him and his boss together.
11) He has no alternative but to push a Rs.1000/- bill in the clerk’s shirt
pocket and leave, hoping for a miracle.
12) After a week (54 weeks in total) the Applicant flashes a smile at the
clerk, but gets a grunt in return. The clerk says: ”It’s OK for me, but what
about ‘him’ ?” Helplessly, another Rs.4000/- is added to complete the ‘Nobel
Prize’.
13) Someone else tells the Applicant to make use of the RTI (Right to
Information) Act, and he does.
14) Meantime the ‘Mamlatdar’ gets transferred to another ‘prize-winning
station’, and the Applicant goes back to square one. And finally, this is how
he screams:
“These government guys have such thick skin that even an ox will be put to
shame. No amount of four-letter words will penetrate their hide – only
four-figure bribes, and in as many multiples as their broken promises. Perhaps
a ‘Anna Hazare’ could set things right for us, but his ‘fasting gimmicks’ will
hardly cut ice with the cut-throats on the prowl in the corridors of corruption
in Goa, as indeed in the whole country.”
(An excerpt from the book: “Simply My Way” – www.bennetpaes.com)
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