Government Employment contract and corruption

Assume you have to cross or jump a 3-foot fence to reach the road. If it is an electric fence, but not written on it, you taking the chance of jumping across it is, say, 70%. If a whiteboard is tagged onto the fence with DANGER and SKULL symbols, you take the chance of jumping across it will come down to 20%. Am I right? It is human nature to avoid taking a risk when the risk is explicitly told/written.

When I went through the terms of employment for a government employee, I felt, despite so many written conditions, caveats and restrictions, how on earth, the employees in strategic locations or positions continue to indulge in corruption. Are they not scared?

Look at some of the terms of contracts; do’s and don’ts

1. The probationary period of 2 years can be extended for unsatisfactory performance.
2. No employee shall willfully cause delays in disposal of the work assigned to him
3. No employee shall make adverse criticism of policy or action of the Government
4. No employee shall engage in any demonstration which is prejudicial to the interests of the Government
5. No employee shall accept, solicit, or seek any outside employment
6. An employee shall not solicit or accept any gift or permit any member of his family or any person acting on his behalf to accept any gift from any person
7. The expression “gift” shall include free transport, boarding, lodging or other service or any other pecuniary advantage
8. On occasions such as marriages, anniversaries, etc., if any gifts are accepted from his personal friends, he shall report to the Government within 30 days if the value of any of such gifts exceeds Rs.10,000
9. No employee shall, except with the previous intimation to the government, acquire or dispose of any immovable property by lease, mortgage, purchase, sale, gift, or otherwise either in his name or of any member of his family
10. Where an employee enters into a transaction in respect of movable property, either in his name or in the name of the member of his family, he shall within 30 days from the date of such transaction, report the same to the Government.

Penalty and Punishment

1. Withholding of promotion
2. Recovery from pay of the pecuniary loss
3. Reduction to a lower stage in the time scale of pay
4. Withholding of increments of pay;
5. Compulsory retirement;
6. Removal from service
7. Disqualification for future employment;
8. dismissal from service

Finally, fined and jailed, published in the media!

Will, you and I do anything against these Regulations, that too after going through a rigorous joining formality? All of us know, how difficult it is to get a Government Job. So, I wonder, how do the employees, including those who have just joined or those who are about to retire, fearlessly indulge in corruption?

There is a reason! Coming to the Electric fence example, if one stands near the fence and continuously watches hundreds of one’s colleagues, without any fear, jumping across but not getting hurt, naturally, however, scared or sacred one maybe, he will also get ample confidence to jump! They see not only professional jumpers but also flyers over the fence – the 1^st Grade Export Quality Corruptionists!

So, Mrs. and Mr. Corrupt – you are simply unstoppable!

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