JOSE MARIA MIRANDA
In a highly spiritual coun try, like ours, it ought to have been considered sacrilegious or offensive to even pose a question like the one in the caption. But, sadly it is so. The putridity and corruption in the ad ministration have reached such abysmal levels that I dare say that there is no place for honest people in this country. Dishonesty, bribery and corruption have existed, for long, cutting across all Governments and Parties in the country, omnipres ent; perhaps in smaller measure earlier and greater, now. Winston Churchill and our own Rajagopalacha ri proved prophetic when they predicted what type of rulers we would have, after Independence. Perhaps it is not as shameful to have 251 (46%) of our MPs and 26% of our MLAs, confessing themselves having crimi nal charges, as to have their cases pending for years, at times until they are no more, and having them sit ting in our august Houses, instead of jails, where they truly belong. No doubt, a few of them may have been framed, as it often happens in our country, where the innocent are charged while the guilty go free. The num ber of people, in this coun try, who were eliminated or died as heroes for standing for truth, justice or against corruption, runs in dozens and almost all of them still await justice. Our own vocal activist Rama Kankonkar was brutally attacked and nearly killed, for exposing Government’s nasty activ ities against Goa. And will anything come out of it? It is no credit to any demo cratic country, which we still boast of being the larg est, to have people silenced by cruel methods or jailed for months, if not years, and being released ultimate ly, having found to be not guilty. It is no less question able why an old and ailing priest was denied a sipper, while the highest Court met at midnight to release, though rightly, a Govern ment inclined news anchor. It may be difficult and em barrassing to prove, but ha ven’t we heard people com plaining that no work can be done in Government offices in our own State without paying a bribe, especial ly if urgency is involved? The less one speaks of the amounts one has to, alleged ly pay to get a job, the better. How can one not expect a bureaucrat or Government employee not to recover, by whatever means, what he has paid to get his job? Aren’t our Police top offi cials and other bureaucrats ever willing to oblige their bosses, so that they do not undergo punishment trans fers or difficulties in their independent working? Our bureaucrats need to have a spine and emulate the likes of Ashok Khemka, an IAS Officer of Haryana cadre, now retired, who was credited with 66 transfers in his 34 years of service. He could possibly be con sidered a symbol of courage and defiance against politi cal interference. Such breed is rare and nearly vanishing, because the ‘punishment’ for being honest, truthful and upright is harsh, often leading to despair and sui cides. Our roads getting washed off, after few showers, Atal Sethu needing major re pairs, soon after its inau guration, pieces of cement falling from Zuari Bridge immediately after it being operative, a portion of Por vorim flyover collapsing while under construction, the fate of Kala Academy after renovation, are just few symbols of the rot that has long set in our local administration. Can the Government vouch for the safety of our bridges and flyovers, when we know that their works are gener ally sub-standard and safe ty is often compromised for reasons well-known to all? Don’t we know that in every project, there are cuts and commissions and hence they are being promoted against people’s interests, solely because pockets of some people and some Par ties can be filled? Didn’t we hear from contractors in Karnataka, some years back, that they had to part with 40% of their bills to those who matter in the Govt? Wasn’t the Birch trage dy, which not only made 25 people lose their lives but also damaged Goa’s reputa tion, the result of blessings from various bureaucrats, who either approved ille galities or looked the other way, obviously for some monetary gains? And since many heads might have to roll, will we ever see justice happen? If punishments were awarded with person al pecuniary losses to erring bureaucrats, we might have seen more responsible be haviour from them. Hope the Courts will realise that the taxpayers shouldn’t bear the burden of paying for the sins and corrupt acts of Government servants. Con version of no-development zones into settlement is an other debasing form of cor ruption, compromising the beauty and the environment of our State, where crores of rupees are involved, pos sibly shared at the highest level. Can anyone trying to do clean business or earn an honest living, in this coun try ever succeed? An hon est road contractor told me, sometime back, that he had given up his business, be cause he could not do his work honestly. Is there any scope for honesty in this country? I know it myself, as I had to close two offic es in Goa and, sadly, throw my staff on the roads, be cause we were undergoing losses by doing legal busi ness, while others in similar business, were indulging in illegalities, with no relief from the regulatory author ity. Even written complaints against wrongdoers, were consigned to the dustbin. I know of an engineer, who lost his job, because of his unwillingness to comply with his bosses’ instructions to pay what was needed, so long as the required work was done. Illegalities are rarely com mitted without political pa tronage, as no one will risk his money in an illegality if he was not sure of being protected. Hence, illegalities proliferate. It is said that a society that creates hurdles to ex haust the honest, paves the path for its own perdition. Regretfully, this is a country which not only does not re ward the honest, but forces people into dishonesty, lest they fail in their genuine and honest endeavours. Sad, but true, in this so-called largest democracy – a blot on our country and our people. (The author is a retired banker)
