Will the new Delhi Govt bill end sarkari babugiri?

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Delhities are a happy lot these days. The Delhi government has recently passed a landmark Bill that penalizes government officials who fail to process applications within a stipulated time period. The fine will be deducted from their salary and paid to the applicant as compensation.

The Bill, which is already in effect, is a slow yet significant step towards ensuring transparency and timely delivery of services.

Corruption and inefficiency co-exist in almost every government department that we have to deal with - be it the municipal corporations, electricity board, registrar/passport/RTO/Post Office and other bigger departments which handle education, land, building construction etc.

It's really rare to come out of these offices without doing the traditional running around or shelling out a few bucks.

"Sarkari daftar hai maam... itni jaldi thodi kaam hoga," I get to hear this almost every time I cover a corruption/inefficiency-related story and not just from harried citizens but from government officials as well. While some officials take pride in this statement (as if it were their specialty), others have simply resigned themselves to this unfortunate state of affairs.

The brazenness with which some government officials behave is just unbelievable. This golden quote by a clerk at a Ghaziabad Post Office sums it up all: "Aap President se letter le ke aao ya kisi minister se, mamla settle to idhar hi hoga." When I heard this statement my initial reaction was one of shock.

Not only because the clerk was saying this in front of a reporter and a cameraperson but also because the person who was fighting these officials did indeed have letters from the President's office as well as the Post office's vigilance department. Both asked the post office to resolve his long-pending issue. Obviously, the letters made no difference to the arrogant officials.

Their attitude was a perfect display of zero fear and hundred per cent confidence. One can only wish they had showcased these qualities elsewhere.

Instances like these always make me wonder what if government jobs were not permanent. What if job guarantee depended on work efficiency, just like in the private sector?

First, the fear of losing their job will force government officials to work. Secondly, the common man will be spared a lot of trouble, money and precious time. Thirdly, rude and crass officials may just learn to behave themselves.

Fourthly and most importantly, youngsters will get better opportunities and a chance to change the archaic fashion of working. With time, all this would make way for an efficient and transparent system.

However bringing into effect something like this may be next to impossible, given the national uproar it will cause. But all the government talk about ending corruption can be achieved only if some strong steps are taken.

As a first step though, we will have to see if this 'time bound service delivery' Bill translates itself into a success story. If it does, then Delhi may just spell the end of Sarkari Babus and their Babugiri.