State tops corruption graph

State tops corruption graph
By Subhash Chandra NS, DH News Service, Bangalore:
Karnataka has earned the dubious distinction of being the most corrupt state in the country, leaving behind other states including Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.


This has been confirmed in a 2007-08 survey, conducted by Transparency International India and the Centre for Media Studies, New Delhi. the state which was ranked 17th in a 2005 Transparency International India (TII) survey, has now climbed to the top slot of “very highly corrupt states.” The survey is part of efforts by TI to reduce corruption by promoting and supporting transparent and ethical practices in government. During its all-India survey, the organisations randomly selected 22,728 BPL households across the country. BPL families in several major cities in the state including Bangalore, Bidar, Raichur and Chitradurga were surveyed.

On the corruption chart, the police department tops, followed by others including, forest department, land records/registration and housing in the country.

The other corrupt services are electricity, water supply, education, banking and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).

The survey reveals that Rs 883 crore was paid as bribe in 2007 by BPL families to avail of 11 public services, including getting certificates, bank loans or filing complaints at police stations.

Bribing is also for getting basic services like new ration cards and admissions in the schools. Of the entire bribe money, Rs 214.8 crore was paid to police, followed by land records and the power sector. Interestingly, all this was collected from BPL households.

Hall of shame

The survey slots corruption in four categories: Alarmingly Corrupt, Very Highly Corrupt, Highly
Corrupt and Moderately Corrupt.

Alarmingly Corrupt

Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, MP and UP

Very Highly Corrupt

Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Highly Corrupt

Chhatisgarh, Delhi, Guajrat, Jharkand, Kerala and Orissa.

Moderately Corrupt

Andhra, haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharastra, Punjab, Uttarkhand and West Bengal.

"It is good someone is saying where we stand, but this is a sample survey, the extent of corruption could be even more or less."

Justice Santosh Hegde
Lokayukta