Indian official winning plaudits for graft battle

Amid India's fight against corruption, an official with a regional power company has become popular for his novel approach to the problem.

Podeti Ashok, who works with the state-owned electricity distribution company in the southern state of Telangana, has put up a big board in his office declaring that he does not take bribes and is "uncorrupted". Ashok was prompted to display the board in response to villagers who would routinely come into his office and openly offer bribes for even small works, such as correcting faulty electricity bills and getting a power connections at home.

"I don't take bribes. I am uncorrupted," reads the big board, in red lettering for emphasis, placed on the wall behind his desk.

"I don't want to become a hero. My only purpose is to discourage the villagers from offering bribes to officials," said Ashok, an assistant divisional engineer in the Northern Power Distribution Co Ltd. "They must know that their requested works can be done even without paying bribes."

He said he would take the board with him to wherever he may be transferred, and will stick to the anti-graft mission until his retirement.

His efforts have taken on even more significance in the wake of studies highlighting the degree to which corruption persists in some Indian states.

According to a survey backed by Transparency International, corruption in Tenagana is the worst among the southern Indian states. The northern state of Rajasthan tops the corruption chart in India.

The survey, conducted by social media firm Local Circles in conjunction with Transparency International India, covered 190,000 respondents from 248 districts across 20 states from October 2018 to last month.

Another survey, for the India Corruption Study 2018 report, conducted by the Centre for Media Studies, identified Telangana as the second-most corrupt state in India. The center is a New Delhi-based not-for-profit, multi-disciplinary think tank.

The Indian government has launched a crackdown on corruption. "A total of 1,083 officials have been dismissed from the government service under the applicable disciplinary rules in the ministry, including its organizations, during the last five years," Federal Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said in July.

The central government has sacked 85 tax officials on corruption charges, official records show. Despite the initiatives taken by the government, the overall level of graft remains far from satisfactory.

The author is a freelancer for China Daily.