The scope of the word "corruption" in this context should perhaps be limited to cases of misuse of public/ tax-payers' money. Mis-use of non-public funds is simple and straight forward cheating, which can be tackled under Sec 420 and other provisions of law. If, on the other hand, the LokPal/ Ayukta is to come into the picture in cases of mis-use of funds by office-bearers of NGO's, even a thousand LokPal's/ Ayukta's will not be enough. Of course, if an NGO has obtained government funding, it is a different matter.

@IDS  -  Totally agree with you on the need to bring in PPP's under the jurisdiction of the LokPal. Check this

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Having somewhat followed the Lokpal case in Indian press (who can avoid that?), I've got some views.

Disclaimer: these opinions are without having read the bill in question. I am not 'pro' or 'against' it but I do see corruption as an evil for India that must be tackled, one way or the other.

If the Nation is incapable of passing a Lokpal bill or other counter-corruption measures, what can be done?

Individual states, or cities can declare themselves "corruption-free" and take on heavier measures than the nation at large would. The nation can hardly argue against such measures, since - as I believe - corruption is illegal in India already now.

This would be akin to how US states have enforced stricter climate norms than the federal level, because of the incapability of the federal government to act.

However, this is not enough. Also the salaries of teachers, headmasters, police, basically anyone currently taking bribes must be hightened. If the salaries are too low, part of the pay will always be out of records. Also, suggesting or paying bribes must be made illegal.

But waiting for the whole of India to change from top to down may be in vain. Start close. This is where the power of the Anna movement already seems to be. Start making corruption-free lives, communities, cities and states. Others will envy.

Eventually, getting rid of corruption must mean hightening taxes. Corruption is a tax of sorts, only nonofficial. One cannot simply think to get away from it and save all that money. It is the ratio of official and unofficial economies (= corruption, black market etc.) that matters.

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In both versions of the bill, there is a need to bring more clarity in the definition of corruption.

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In all versions, didn't come accross anything that remotely refers to frauds in PPP projects. Since PPP is the preferred route for major public projects, frauds in PPP must be in the ambit of Lokpal.

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Since we all agree Corruption needs to be tackled lets do it Praja style. I would like to suggest they (the panel) decide on a method of measuring the outcome of whichever Lokpal there will or will not be and they include the methods & targets in either in the bill or as a vision statement.

There are varous ways of measuring corruption but the inflation model might work.

Inflation Model: As Inflation is measured on the basis of prices of a basket of goods and services, similarly a basket of public services that suffer from rampant corruption may be surveyed on a regularly basis to measure Corruption trends. The basket of services may consists of common services like a) Driving License b) Registration of new Company c) New Vehicle Registration d) Registration for Sales Tax e) Passport Application f) Issuance of ‘C’ Forms etc. Survey questionnaire should cover both the cost of obtaining the service (including legal fee, bribes paid and agent commission etc.) as well as the time taken to obtain the services. Those to be surveyed may be chosen randomly from the list of people who recently availed those services (example- A Harvard Study on Corruption in Driving Licenses). Such surveys should should be undertaken at regular intervals across various regions for each of the services in the basket. Data for the same service across various regions should be compared to find out if there are any location specific bottlenecks. The time duration for obtaining the services may act as an alternate indicator of Corruption trends. The collected data should be aggregated over time to yield a Corruption trend. While this model may fall short of giving an indication of the overall quantum of Corruption, it may be useful in determining the trends as well location specific anomalies.

Source

Running after targets will ensure the lokpal will go after maximum impact cases which can bring down the numbers quickly & not just run behind high profile media events. 

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Still the proceedings of standing committees are confidential. For this to become truly democratic it must open up and remain transparent.

At one end we claim the committee to be impartial and effective, on the other side it's proceedings are claimed to be confidential. Another chance for politician to open up the legislative making process.

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I wondered how does the acts of frauds by the mining barons fit into definition of corruption? This is not done by people in the capacity of being minsters but as private and corporate chief?

Per Murlai Sir's definition, it is not corruption, but acts under IPC 420? Is it?

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The mining scams, if I understand correctly, relate to mining in areas which are not covered under license (and, in some cases, without any licence at all). This then amounts to depriving the state of its revenue, and consequently, should be classified as corruption.

That the state neither identifies the 'blocks' clearly, nor auctions them out to the highest bidders to be exploited according to set norms, is the root cause of this scam, to begin with. That amounts to dereliction of duty on the part of the government authorities, which is an act of omission, and can't necessarily be classified as corruption.

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Murali Sir,

From your above comments it seems omissions without an act of commission is not corruption. Hard to get it.

Where does 2G bunglings fits into acts of corruption?

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If Raja had not allocated spectrum to any one, even after the guidelines had been approved by the cabinet, that would have just amounted to dereliction of duty, for which, he is again answerable. But, allocating spectrum out of turn (obviously for personal considerations) is plainly an act of corruption.

Where is the confusion in this?

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