10 Steps the Gujarat government has taken to curb corruption Corruption = Monopoly + Discretion Transparency (in governance) In all

l the subsequent examples, the Gujarat govt. has succeeded in eliminating the first 2 parts of the equation and increasing the 3rd 1. Bar-coding of the Public Distribution System (PDS) which has ensured proper targeting, no leakages and authenticated delivery to the beneficiary. In September 2011 the Supreme Court lauded the Gujarat governments innovative efforts at digitalizing one of the largest food security programmes in India and asked the Centre why these be not taken as a model for the entire country. Problems facing the PDS supply chain were: a) Inclusion and exclusion errors and illegal diversion (as per a 2005 Planning Commission report as much as 58 % is diverted to the market) as there exists a substantial price difference between the subsidised and market prices of the commodities. Illegal diversion itself was mainly caused by bogus ration cards. Solution: Elimination of 16 lakh bogus ration cards by door to door visits by enumerators. And to establish identity, the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) was used as a basic document, as electoral rolls are regularly revised and updated. In addition, it was made mandatory for each card holder to furnish the govt with copies of the other documents that contain identity, such as the LPG connection no., electricity connection no. etc. Doing so would minimise the chances of fake identity as it is unlikely that the same person would have multiple set of such documents for each purpose. As against 1.25 crore existing ration card holders in the beginning of 2010, 2012 has seen only 1.09 crore ration card holders in the state. b) The removal of distortions such as bogus ration cards, by itself cannot guarantee delivery to the beneficiary. Food security can be assured only if the delivery of food grains and other entitlements are subject to authentication by the beneficiary. Solution: electronic authentication of delivery and payments at the fair price shop. by issuance of Bar Coded Ration Card (BCRC) which helps in the authentication of the card holders identity by making use of a Barcode which stores vital information about the card holder including a photograph and Bio-metric details. At the time of issue of such cards photo and bio-metric details of at least one member of the beneficiary household are captured. In order to take delivery for the month, any one of the beneficiaries whose details have been captured in the barcode has to first visit the designated eGram Centre (Common Service Centre) which plays a pivotal role in the TPDS Reform Model and itself is underpinned by the Jyotirgam 24X7 supply of electricity the mainstay of the e-GRAM center, i.e. a kiosk having VSAT based broadband connectivity along with a desktop PC, printer, web camera, bar code scanner, biometric device etc. After the cardholders bio-metric authentication, the Village Computer Entrepreneur in the village panchayat issues a Bio-Metric based Bar Coded Coupon System (containing commodity-wise coupons) to the beneficiary. Each Bar-coded coupon has various details such as month, price, commodity, quantity, name of FPS dealer etc. Thereafter, the beneficiary visits the FPS along with the card and the coupons. FPS dealers collect the commodity coupon along with the printed price and hand over the quantity as mentioned therein.

This Sale Register becomes the basis of commodity replenishment in the subsequent month and it is appropriately reflected in the FPS Permits. we can track every beneficiary household and ensure that it is receiving its due entitlements. Creating a Transparency Portal - During 2011, FPS wise list of all 1.09 crore ration card holders has been put up in the public domain on the Transparency Portal (http://dcs-dof.gujarat.gov.in/live-info.htm). Additionally, a list of all LPG and PNG customers (in excess of 70 lakhs) has been displayed on this Portal besides details of monthly allocation of various commodities to more than 16,000 FPS dealers. c) Before there was a perverse incentive available to the Fair Price Shop dealer to indulge in corruption as there was no monitoring or control. Solution: Adoption of the Biometric Based Barcoded Coupon System - The coupon is proof of transaction and the dealer would get commission only on the coupons that he submits for reading at the e-Gram centre. There is a separate coupon for each beneficiary. This way, the beneficiary has been empowered to authenticate each transaction. Helps control corruption and improve transparency in the functioning of the system. d) Possibility of asking for bribes by FPS / Unsatisfactory services of FPS shopkeepers due to monopoly: Solution: the bio-metric based Bar Coded Coupon has a provision that gives choice of the FPS dealer to the beneficiary at the time of coupon generation. In this way, monopoly of FPS shopkeepers over beneficiaries is reduced, and competition among FPS shops is encouraged. This has also empowered the beneficiaries and control has shifted to their hands from the FPS shopkeepers earlier. Adoption of ICT has helped transfer control into the hands of the beneficiary and thus control leakages of PDS grain to the open market. 2. Computerization of land records The widely acclaimed E-Dhara project of the Gujarat government giving computerized land records to citizens has been successfully implemented in all 26 Districts. The Gujarat government modernised land administration to ensure speed, transparency and faster dispute resolution in land administration. The aim is to establish a good and efficient computerized administrative structure for delivering efficient citizen-centric services to applicants and to enable access and maintenance of Village Land Records in an Easy, Transparent and Secure manner. Elimination of Manual Records by converting physical Village Land Records handled by the talati (village accountant) into Electronic format was the first step. By creating a new source of revenue records, apart from the talati greater transparency was ensured as well as making land records tamper-proof. Formerly, under the Manual Process of RoR Copy Issuance, if the farmer requested the Talati for a copy of VF 7x12 and/or account information (VF8a) he was at the mercy of the talati. The talati was supposed to verify the details in his records and prepare the 7/12, 8A or 6, sign it, stamp it and give it to the farmer. But he could create unnecessary delays, create obstructions and seek bribes to speed things up. It required doggedness and lots of grease to get the wheels of the official machinery moving. If you purchased a property, and had to get mutation (meaning that if nobody objected to a transaction, then the name of the new owner got entered in the record of rights) done, you may have to pay a bribe to ensure that the name was changed. Even if you got the mutation done without any harassment by officials it would take a lot of time before your name would enter the records. If the buyer hasnt got the mutation done, a dishonest seller could sell the same land to another person.

Digital Process of RoR Copy Issuance Today, if a farmer makes an oral request for 7/12, 8A or 6 to the talati by giving the survey number or khata number, of his land or other details such as block, entry number, khata number, village, area and name to identify his land details, the e-Dhara Kendras which have been designed to take up day to day activities of land records such as mutations and provide prompt issuance of issue of Record of Rights (RoR) across the counter. Deputy mamlatdar or any nominated personnel prints, signs and stamps the requested computerised RoR, which is handed over to the ap-plicant. The signature of the applicant is taken in the RoR issuance register as proof of receipt of this RoR. Reduction in service delivery time, i.e., to speed up delivery of RoR without delays, harassment or bribery. Strict timelines have been built into this module. Mututions are now quick because the systems are inter-linked, the records get updated almost simultaneously. After the sale of a property is registered, the mutation is done. The process of entering mutations is systemised, starting from data entry to updating the land record. Mutations are verified and appropriate notices are generated. Biometric devices were used for authentication to ensure data security. With computerisation, the new owners name enters the records almost immediately. The second buyer will be able to check the records and find out who the owner is. This reduces the chances of frauds. The data can be queried for mutation application, entry status, tenure statistics, land use statistics, land type statistics, tenant details, crop details, irrigation details, the agriculture census and other details. It is also searchable by Khatedar name, khata number, survey number, farm name and so on. Detailed information such as this also helps to make records tamper-proof. 3. All tenders are placed on the internet - Tendering is basically the process where a buying institution publishes its intention to purchase some goods from or engage the services of a suitable vendor, passes on the details of what it needs in terms of goods or services and invites sealed bids / offers in order to select the most competent and competitive bids. It has been established that the bulk of corrupt practices takes place at the procurement and tendering boards level with complicated paperwork opening loopholes for corruption. Online tendering ensures transparency, accountability to citizens. Procurement participants would handle procurement business over the Internet without physically visiting the public offices. Bid contents would be fully disclosed on the Internet, which brings up transparency and efficiency in overall public procurement. The payment process would then be simplified, and money transfers conducted in an electronic way. Best-case practices show that with such systems, analysis is easily generated and corruption is detectable. Electronic procurement allows governments to remove inefficiencies from their processes and build integrated supply chains. Such a system should not only result in dramatic reduction of unnecessary paperwork and procedures, but also remove inconveniences and potential corruption due to the increased transparency it would bring to the public procurement market. 4. Apno Taluko, Vibrant Taluko - Decentralizing powers for Maximum Governance - The decentralization of administration upto sub-district (taluka) level entails a major revamping in the administrative set up and a shift in functioning. Minimum Government and Maximum Governance plays a major role in Taluka Governance. Red tape and harassment by middle men is curtailed as they were major hindrances to people in smaller towns and villages. People esp. farmers had to travel to utilize the services of middle-men who would charge exorbitantly to handle paper work. Risk of corruption, harassment and delayed work resulted in waste of time, money and stress too. Now, people can directly contact their Taluka Jan Seva Kendra. This form of governance is also beneficial for uneducated, low income backgrounds as their needs are fulfilled by Jan Seva Kendras. ATVT is another step towards grassroots democracy taken by the Gujarat Government. Not possible w/o electricity Transparency portal - http://dcs-dof.gujarat.gov.in/live-info.htm Functioning of Taluka Seva Sadan: a. All the services of different departments will be available at one place and applications will be sorted round the clock. b. The administration will be more effective, transparent and citizen-centric.

c. E- Governance will make the system rise to a further level. d. All the information about the plans and action as well as the acceptance and screening will be available at one place only 5. Computerized Inter-State check posts in Gujarat It is estimated that more than 25000 interstate transport vehicles ply on Gujarat highways every day. More than 70 % of these vehicles were found to be overloaded to increase their revenues as the normal practice is to calculate the weight/ size by truck loads. Amongst the primary duties of the officials at check posts of the Gujarat Motor Vehicles Department include checking whether these interstate vehicles have paid the required road taxes or not, have all the documents like insurance and permissions and also to ensure that they are not overloaded. They can penalize the transporter for other issues like broken or nonfunctional head lights and non-standard license plates. The inspectors have the authority not only to check the vehicles but also to impose the penalties to the erring vehicle operators. These check posts were known to be highly corrupt. The extent of corruption can be gauzed from the fact that these officials were known to purchase the jobs at lucrative check posts by paying bribes to the tune of Rs 10 million and during 1999 out of 137 officers of the department, 27 of them were under suspension for corrupt practices. It also indicates the presence of political corruption. Under the old system, suspect vehicles had to wait in the queue at the check post (CP), if stopped by the staff. The official (inspector) examines the truck and if he wanted to have accurate weight the vehicle is sent to nearest weighbridge. After inspecting the documents, the inspector calculates the penalty depending on the over load and issues a penalty notice. The driver makes the payment and after completion of formalities moves away. The process of verification of the documents is manual and imposing penalties on the erring vehicles is arbitrary and discretionary. This system had a number of other shortcomings also. Only a few vehicles could be checked in a day resulting in loss of revenue to the state. Truck drivers are normally held up for several hours and the penalty charges are arbitrary. Truck drivers are normally forced to pay speed money (bribes) to the officials. Some officials colluded with truck operators and it was an open secret that some of these officials were on the pay rolls of large transport companies. To speed up the service and to ensure hundred percent inspections, the Government of Gujarat has implemented the e-governance project called Computerized Interstate Check Posts. In the computerized system, all the vehicles (100%) were checked at the check post, in the order they arrived. The vehicle in its turn is weighed on an electronic weighbridge and the weight is automatically transmitted to the computer in the cabin. At the same time the vehicle number plate is digitally scanned and is sent to the video server. Here vehicle number is converted into text form and the data (weight and the vehicle number) is transmitted to the control room in Ahmedabad, on dedicated communication lines, where the particulars of the vehicle and details like road tax payment are checked with the help of license plate tracking system software. If the information is not available the details of the vehicle are added to the database. In case of any default in payments, the system sends and displays a message to that effect on the CP computer. Further the permissible weight and actual weight are also displayed. The software computes the penalty automatically and the system generated receipt is issued to the driver for making the necessary payment. To ensure transparency, all these details are also displayed on an electronic board displayed out side for the benefit of the driver. The driver makes the payment using a prepaid card. The vehicle driver is also required to make good any other aspect observed by the computer like repairing headlights before exiting check post, as only then the automated barrier would open. The total time involved in the entire process is 2 minutes in spite of the 100% check. The net result is, it was no longer possible for the officials at the check posts to be arbitrary or collude with erring truck drivers for bribes and personal gains. This has been reflected in the annual income generated by the check posts. The income quadrupled from Rs 627.75 million to Rs 2.6 billion. The increase in the revenue itself is an indication of the corrupt practices prevalent in the system. A study by IIM Ahmedabad conducted a year after its implementation said that the revenues have gone up ten fold recovering the investment made of $4million in just six months and enhanced the revenue of the state. This project has succeeded in eliminating the corruption. Highway tolls cameras - He cited the example of two check posts, one in Gujarat called Bilat, the other in Maharashtra called Pochad, which are one km apart, and thus, every vehicle crossing Gujarat Maharashtra border there passes through both, and even though both check posts had equal toll rates, owing to electronic connectivity, the check post in Gujarat collected Rs. 400 Crore more tax in 3 years as compared to the check post in Maharashtra.

6. Online Grievance Redressal: I run a Swagat online system, which is a grievance redressal system, where I myself sit once a month. I myself have received over 2 lakh complaints. In 1,85,000 cases, the complaints were correct. Today, when a farmer goes to a district collector and says that if you dont listen to me, Ill go online. 7. Gujarat has always believed that it is the infrastructure which will drive growth in various sectors of the economy as well as social well-being. Therefore Gujarat is the first state in the country to enact a legal framework for PPP in infrastructure sector the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB). GIDB was created in 1995 and was soon given the statutory status by enacting the Gujarat Infrastructure Development (GID) Act 1999. The GID Act provides a puts in a fair, transparent and dependable mechanism for selection of developers. Developers can be selected either through competitive bidding, Swiss challenge route or through direct negotiation after following certain criterion. GIDB has the mandate to shape up the projects and coordinate with various agencies. Gujarat is today the front runner State in development and privatization of Infrastructure. With private participation a number of ports, roads, railways, hydro electric projects have been developed. 8. VAT (Value Added Tax) - The Project implemented by Commissionerate of Commercial TAX, GoG, was initiated to ensure prompt capturing of data at its origination in digitized form so that the VAT administration could be more informed and controlled with a view to simplify Administrative procedures. It provides Efficient, Effective, Economical and Transparent Tax Administration. The project was initiated to ensure prompt capturing of data at its origination in digitized form helping VAT refunds get streamlined. 9. Gujarat farmers sell produce in open market therefore no need to grease govt official hands unlike mah Cotton procurement in Maharashtra is a prime example of the havoc wrought by good intentions. Cotton farmers commit suicide in Maharashtra but prosper in Gujarat. Maharashtra launched the Cotton Monopoly Scheme (CMS) with the avowed aim to capture the whole economic value for the farmer, from growing cotton to selling finished cloth. It proposed to do this by helping farmers get a fair price for their produce, make available unadulterated cotton to consumers at reasonable prices, produce textiles and distribute bonus (profit on operations) to farmers. Therefore, the CMS allowed politicians to control the states cotton industry. Under the scheme, cotton could be procured only by the state-owned Maharashtra State Co-operative Cotton Growers Marketing Federation Ltd (MSC). Farmers were to be given a bonus for the cotton they sold, but cotton produced in the state had to be pressed within the state only. One of the consequences of this was that since each cotton procurement area was managed by a grader, this functionary became a big power centre, extracting bribes from farmers according to one ex-MSC official, graders commanded the highest dowry in their villages! Gujarat unlike Maharashtra didnt waste money on monopoly procurement and chose to invest it in creating irrigation. Instead of the Rs 6,000 crore or so that were wasted on CMS, the Maharashtra government could instead have constructed 100 Kolhapur-type Bandhara dam (medium type dam) at a cost of Rs 60 crore each this would have irrigated 25 lakh acres or 33 per cent of area under cotton cultivation. 10. Harnessing IT for good governance How the e-governance initiative undertaken by the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) in Gujarat works, and how using information technology can improve the efficiency and accountability of services at no great cost. The successful development of such initiatives has valuable lessons for increasing accountability in civic management across the country. The RMC has developed an interactive website as well as set up an SMS based complaint management system. The RMC has also set up five City Civic Centres (CCCs) where people can go to access various Municipal services and a 24x7 call centre where complaints can be called in and are instantly logged into the Management Information System. Engineers on the ground instantly get SMSs informing them of these complaints and once they are resolved, they can SMS this back to this Management Information System. This web-based accessible system enables the tracking of the service delivery at every stage, facilitates the flow of information, and thus strengthens the relations of accountability amongst the various actors.

As per the Nagrik Adhikar Patrak (Citizen Charter), the time limit for the complaint redressal is fixed and if during that time limit the complaint is not solved, complaint details are automatically escalated to next level officer; there too the time limit is fixed, if it is not solved then the complaint details are escalated to the highest authority. This is taken care of by the e-Governance software. In some cases, where delay in resolving the complaint is unavoidable (ex. Major drainage operations etc), the call centre records this and informs the complainant of such delay. What about the effects of this system on accountability within the RMC? Since data on complaints received by day/ward/department and officer-wise responses is now easily collected and available, the track record and efficiency with which officers dispose of their complaints is accessible throughout the system. And this could arguably lead to better appraisal of their performance, and hence affect their accountability. In this sense, it is clear that this is quite a powerful tool - the monitoring of outcomes is in-built in the system and the RMC now has the ability to take nonperforming officials to task. The effective use of IT services in government administration can greatly enhance existing efficiencies, drive down communication costs, and increase transparency in the functioning of various departments. It also gives citizens easy access to tangible benefits, be it through simple applications such as online form filling, bill sourcing and payments, or more complex applications. And as is clear from the efforts undertaken by the Rajkot Municipal Corporation, such efforts can be done on a small-scale by a group of dedicated individuals without major resources. 11. all candidates for public service jobs must take an online exam, which is decisive. 12. Teachers who used to pay 200,000 to 300,000 rupees to get a transfer to an area of choice are decided in open annual meetings. 13. online availability of Government forms in digital format?