Liberalization and Corruption

Liberalization and Corruption

In a recent discussion on handling corruption in India (Face the Nation with Sagarika Ghose, CNN-IBN, August 25th, 2011), a point was made that “after liberalization, corruption in a few sectors like telecommunications has come down considerably.” Before the liberalization of the economy, getting a phone connection required not only a long wait but also bribes to everyone from linemen to officials. MPs and MLAs even made money by selling their quota of phone connections. While it is true that this particular problem has been largely solved, it’s important to recognize that this is not the whole truth. Corruption may have decreased in some areas, but people are now being cheated in different ways, particularly by private operators. Additionally, government sectors like BSNL, due to staff shortages and internal issues, still struggle to provide satisfactory services, and customers continue to suffer.

I have a personal story that illustrates this issue. When I first got a phone connection for the Gurukulam, due to its remote location, I received a WLL (Wireless in Local Loop) phone at the end of November 2007. However, obtaining an internet connection was a months-long struggle. Despite numerous calls and contacts with various BSNL officials, and even using my connections with higher officials in Hosur, the process was frustratingly slow. After much effort, I finally received the connection, but they made a mistake with the password. It took several more rounds of calls to resolve the issue, with involvement from BSNL offices in Denkanikkottai, Hosur, Dharmapuri, Trichy, Coimbatore, and Dindigul. The frustrating part was that the problem was a simple oversight: I had been instructed to type the password in lowercase, but it needed to be in uppercase. Once the mistake was discovered, the issue was resolved.

But the problems didn’t end there. Unfamiliar with the various BSNL plans, I didn’t initially notice that they had placed me on the “One India Plan,” which had a monthly rent of Rs. 180/-, whereas, living in a rural area, I should have been charged only Rs. 50/- per month. When I discovered this in 2008, I tried to resolve it. After numerous letters and phone calls, and despite the sincere efforts of a few officers at Dharmapuri, the issue remained unsolved. Finally, in August 2011, a new officer, Miss Sultana, identified the problem and instructed me to submit a letter requesting a change from the One India Plan to the Rural Plan. Thanks to her diligence, the issue was resolved, and my monthly rent was corrected. All credit goes to Miss Sultana, who spent three hours locating the problem.

The reason I share this story is to highlight that while liberalization has reduced corruption in some areas, it has also undermined the capability of government-run public sectors like BSNL to meet consumer demands. Private players, on the other hand, find subtle ways to cheat consumers. One example is when I recharged my mobile phone for Rs. 200/-, only to receive Rs. 87 worth of talk time. The recharge vendor, unaware of the correct scheme, overcharged me, resulting in a loss of over Rs. 100. This is just one of many ways private companies manipulate schemes to deceive customers.

Regardless of the economic system in place, it seems that ordinary people continue to face challenges and suffer in different ways.

Dayanand Bharati 

Gurukulam, August 26, 2011