ONLINE SERVICES HELP REDUCE CORRUPTION
Editorial . . . . . . .
Governmental trust is damaged by corruption, which also threatens the social compact. Since corruption feeds and maintains the injustices and discontent that generate fragility, violent extremism, and conflict, it is a matter of worry around the world, particularly in environments of fragility and violence. Investment is hampered by corruption, which has an impact on employment and economic progress. Corruption-fighting nations utilise their human and financial resources more effectively, get more investment, and experience faster economic growth. The threat that impedes the advancement and development of any society around the globe is corruption. Society would fail economically and ethically when corrupt acts are accepted as the standard. The balance of society is upset when individuals who deserve attention are ignored in favour of those who don’t. Corruption breeds injustice, and injustices lead to unrest, all of which are detrimental to any successful democracy. Unfortunately, this threat is pervasive throughout the nation, and Jammu & Kashmir is no different. Corruption is a sickness that demands top-down attention. Targeting little fry won’t make much of a difference. Yes, it might aid the administration’s PR campaign a little, but it won’t aid in the fight against corruption. It is necessary to broaden the dragnet in order to capture the sharks, who are truly the primary offenders and employ the tiny fish in their filthy work. Having said that, society as a whole needs to speak out against corruption in government and the workplace. In Jammu and Kashmir, corruption has long been pervasive and so pervasive that the general public has, regrettably, come to accept it as inevitable. This acceptance has given the threat a sort of societal sacredness. The days of people being alarmed by the arrest of a government figure on suspicion of corruption are long gone, as is the humiliation of facing the public. The situation has advanced to the point where corrupt individuals are respected. Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), the primary institution tasked with combating the problem, needs to be further strengthened with all modern technology. To lead this organisation, the administration needs to choose honest and upright personnel. To ensure that the institution tasked with fighting corruption has no room for any corrupt practices inside, the administrations need to have a lot of circles of checks and balances. The disease of corruption certainly requires top-down intervention. Little fry will not be affected much by targeting. Having said that, society as a whole must condemn corruption in the workplace and in the government. In the seventeenth episode of the “Awaam Ki Awaaz” programme, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha stated that the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is the ideal time to declare four major resolutions: Make J&K fearless, drug-free, job-oriented and free of corruption.
Significantly, digitally made payments step by the UT administration in continuation of the zero-tolerance approach against corruption have certainly started yielding good results on the ground as various reports. Fair governance is only possible through digital services. These digital services’ approaches to governance will be able to free from corruption and transparent and non-discriminatory in nature, having a positive impact. LG administration is certainly in the right direction. Further, many such other policy decisions and programmes need to be implemented for better governance and to instil confidence among the people. More than 200 government services are now made accessible online, which will undoubtedly be a fantastic start for Jammu and Kashmir’s ambitious goal of establishing an era of smart, efficient, responsive, transparent, citizen-friendly, and above all, corruption-free governance.
