We have got a lot of similar feedback. However, after a great deal of thought we have decided not to give names of people, for the following reasons:
(a) We are not a prosecuting agency on behalf of citizens. They can also directly go to regulatory and vigilance authorities such as the Lokayukta and Central Vigilance Commission.
(b) It distracts us from the main task of putting pressure on the government for systemic improvement
(c) We do not want to open the floodgates of claims and counterclaims. We want the website to retain its focus on being a positive mover in the larger endeavour of eliminating corruption.
(d) Elimination of corruption is better achieved by simplification of systems, transparency and other similar reforms. By targeting corrupt people without tackling such changes, we cannot achieve much.
Your feedback on navigation is appreciated. We will definitely include it in our next website redesign.
Not sure what you mean by map but there is a section called Corruption Commons which does give a map wrt bribes: http://ipaidabribe.com/sforms/corruption_commons
We also have a graphical representation of bribes called Bribe Patterns on the homepage.
Do take a look and feel free to get back to us with feedback. It's much appreciated.
Though it is true that IPAB is based out of Bangalore, we are a pan-India initiative. Our data being crowdsourced, it is just a matter of coincidence that we receive a large portion of our reports from Bangalore. Having said that our graphical Bribe Patterns will show you that Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Delhi also figure prominently in our data.
Ajays, we beg to differ. IPaidABribe believes that corruption in India is systemic and only procedural change can make a difference. Merely booking corrupt individuals is a band-aid solution to a deep-rooted problem as they can easily be replaced by another corrupt officer. Instead, if there is a transparent and accountable system of governance in place it would naturally reduce the degree of discretion which officials enjoy today in India. This, we believe, would help build a corruption-free India.
Well said. Corruption in India is indeed a systemic problem. While there is no denying that the system of governance is corrupt, it is also true that citizens are ready to bribe as long as their work gets done.
It is in this context that IPAB believes in a systemic approach to tackling corruption. We do not target individuals as they are dispensable and replaceable. It is the system and processes which need to be changed. Alongside focusing on procedural change in the government we also focus on greater knowledge and understanding on the part of the citizen. We work on the belief that citizens who are well-informed of their rights wrt govt services are less likely to indulge in paying a bribe.
To this end, on our site we provide Citizen Charters which are documents of service timelines published by the government. Armed with this document, citizens are better enabled to stand up against corruption. On the govt-facing end of our campaign, we have come out with Janamahiti report for the Transport Department of Bangalore which analyses bribe reports received on our site, pinpoints the most corrupt processes and puts forward suggestions to tackle corruption rampant in this department. We are also briefing the Transport department this week on the Janamahiti and the recommendations it provides.
(a) We are not a prosecuting agency on behalf of citizens. They can also directly go to regulatory and vigilance authorities such as the Lokayukta and Central Vigilance Commission. (b) It distracts us from the main task of putting pressure on the government for systemic improvement (c) We do not want to open the floodgates of claims and counterclaims. We want the website to retain its focus on being a positive mover in the larger endeavour of eliminating corruption. (d) Elimination of corruption is better achieved by simplification of systems, transparency and other similar reforms. By targeting corrupt people without tackling such changes, we cannot achieve much.