The multi-agency war against corruption in Telangana

The Anti-Corruption Bureau seized assets worth ₹6 crore from the residence of Nizamabad Municipal Corporation Revenue officer in-charge, Dasari Narendar and registered a case of disproportionate asset against him. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

There is a perception in Telangana that the Congress government is doing its best to stamp out corruption. ₹

In the aftermath of the 2023 Assembly elections that saw the end of the decade-long rule of the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), corruption was identified as a source of disenchantment among voters. A CSDS-Lokniti post-poll study indicated that corruption had emerged as a prominent source of dissatisfaction. Recognising this, the Congress government has shown that it is willing to act against it.

First, the Telangana Drugs Control Administration conducted raids on medical stores, manufacturing firms, and practitioners of fake medicine. The inspections showed fake medicines as well as the channels through which they are coming into the State. The department released a steady stream of information about the malpractices and highlighted how these medicines and practitioners pose threats to health. The government shut down factories and charged practitioners under relevant sections of the law.

Then, teams of the Commissioner of Food Safety started visiting restaurants, cafes, hostels, and cloud kitchens. The outcomes of the inspections were shared on social media with the names of well-known restaurants and their shortcomings.

Until now, these two departments had been accused of not doing their job or looking the other way. By cleaning up two key industries where trust is paramount, they have created a shift in perception.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau, which is tasked with checking graft in the official machinery, also began nabbing officials who were taking bribes. The previous BRS government had a business-friendly air about it. The TS-iPASS (Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self-Certification System) assured time-bound clearances for projects, failing which they were deemed to be approved. The TG-bPASS (Telangana Building Permission Approval and Self-Certification System) provided instant approval for residential plots up to 75 square yards and buildings up to 7 metres in height. The approvals came thick and fast, and corruption crept in.

As a result of the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s efforts, a bureaucrat who had assets of more than ₹100 crore was nabbed in January. Another was caught with ₹6 crore. An additional collector of Rangareddy district was caught taking a bribe of ₹8 lakh. The impact of the photos of cash on social media has helped shape the positive narrative about the government.

In July, the Revanth Reddy government constituted the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA). Armed with a broad range of powers from demolitions on government land to relief and rescue operations, the organisation quickly started using earthmovers to level encroachment on lake beds and buffer zones. It demolished a 30,000 sq ft convention hall that is partly owned by Telugu actor, Akkineni Nagarjuna, in the upscale Madhapur area. HYDRAA officials said that the hall was built in the buffer zone of a lake and proved it with a 2014 map showing the encroachment. They also razed properties belonging to a Congress leader, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader, and leaders of the All India Majlis Ittehadul-e-Muslimeen. Some of these leaders were detained for a short while while the demolitions were carried out.

Of these four agencies involved in the fight against corruption, three are headed by Indian Police Service officers and one by an Indian Administrative Service officer. While political parties and other stakeholders are searching for “an agenda” for this multi-agency, multi-pronged attack on corruption, the people are happy. Property owners and prospective buyers who did not think twice about the location are now circumspect. Government officials who believed that everything was business-as-usual are equally guarded as some of them have been booked in criminal cases for malfeasance.

The government’s initiative, which affects people across parties and industries in Telangana, is a welcome change, especially since the fight against graft in India generally looks like a political witch-hunt, orchestrated for a select audience with a stated outcome. The hope is that this will become the norm and there is no agenda. But the question is: will the spectre of corruption go away while stodgy paperwork remains the norm in bureaucracy?