Editor,
Corruption is often visualised as high-level scams involving crores of rupees, hidden away in complex bank transactions. However, the most damaging form of corruption for the common man is the one staring them in the face: the ‘micro-corruption’ embedded in the daily machinery of government offices. Across Arunachal Pradesh, a quiet but pervasive form of extortion has normalised itself – the arbitrary and illegal sale of government service forms.
It is an open secret that in nearly every government office in the state, obtaining a physical application form has become a transaction rather than a procedural step. Whether it is for a caste certificate, a birth certificate, an income certificate, or a trading licence, the story is the same. Forms that should be available for free, or at most for a nominal printing cost, are being sold at arbitrary rates, ranging from Rs 10 to as high as Rs 200 or Rs 300.
What makes this practice particularly egregious is the calculated method used to prevent citizens from seeking cheaper alternatives. In a digital age where a form should be down-loadable and printable for Rs 2 at a local Xerox shop, department staff have devised a mechanism to monetise paper. By stamping specific ‘serial numbers’ and enforcing mandatory ‘signatures’ on the original forms sold by the office, the administration effectively invalidates photocopies. This forces the common citizen to purchase the form directly from the counter at an inflated price. This is not a service charge; it is a gatekeeping fee. It creates an artificial monopoly on a piece of paper that grants access to constitutional rights.
While Rs 50 or Rs 100 may seem trivial to some, it represents a significant burden for the rural poor, students, and unemployed youths who frequent these offices. When a student needs to apply for a scholarship or a villager needs a certificate, they are often made to run from pillar to post, paying unaccounted cash at every step. Where does this money go? There is rarely a government receipt provided for the ‘cost of the form’. This unaccounted for revenue stream points to a deep rot within the clerical hierarchy that views public service as a retail business.
This malpractice flies in the face of the ‘citizen-centric governance’ model that the state government claims to uphold. It is time for the highest levels of administration to step in. We appeal to the chief secretary to take immediate cognisance of this issue. A strict notification must be issued to every deputy commissioner and head of department with the following directives:
Abolition of form fees: All standard application forms for government services must be declared free of cost.
Acceptance of photocopies: The practice of rejecting forms due to a lack of ‘official serial numbers’ or ‘pre-stamps’ must end immediately. Any standard format, whether photocopied or downloaded from the internet, must be accepted.
Transparency boards: Every government office must be mandated to display a prominent board listing the services provided, the official government processing fee (if any), and a clear statement that ‘forms are free’.
If the administration cannot stop its own staff from selling paper to the public at a premium, how can the citizenry trust it to handle larger development funds? It is time to stop this open looting of the common man. Public service forms are a right, not a commodity.
Gedak Taipodia,
Kangku circle,
Lower Siang