A Public Servant should not be Corrupt.
Why???
Avantika Sood
A service that is
provided by the government to its citizens living under its jurisdiction is
known as Public Service.
Therefore, the person who is employed by the government to help and provide of
the basic public services to the people is known as Public Servant. A public
servant is not just a part of the regular public, intact his/her job is to
effectively and efficiently perform his duties for the benefit of the people of
the country. A public servant has a three dimensional image, one as the
provider of the public goods to the citizens, two to act as a protector of the
people and their rights and third, to build a society that is free of
corruption and runs on the morals of fairness and justice for all.
Over the years, the role of public servants has come under a lot of scrutiny. What role do they play in good governance, how
effectively do they run implement the values of integrity and honesty and
quickly and efficiently do they approach the problems are just some of the
questions that have been raised in time. While the answers to all these
fundamental questions remain a matter of subject, the
basic doctrine undermining all these queries lie in the ethical conduct of the public servant.
In order to do his or her job efficiently, a public servant must be an embodiment of universal values such as
Honesty, Loyalty, Courage, Self Discipline, Truth and Dedication. But these are
values that are universally in nature. In order for the public servants
to carry out their work effectively, they need to inculcate the values of
integrity, honesty, justice and fairness. A public servant must at all times, maintain high standard of conduct
in order to provided efficient and friendly governance to its citizens.
Along with effective implementation of laws, rules and
regulations, one of the most important factors to ensure probity in governance
is the absence of corruption. But sadly today, our Indian society is plagued
with corruption and corrupt officers. It is sad to know that because of the few
corrupt officials in the government, the entire society suffers. After all, the
way a public servant conduct his/her duties will have a direct impact on
the citizens and society. An epidemic, Corruption can break the balance between
economic and social well being of the people as it leads to malpractices,
dishonesty and red tapeism. Is that a healthy sign for a large and diverse
democracy like India? Are public servants alone responsible for creating an environment where
'under the table' or 'bribery' form of functioning of the system is preferred
over the attitude of truth and honesty in our work culture? in the recent past,
India was shaken up by surfacing of the some of the major corruptions scandals
in the field of coal mining and telecom industry, all thanks to corrupt
bureaucrats, politicians and as well as businessmen who filled their pockets
with money as the nation suffered from low economic growth. When Nepotism
overpower the larger good of the society and people, that's where the need
arises for public servants to act as men and women of moral/ethical conduct. A
corrupt public servant is likely to abuse the public resources for his own personal motives. It should be noted
that act of corruption is a threat not only to effective governance but it also
shakes the building stones of the society we live in. Often, corruption is
directly linked to lack of administrative will. Government officials often
display delay in action and citizens have to resort to the means of dishonest
approach such as bribery. A responsible public servant must be aware that his job is toservice the public interest and not his personal interest and must be
accountable for his actions.
It is also true that people who raise their voice against
corruption, many a times, their views are either brought to silent or simply go
unheard. Just by naming corrupt officials or divulging scams will not help curb
corruption. It is equally important for government to launch reforms that can
establish the motto of good governance. A public servant must be transparent in his actions and must perform
his duties with utmost integrity. Implementation of strategic anti corruption
laws must be adhered for responsible governance. Lastly, in order to uphold the
trust and respect of the people, it is important that a public servant
performs his duties with trust and honestly only then can the ethical values of
a public servant can be preserved.
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