Saturday, August 21, 2010

ipaidabribe.com - A website to fight corruption with information that comes from citizens




IpaidABribe.com is Janaagraha’s unique initiative to tackle corruption by harnessing the collective energy of citizens. You can report on the nature, number, pattern, types, location, frequency and values of actual corrupt acts on this website. Your reports will, perhaps for the first time, provide a snapshot of bribes occurring across your city. They will use them to argue for improving governance systems and procedures, tightening law enforcement and regulation and thereby reduce the scope for corruption in obtaining services from the government.



Invites you to register any recent or old bribes you have paid. Please tell them if you resisted a demand for a bribe, or did not have to pay a bribe, because of a new procedure or an honest official who helped you. They do not ask for your name or phone details, so feel free to report on the formats provided.









     NOT A FEE, BUT A BRIBE One Bangalore resident narrates his experience on www.ipaidabribe.com “Though we were married in March, 2008, due to some or the other reason, we could not get our marriage legally registered. Few months back we decided to register and get our marriage certificate done, we went Sub Registrar’s office near N R Colony, Bangalore. The clerk welcomed us and we submitted all the required documents and our marriage certificate was ready in less than 15 minutes. Once the certificate was ready, we were asked to come to a room where he took our signatures stating that we have received copies of the marriage certificate. Once we signed, he politely said, “Sir for this fee is Rs 600.” I had thought the certificate was free, so I hadn’t brought much money along. I could muster only Rs 500. The clerk took the money and said with a smile, “That’s Ok Sir, we will adjust with this.” That was when I realised that I actually paid a BRIBE and not a fee to the government.” 






If you have any such story / complaints, click here