No crime to seek a bribe

HERE is fresh evidence of how the culture of bribery has got entrenched in the three Authorities of Noida (Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway) over the years. We heard it from the horse’s mouth. A few years ago, one of the home secretaries of the Uttar Pradesh government, who then reported to the Principal Secretary (Home) in Lucknow, was registering his property in Greater Noida at the Authority. As happens so often in such cases, he was told to pay a bribe for smooth and expeditious registration. The suggestion infuriated the officer. “How could an employee ask me for a bribe?” He complained to the top brass in the Authority and insisted on suspension of the employee who had asked for the bribe. The employee was identified and given a dressing down. But the officers higher up were in no mood to place the employee under suspension. They assured the home secretary that his work would be done without a penny of a bribe and at express speed, provided he forgave the employee and withdrew his complaint. “He was prevailed upon to withdraw his complaint,” a retired top Authority officer recounted to gfiles.