Bangalore, Chennai top on website’s bribe index, cash paid totals Rs 23 cr

CHENNAI: If an anti-corruption website ( www.ipaidabribe.com) set up by Bangalore-based Janaagraha is an indicator, Chennai is the second most corrupt city in the country after Bangalore.

More than 1,100 Chennaiites posted on the website, which encourages voluntary disclosure of bribe-paying, that they had cumulatively paid more than Rs 7 crore in the last three years to grease the palms of government officers. Most pertain to land documents, water, sewerage and electricity connection, passport verification and admission to educational institutions. Bangalore with Rs 16 crore paid as bribe since the website was started in 2011.

Till date, 22,378 individuals across the country "confessed" on the website to having paid bribe, and the money added up to Rs 57.61 crore. Bangalore and Chennai were followed by Mumbai (Rs 6.97 crore), Delhi (Rs 4.4 crore), Hyderabad (Rs 2.89 crore), Kolkata (Rs 1.63 crore) and Kochi (Rs 56,101).

In Chennai, 1,183 individuals paid Rs 7.08 crore, which means on average, each person paid 19,968.

Joylita Saldanha, product manager of Janaagraha says Bangalore tops the corruption index probably because of better awareness about the organization and the website. "There is also a good response from Chennai for the website. Most people are using the website to vent their anger at the system," he said.

"We get an average of 12,000 visits a day from across 544 cities in India. More than 20 'bribe experiences' are reported on a daily basis from all parts of India. The amount varies from Rs 4 lakh (for a seat in a medical college) to Rs20 (to be let off for a traffic offence)," said Saldanha. The site reflects the brighter side, as 107 Chennaiites have posted that they refused to pay a bribe to a government staffer.