So you think government offices are efficiently run, now,in 2013? And
they are financially viable? Think again.
I mean I always expected that the interactions would almost
always be annoying and irritable. And certainly this was no imagination at its
weirdest best.
But when it happened, I was flabbergasted, nonetheless.
I had a first-hand experience.
Story goes like this. I, being a lazy chap that am, suddenly
realized that after marriage of almost seven years, I don’t have a marriage
certificate! (Let me be very clear, here, I admit this is my blunder. I should
have gone for the certification earlier.)
And there I go to local municipal office for procuring one.
First and foremost, I am told that ‘the file needs to be
complete with the application’.
And to do so, you need almost 20 different documents
certifying your very existence and the veracity of your marriage.
They also wanted ID and address proofs of pundit, who read
the mantras for the wedding!
Now all this was unexpected to say the least.
Somehow I compiled all the documents! I still enjoy that
feeling of almost an achievement in itself!
I went back, only to find that particular lady officer was
not there in the municipal office. Then I went again, went four times.
So I inquired if she was on leave, of some kind. I was
told that, no leave – she along with her colleagues were on ‘mission recovery’
of the different taxes – usual stuff like – municipal taxes of your house,
drinking water and other utilities.
It was because there were many defaulters, great Indian
citizen who did not pay. And these taxes were an important source of income for
municipal offices.
So it was left to all the employees to go and barge the
houses of non-payers.
Why were they keen to recover all the monies? Because the
recovery formed a substantial part of their own, incomes – the salaries! And
the income of the municipal office.
Finally I could ‘submit’ the ‘completed’ file and will
shortly receive the certificate.
However, going by the way these offices function, I just
felt – it is amazing, how our institutions survive!
