SMC bribery trap is not an aberration but a symptom of a deeper malaise
The Central Bureau of Investigation’s trap of two Srinagar Municipal Corporation employees while allegedly accepting a bribe of a mere Rs 5,000 on Friday, should shake the conscience of the administration far beyond the four walls of the Left River Works Division (LRWD). The operation, which reportedly caught Dealing Assistant and Consolidated Worker red-handed, is not just about a petty sum changing hands; it is about the routine monetisation of basic public services and the quiet indignity forced upon ordinary citizens who must pay to secure what is legally theirs. More disturbing are the subsequent searches at the residence of Er Sajad Kawoosa, an officer who simultaneously holds the posts of Executive Engineer and In-Charge Superintending Engineer in SMC, and who, not long ago, was publicly felicitated by the district administration for “distinguished and meritorious” service. That an officer so decorated now finds his home under the scanner in a corruption probe lays bare the alarming gap between official citations and ground reality. It raises an uncomfortable question: on what yardsticks are such accolades being conferred, and who is accountable when the awardees themselves come under a cloud? SMC does not operate in a vacuum. It touches almost every aspect of life in Srinagar, from building permissions to drainage, from river works to everyday civic amenities. When bribery insinuates itself into this system, it is the poorest and least connected who are squeezed the hardest. The latest CBI action should therefore not be dismissed as a one-off embarrassment to be managed through transfers and ritual statements. It must become a watershed moment. The authorities owe the public a transparent, time-bound investigation that does not stop at the lower rungs. If evidence leads higher, so be it. There should be no space for selective outrage or shielded favourites. Simultaneously, there is a pressing need to plug procedural loopholes, reduce discretionary powers, and put in place robust, real-time vigilance and audit mechanisms within municipal bodies. For too long, people have been asked to trust systems that repeatedly betray them. Trust now has to be earned, through visible accountability, exemplary punishment of the guilty, and a clear message that public office in Jammu and Kashmir is a responsibility, not a licence to extract rent. Anything less will only confirm what many already fear: that corruption has become the price of survival in our civic institutions.
