Today, I connected with a former co-worker who has achieved success in the social impact space. She is soft-spoken yet fiercely dogged, and I admire her incredibly.

She expressed her reservation for Zen Citizen: How can information combat the uncooperative attitude of Government staff?

I explained we provide two types of information and together they can rein in corruption.

a) Nuanced information that is typically withheld by Government staff. Such information will give confidence to citizens to ask questions of Government officials instead of merely obliging them – because it reduce the information assymetry and resulting anxiety and uncertainty.

A couple of examples: For joint ownership, an affidavit is mandatory to be attached. This is not mentioned in the list of documents in the BBMP website or Sakala website. Similarly, the process when the citizen does not have an Aadhar ID is not explained anywhere.

Other practical information is also not mentioned: Example, for the Khata transfer process, the only point at which the public needs to go to the Revenue office is to collect the hard copy of the Khata certificate—the soft copy is available online. Revenue officers may try various tricks to get the public to visit them in the office and persuade them to pay a bribe. But we cover those situations. Examples include:

“After submitting the Khata application online, a BBMP official called and asked me to submit the hard copy in the BBMP ward office because ‘the printer is not working in the office.’”

“The RO scheduled a site visit but didn’t come, even though I kept visiting the office.”

b) Information on legislations such as the Right to Public Services and Right to Information and, how to invoke these legislations to access services easily.

There is a general resolution to most hurdles in the process:

1. Avoid Direct Contact with Officials: Avoid going to the BBMP or contacting the Assistant Revenue Officer (ARO) directly, except to collect a hard copy of the Khata certificate at the end of the process. As far as possible, document the issue and send an email to Sakala (aosakala@gmail.com), explaining the situation and requesting a resolution.
2. File an Appeal: If there is no response within the stipulated time (30 days from the date of application for Khata transfer), file an appeal on Sakala. This formal complaint ensures the issue is officially recorded and addressed. We provide templates and directions to file an appeal easily.