Denmark, Nepal and corruption

When my beloved wife Shanti Mishra and I were running the Tribhuvan University Central Library, we met many kinds and varieties of people -politicians, bureaucrats, administrators, technicians, planners, diplomats. Whether they were high or low in rank, they all were book lovers. They were in search of knowledge and information. Once, we came to close contact with Prof. Yadunath Khanal, the renowned diplomat of our country. He was in CEDA (Center for Economic Development and Administration) as its advisor or the Visiting Professor when Pashupati Shumsher Rana was the institution's director. I think, he came there not because he wanted that job. He had to go there when some politician made him unwanted in the ministry. He was a scholar, a learned man. So, he made the library his workplace. Almost every day, he was visiting the library and coming to our office to chat with us. We enjoyed his presence. We were glad to be with him. One day, I remember, talking about the library's importance, he said one of the causes of learned foreign diplomats wanted to leave this country as soon as possible was the lack of a rich and organized library. They missed the source of knowledge where they could go according to their needs. At that time, we know, we had no Google search as of today.

In the same way, they often felt the need for more international schools for their children. He came to know this from the diplomats he learned as a foreign secretary. He appreciated us for the work we were doing. We were happy to hear him. We had a scholar who commended us by heart.

We had many diplomatic friends from different embassies who were library lovers. We had many other foreign friends who were in many development works of the country. In this context, we became a very close and dear friend of a Danish couple - Knud Hartmann and Mrs. Lilian Hartmann. Hartmann was the first and founding director of the DVS (Danish Volunteer Service). When he advertised for the building to rent for this purpose, he put our telephone number for contact. We dealt with the callers and helped him to select the building. The building was rented at Dillibazar with our advice. They were the first couple we met in the country. We came to know much about their country through them. It has a constitutional monarchy and parliament system. With a population of 5.82 million, Denmark is a country smaller than us but very rich in all aspects. It is considered to be one of the most economically and socially rich countries in the world. It is second in rank among the 156 happiest countries globally, whereas Nepal is 92 on this list. It is one of the ten wealthiest countries in Europe. Its DOKK 1 Library is considered the best public library in the world by IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) in 2015. It has 13 Nobel Prize winners to date - 5 in medicine, 3 in physics, 3 in literature, 1 in chemistry, and 1 in peace. From this point, one could easily guess what kind of development and standard would be of this beautiful country. We all know education and knowledge is the backbone of any development.

While discussing our country's corruption, they told us an exciting story about Denmark's very small corruption case. According to his story, a high official was working in the office. A contractor of construction work came to see him for some works. While meeting with him, he had a call from his wife and told him that something went wrong with their bathroom flush at the residence. So he needed to bring someone to fix it. He said, okay. At that time, the contractor heard about it and offered his service for the problem. The contractor went to his house and fixed it. Though the contractor was offered the amount for the work done, he willingly denied it and did not charge for that small work.

Someone complained against the officer, saying that he got his private work done by the contractor free of cost. That was because he favoured the contractor for the office work. The case went to the investigation. The investigator asked whether he paid for the private work done by the contractor. When he said he did not pay him as the contractor did not want to charge. The investigator established that was corruption. The officer lost the job. It gives some pictures of good governance and anticorruption administration of that country.

Now, look at the cases of corruption in our country—wide-body aircraft corruption case, Ncell tax dispute case, Buddhi Gandaki Project case, Jhalanath Khanal

Foundation's Antivenom Center case, Omni corruption case, Banskota audiotape scandal case, etc. Newspapers, televisions, and people make voices. But the government keeps quiet as if there is nothing to do. This is why corrupt people -- low or high positions are not afraid of showing activities against the law.

I remember the problem I faced many years going after the office with heavy torture. Some 2/3 people came to knock on our gate in residence. When did I ask who they were, they said they came to do a new survey of our home and land. I told them that I already had my survey map with me. So they needed not to do anything. But they said they had to do it to make a new digital map according to the government's decision. That was compulsory for all. I asked them to come in. They came and started their work. Around 2 pm, they knocked on my residence entrance and asked me to give cash for their snacks with coke. I was surprised to hear this from them as I was not used to that system. I told them, "You came for the government work, and you would get a salary, allowance from the government". I could not understand why you were asking for money from me? I did not give money to them. After a while, they left the compound and went out for their tea and snacks. After an hour or so, they again came back and did their work. After doing their job, they left.

As they asked me to contact their head office to get the new survey documents after a few months, I went to that office. I realized that they shifted some portion of my land somewhere and made my compound wall to my neighbour's possession from their office map. When I pointed out their mistakes, they asked me to write the application about what I had to say. They would have to send the survey team again, that time my immediate neighbour was to present, and he would have to agree. They would not be able to give me the date or time for that purpose as they did not know when they would have time. I needed to contact them from time to time for the day fixed, and I was to come to the office to take them with me, arranging the transport. Being an educated person with some positions and known to high officials, I suffered years for this work. During that period, I experienced and learned many ways and means how the corrupt officials of the ward office, land office, and survey office made lakhs and lakhs of torturing clients. If you make a voice, you will face more problems, obstacles, and hurdles. If you complain about it to the high officers, you will get more issues. You will not get help because they all are linked. I do not know about Tarai, but I know about Kathmandu Valley that the measurement of the area mentioned in your land ownership paper and the actual land you possessed often does not tally. You find either little less or a little more when comparing the existing ground and paper measurements in all the cases. This may be because work is done by inefficient or unqualified staff or intentionally done by corrupt practices. I even heard a talk and tale that even many decades ago, the landowner wanted and arranged to record less land area than the actual possessed land for saving the land tax payment (Malpot). In that case, one possessed more land area than the record. That was done with the help of the surveyor. That was also why, in some cases, the area was more than the measurement record. When someone bought that whole land area with a specific record number of land (Kitta Number), sometimes the buyer unknowingly possessed more than the record, but not the encroachment. Because of that, your present survey result comes out the same way - a little less or little more land than the measurement. That is not your fault. You have not done anything wrong. You are living in your compound peacefully. But now, they make this an issue in the name of Halsabic (the system of the tally of the measurement between the past and the present). Then you are put in trouble. You are sure to suffer. I know hundreds and thousands of people have been suffering from this kind of corrupt people making problems. There are more corrupt practices everywhere now. You will not get your work done unless you pay the bribe money. This is just an example. This type of unethical practise is in all aspects. I think this problem will not go until you have a total revolution with a benevolent dictator.