by S. Chandra  Shekar

One Sunday morning Bobby looked at his financial statements and smiled at Mona.

    “Mona, do you know that our savings are just about right to begin our house building project”

    “How is that?” said Mona

    “We have sufficient funds now to cover our margin money. We can apply for a Home Loan for the balance amount and go ahead with the construction,” said Bobby

    “Really,” said Mona “what shall we do now? We must finalise a building plan, get sanctions and find a good contractor. Isn’t that the way?”

Bobby and Mona Bhasin were a young married couple living and working in Bangalore, India. They had returned to India a year ago from Canada and were staying in a rented flat in a crowded locality. Most of the buildings were shops and showrooms and there was always a din and noise with traffic and people walking about.  Bobby was keen for a long time to buy a plot of land in the outskirts of the city and construct a spacious two-bedroom house overlooking a small garden which he and Mona could develop as a haven of peace. They dreamt of this idea often and were looking for an opportunity to make a decision and move forward.

Bobby worked hard and sincerely in his job as a marketing manager in a manufacturing company. He earned a good salary and with the prudence and frugality that Mona and he exercised, they could save money reasonably well. They bought a plot of land in Greenfield, a suburb on the eastern side of the city.

     “That’s right, we must find a reliable architect. Alternatively, an experienced contractor can design the building and get it checked and approved by a good structural consultant,” said Bobby. “Come now, Mona, let’s make a plan. Get me some paper. Wait. Get me an old notebook or diary and we will keep it as a logbook of our project”.

Mona soon brought a notebook and in the next half an hour Bobby had written down a plan and schedule of activities to be done.

    “We will progress step by step and make a success of our project,” said Bobby.

Mona smiled and folded her hands in a namaskar.

Days and weeks passed and the young couple progressed with their plans. They found a contractor who was ready to take up the responsibility. The building plans were made and submitted to the Local Area Council for approval.

One day, the contractor by the name of Kumar called Bobby and told him that the following day he and Bobby would have to go to the local government office for a discussion on the plan approval application. Will 11 am be convenient? Bobby said,’ yes’ and agreed to be at the Council promptly on time.

Kumar turned up on time and they both met the Planning Officer. The discussions went on smoothly and at the end of half an hour, the Officer said, “Mr. Kumar, you can come tomorrow afternoon by 3 pm and pick up the approved drawings. You know you will have to pay the usual fees at the cash counter before you meet me. See you tomorrow”.

Bobby was very happy. The approval went through smoothly and he could proceed further with his construction work.

The next morning at about 10 am, the doorbell rang at Bobby’s flat.

     “Oh, good morning Kumar. You are early. I thought we had to go to the Council office only in the afternoon.”

     “Yes sir, but we have to arrange the money for that.”

    “What is the amount. Can I pay by cheque?” asked Bobby“

    “No sir. Part of the amount by demand draft and part by cash”

    “Is that all?” asked Bobby.

    “No sir, the other money has to be fully in cash”

    “What other money?” asked Bobby.

    “You know sir, the one which has no name”.The unaccounted cash.

    “What is that? Can you explain?”

    “Sir, please keep this confidential. Besides the official fees, we have to pay the other money in cash to the Officer before he signs the approval letter and drawings. The officer will not receive it, but a trusted assistant will do so on his behalf. The amount will be distributed by the Officer to his trusted men in the department. That is how the system runs. No money, no work” said Kumar.

    “ I see, can you give me a break up of the costs?”

    “Sure sir, please look at this paper which has all the details,” said Kumar

Bobby scanned the paper and the details were as below

Application fee – Rs 150/-

Processing and Approval – Rs 10,000/-

Handling and departmental charges —  Rs 5,500/-

Other charges – Rs 35,000/-

    “The 150 and 10,000 must be paid by Demand Draft and the 5,500 by cash to the cash counter.

    “The 35,000 in cash is to be given to the Officer’s assistant,” said Kumar

    “Will I get a receipt for all these payments?” asked Bobby

    “For the 150, 10,000, and 5,500 you will get official receipts. But not for 35,000. This is unaccounted” said Kumar

    “What is this, Kumar. Is this what is called corruption?” asked Bobby

   “Yes sir. Now you know how things work here. You may not have seen this in Canada. But here, without this, nothing moves, nothing happens, nothing can be achieved. Are you ready, sir? Do you have the money ready?”

    “I’ll go to the bank now and get ready. Thank you, Kumar, I‘ll see you at the Council office before 3 pm”

The Council office was in the heart of the city. Busy area,  Full of jostling crowds. Kumar was waiting at the entrance. They went up to the officer’s room on the second floor. After a brief conversation, the officer’s assistant came forward and took them to the cash counter. The payments were made and receipts were obtained. On the way back to the officer’s room, Kumar and the assistant stopped for a brief conversation. Bobby took the hint and went forward. He handed over the envelope with the other money to Kumar. In turn, Kumar gave it to the assistant. “Smooth operation,” thought Bobby. The rest was easy. The officer signed the papers and gave them.

Outside the office on the way to the car, Bobby said “That’s it now. The work begins”

Once the loan application and building approval papers were submitted, the bank started processing the loan disbursal. In 3 weeks’ time, the loan was sanctioned and Bobby had deposited his margin money.

    “Kumar, shall we have a commencement prayer this Friday, and can you start work from Monday?” asked Bobby

    “Yes sir. I am ready. I’ll draw up a payment schedule for the construction and give it to you tomorrow”

Work started and progressed well. Over 5 months had passed. The foundations were done. The walls came up, the roof was cast and doors and windows fitted. The flooring work had started and the tiling work in the bathrooms was progressing.

And then it happened. The bombshell.

One day, a man claiming to be a Field Assistant from the local Ward office came on a motorcycle. He walked into the building and asked, “Who is the owner? This building is unauthorized and illegal”

Kumar said, “I am the contractor and we have all the permissions from the Planning office for this building”

“Your papers don’t mean anything to me. You don’t have this Ward’s ‘ No objection’ letter. If you have one, show it to me”

Kumar was dumbfounded. “What is this ‘No objection’ letter? No one told us anything about this” said Kumar.

“What sort of a contractor are you? Have you any experience here in our area? Everyone knows the procedure here. Ask any of the building owners in this layout. They will tell you.”

Kumar said “I’ll get you the owner on the phone, please talk to him”

“I don’t want to talk to anyone. I have told you and that’s that. Find out yourself what to do and do it at once. Until then stop all work, this is an order from my Officer,   My name is Chamaraj, contact me tomorrow. Here is my phone number”.  Having said this, he rode away on his bike.

Kumar immediately called Bobby on his phone and briefed him on what transpired with Chamaraj. Bobby was perplexed and became worried. He did not know how things worked here, Kumar also appeared ignorant about some procedures.

That evening Bobby told Mona “What have we got into? Mona. I am worried and scared now. We have taken a loan and spent a lot of money so far on the building. Now we are ordered to stop work by the authorities. Why? What has gone wrong?”

Bobby had a restless night and racked his brain for some breakthrough idea. Towards dawn, he had a flash. On the floor above theirs in the apartment, there was an elderly retired bank officer. He may know something about this. He woke Mona up and asked her “Do you remember the name of the gentleman we met a few times on the staircase going to the floor above us? You know the one who always smiles and only wears T-shirts. Never seen him  in a proper shirt.”

“Of course I do,” said Mona. “His name is Srinivas Rao. He retired as a General Manager of Apex  bank”

“You are brilliant Mona. I’ll call on him today”

That evening, Bobby rang the bell at Mr. Rao’s flat and when opened walked in. Mr. Rao smiled at him and said, “What a pleasure to see you, young man. Your name is Bobby, isn’t it? And how is your charming wife? Why hasn’t she come?”

“Mona is busy talking to her mother on the phone. So I left her and came to see you, sir”

“Sit down Bobby. I can see you look troubled. What is the problem?”

Bobby explained to him in detail the Chamaraj episode. He said, “I have limited funds and want to complete my house construction economically. With this problem of having to stop work, my costs will go up. I don’t know how to handle this crisis”.

Mr. Rao looked at Bobby with a smile. “Don’t worry, I have seen many cases like this, bullying tactics by petty officials. I’ll give you a plan.”

“You have  Chamaraj’s phone number. Call him tomorrow. Ask him what he wants. Tell him that you will think over it carefully and contact him the next day. Come and meet me again and I’ll tell you what to do next” So saying Mr. Rao stood up signaling to Bobby that he can go.

The next day, Bobby gave Chamaraj a call.

    “Mr. Chamaraj, my name is Bhasin, Bobby Bhasin. You visited my building construction site the other day and asked about some’ No Objection’ letters that I have to obtain from your office. Can you tell me about it and the procedure to be followed?”

Chamaraj was silent for a few minutes and then said, “You can come here to my Officer’s house tomorrow evening and meet him. Oh, by the way, the charges for the’ No objection letter’ will be Rs 200,000/-. Please bring cash and we will complete the work quickly. Please call me tomorrow morning and confirm the time of your visit. Anybody will tell you the location of his house when you come to the 80 feet road.”

Bobby understood the game. Another act of corruption. This time he made up his mind to thwart the menace and defeat the opposition. He will discuss with Mr. Rao a strategy and implement it tactfully to handle the issue. He cleared his mind, pushed his chest forward, and put on an air of confidence. No game of this type can beat him. He will be bold, clever and use his dramatic talent. No bully can harass him.

That evening he briefly told Mona about the developments and went straight to Mr. Rao’s flat. The door opened and Mr. Rao smiled at him. He always had that confident and benign smile that inspired calmness, clarity, and strength. Bobby told himself that he must learn and follow this technique. It was motivating and powerful. A skilled problem solver was always calm, silent, and internally strong. You can see these features in Mr. Rao.

    “So how did your day go, Bobby,” said Mr. Rao, “any developments?”

    “Quite a lot, sir. I’ll tell you in detail”.

Bobby explained in detail the conversation with Chamaraj. At one point he became agitated and said, “Shall I tell the Police, sir, about this? Is there any other agency I can complain to?”

Mr. Rao smiled and said, “No Bobby. That won’t serve any purpose. In this situation, the Police will not take you seriously. They know these things and will not interfere. It’s up to to you to find a solution and handle the problem”.

    “But what do I do, sir? I don’t have that kind of money, that too in cash. I have a tight budget just enough to finish the house construction. I am really worried, sir”

    “Bobby, give me some time. Come and see me again after an hour. I’ll give you a plan. I have seen such situations during my banking career. We’ll find a method for this” said Mr. Rao with a smiling face.

    “Thank you, sir. I’ll be back in one hour with Mona. Let her also learn these things”

One hour later, Bobby and Mona came to Mr. Rao’s flat. Mr. Rao was relaxed and smiling as usual. He sat down next to Bobby, took a sheet of paper, and wrote down some points. He had neat handwriting and he laid down the points clearly. He explained the plan verbally to Bobby in detail.

     “Are you clear now, Bobby?  Any questions or doubts?”

    “It’s very clear, sir. I’ll go ahead in the morning” said a confident Bobby

The next morning was bright and sunny. Bobby took the day off from work. He went for a short walk in the common area for a few minutes and gathered his thoughts. When he felt ready, he went to the phone and picked it up. He dialed Chamaraj’s number. The phone rang and Chamaraj came on the line.

    “Good morning Chamaraj, it’s me, Bobby Bhasin. Can I talk to you now?”

    “Yes, please tell me. When are you coming?”

    “Why should I come? I am a busy person and as a Lawyer, I have to attend to cases and clients the whole day. I can’t run up 12 km to see your officer. If he needs help from me and needs a contribution from me, let him come to my office. He must tell me why he needs such a large sum and where it will be used. Is it for civic projects in the city or for something else? My legal firm has to account for all payments, even contributions to people and political parties.

Which political party does your officer belong to? I interact with all the major parties and handle cases for officials at all levels.

I am building a small house in Greenfield so that I can have my residence and home office in one place. I checked with the Legal Forum and they told me that there is no such thing as a ’No Objection’ Letter for a small house. Some large commercial establishments and showrooms may need this to safeguard environmental regulations and layout clearances. I understand such laws do not apply to a small house. Where is the question of charges? I think you have got it wrong in my case.  Let me know when your officer will come and meet me. If he comes, let it be first thing in the morning. Thank you  Chamaraj. Any  questions?”

Chamaraj cleared his throat.” I’ll discuss this with my boss and get back to you, sir. It’s nice knowing you. Namaste”

A few days later Bobby visited the building site. The sound of a motorcycle was heard. It was a man on the bike and he stopped at the adjoining building. He walked over to Bobby’s house and looked at Kumar.

Kumar said, “This is Mr. Chamaraj from the local Ward office”.

Bobby became excited and went close to Chamaraj. “Where is your officer? Has he come? I want to talk to him. I want a more detailed explanation from him where my money will benefit the local community”.

 Chamaraj was silent. He nodded to Kumar and went away.

On another day when Bobby was at the site, Chamaraj again came on his bike. He parked his bike at the adjoining building, got down and had a brief talk with one of the residents, got on his bike, and drove away. “Good riddance”, thought Bobby. “Was he really from the Ward Office or a local crook misusing the name of an office?

That was the end of the Chamaraj affair. He never contacted Bobby again and Bobby was pleased about that. Full of smiles he told Mona “I have learned the art of smiling and solving from Mr. Rao”.

Work at the building site continued smoothly. Kumar had high regard for Bobby, notably the way he handled Chamaraj. Shortly the building was ready. The work on the interiors started. It was ten months now since the foundation was laid. Hopefully, in another month or so, Mona and Bobby could move into their house. The applications for water and electricity were submitted to the local authorities.

And then the brakes were applied.

The house was ready but had only a temporary water connection and temporary electric power. Once the building was ready, these would be disconnected.

Bobby continuously followed up with the water and electricity contractors. No response from any of them. He couldn’t get them on the phone or meet them personally.

Ravi, the electrical contractor had taken Rs 5,000/- as advance and disappeared. Murali, the water contractor luckily did not take advance but was absconding. Not traceable.

Bobby grew desperate and followed up with Kumar.

    “What shall we do, Kumar? On your recommendation, I gave the work to Ravi and Murali. We can’t get them now. Can’t you contact them.?”

     Kumar said, “All my work is over and I can’t get them too”

One day Kumar said that he will be out of the station for a few days since his father was not well in their village. Two weeks were over and Kumar did not return.

Bobby grew angry and worried. “What have I done? The house is ready but we can’t move in”

He anxiously phoned and followed up with Ravi and Murali. No luck.

On the 10^th of each month, the meter readings of water and electricity are done in their apartment. Ashok, the meter reader came as scheduled. After the reading was done and Ashok handed the monthly bills to Bobby, he opened the gate and was leaving.

    “Hold on one minute, Ashok,” said Bobby. I have a problem with my new house in Greenfield. I wonder if you can help me.”

    “What is it, sir?” asked Ashok

Bobby explained to him the problem that he faced in getting water and electric power connections to the new house. The contractors had let him down and he was stuck now.

    “Of course, I can do something, sir. I’ll come back in the evening and tell you.”

That evening Ashok and his colleague Ram came to meet Bobby. He briefed them fully.

Ashok said “you will have to spend some money, Sir. I’ll have to make fresh applications and withdraw the old applications. It will cost Rs 4,000/- as cancellation charges. Besides the official departmental charges for processing the application, we will have to pay other money to the employees to do the job and speed up the process. Once the sanction is obtained we must execute the work. Expenses will be involved for necessary materials and labour. Of course, other money will be involved at different stages. You must fund me periodically and I assure you the work will be done.”

Bobby had nothing to say. He had to agree since he needed the water and electricity connection badly.

    “Alright, Ashok. When shall we start?”

    “Tomorrow, sir”

It took one month of continuous effort by Ashok to complete the work. Every week Ashok reported the progress of work to Bobby and he paid him in cash.” No cash, no work progress”, was the method followed. Substantial other money to different people at different levels was distributed. Some recipients were workmen, some were office clerks and some were senior officers. At one point a fairly large sum was paid to local government officials and the police to avoid harassment and intimidation.

At last, the work was done. Bobby and Mona switched on the electric lights in the house and opened the faucets in the kitchen to wash their hands. The house was ready for occupation. The following week they moved the furniture and settled down in their new home.

Building the house was a gigantic effort fraught with ups and downs, struggles and achievements, harassment by officials, and payment of other money. Bobby was stunned when he finalized his accounts for the construction project and found that 15% of the total cost was Other Money.

“Oh! What is happening to our country? Can’t Corruption go away!” thought Bobby.

Mona looked at Bobby and said “Smile Bobby. Let’s take some sweets and give them to Mr. Rao. He gave you a great strategy to manage Chamaraj and you acted the part admirably. You have natural dramatic talent.

“Nothing ever happens in life without a struggle,” thought Bobby.

About the Author:

Chandrashekar Sundara Rajan is a retired engineer with nearly 50+ years of experience in engineering projects all over India. He is well-traveled and has worked in various countries around the world. He is an avid Writer of both Short Stories and Articles of public interest.