Corruption in Hyderabad: CMS Study

Udumula Sudhakar Reddy
Municipal and police departments top in corruption perception index 
in the survey conducted in the city by Centre for Media Studies.

 The index says that 86 per cent of them had a perception that corruption increased in 
Municipal department  and 65 per cent experienced it where it is 84 perception in police 
department and 78 per cent experienced. CMS General Manager Ms Anita Medasani 
says,”CMS-India corruption study 2012 is the eighth round of study on corruption in 
public services which is one in nine cities along with Hyderabad. We have focussed more 
on lower level corruption where common man including those living in urban slums which 
lack basic amenities like drinking water, sewerage, sanitation and hygiene facilities. 
Hyderabad is the India’s sixth most populous urban area,”  Water supply, electricity, 
Public Distribution System, Health, Housing, Police and Municipal departments are 
considered for the survey.
She added 12 per cent of city’s area is covered by slums and 26 per cent of city’s 
population lives in these slum areas. “Hyderabad is put next to Goa and Bhubaneswar as 
far as perception of about corruption in public services during the last one year among 
the nine cities. Compared to 2008 the first hand experience of corruption in 2012 among 
slum dwellers in Hyderabad has gone up from 39 per cent to 58 per cent. Every second 
household in city interacted with seven public services were asked to pay bribe at least 
once during the year,” Anita said.
She added 22 per cent of them who couldn’t pay bribe were deprived of public services and 
almost three out of four ended up paying bribe to avail the services. “The minimum bribe 
amount is Rs 100 for a work in any department. With the police the experience of 
corruption is higher than the perception that ‘corruption has increased’.