FLIP SIDE - High income

Yogesh Mishra

There are a couple of officials in the RMC who are illustrious (or notorious?) because of their high income. The stories of these officials are being dramatically narrated in the municipal corridors. You simply ask anybody in the RMC about the actual income of these officials (or precisely corrupt staff) and your eyes will dilate when the monetary figures will resonate in your ears like a clang of distant bells. One such high-earning official has recently been rebuked by the mayor when she discovered that he had deliberately manipulated many of her decisions without her knowledge. The mayor later revealed that he had also manipulated the decisions of Mayor-in-Council (MiC) on the instructions of his bosses. But this official is stolid. He always focuses on his target and does not mind if he gets humiliated. He maintains a low profile and did not complain even when he got small dingy office room because he spends majority of his precious time in clinching ‘big deals’. Another official, who gathers money even with his eyebrows, has occupied the top post of one department for several years. He has developed expertise in extracting money from garbage. He was reaping abundant sum during the tenure of former mayor because he had developed excellent rapport with the decision-makers. Now, with the arrival of new mayor, he had to change many of his ‘strategies’ and ‘tie-ups’. Recently, he has also got show-cause notice from municipal commissioner. Anticipating the flow of air from opposite direction, he is planning to take transfer before being trapped in any major controversy followed by departmental enquiry.