Chennai
Bribing of officials and staff is widespread at government departments in Tamil Nadu, according to a survey.
Human rights group Transparency International says its findings were based on interviews with more than 5000 ordinary people.
It said the survey was conducted between 1 October and 15 November this year.
Sixty-two percent of the people it interviewed said they paid bribes to officials or staff at government offices to get their work done. This figure was 15 percent higher than findings recorded last year, the survey said.
Forty-one percent said demand for bribes were very common in departments dealing with land and properties.
At least 35 percent of the people who took part in the survey said they paid bribes often.
The survey also found 30 percent of the people felt they did not face the need to pay a bribe to complete their work.
According to TI, Tamil Nadu was among states including Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Jharkhand, which were on top of the list of bribe takers.
The survey said bribing was lesser in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, West Bengal, Kerala, Goa and Odisha.
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