Step One: “Hum
Log” to “AAP”
-
People’s Action
for Delhi’s Development
Hum Log, we the people of Delhi,
can help Delhi government by paying our taxes honestly and taking bills for all
the purchases we are going to make.
Today (the 16th Day of
February 2015) is the first day of the AAP Government in Delhi. There were lots
of debate & discussion going on social media, electronic media and the
traditional print media. Most of the people wants to give sometime to the AAP.
Now, since the government is
formed, we must be alert & vigilant. We should also remind ourselves that
this is the Delhi Government & not the AAP government. The promises made by
the AAP looks very ambitious and beyond the Delhi budget but that is what the
people of Delhi want and gave a clear majority.
But we do not care- you have promised, you have to deliver.
As a lay person, person with no
economic background, can suggestion step
one for the people of Delhi. Let me also confess that I do not know how much
money/ revenue can be generated if all
people do what I am thinking and suggesting. Based on my little knowledge &
experience I think step one can be a good economic support for the Delhi
Government.
[NOTE-1: I met 100 people in
Delhi (mostly in Mehrauli). The purpose of meeting these people was to
understand how many of them take original bills with TIN number on it. I had to
drop the idea of TIN because many of these respondent do not have idea about
the TIN. So I concentrated one kind of consumers- those who buy medicines. And
ask for Pakka and Kachcha bills. I chose medicines because everyone at one or
other points buys medicines. Once I decided for medicine consumers, the next
question was whom to ask? I decided not to ask those people who claim medical
reimbursement from their offices or mediclaims. Because these people have to
take bills anyway. So the sample was very small and selective. Most of the
respondents are known to me. It does linot give perspective of people of Delhi]
[NOTE-2: The questions. Do you
take pakka bills when buy medicines? Yes Or No? .Why? Do you take bills from
other shops?- Yes or Know. Why? I have not included those answer which get
bills without asking for it- eg. Big Bazar, KFC, Lilli Put or mobile shops etc.
Apart from medicines ask 2-3 questions also. Do you take pakka bills when buy
cloths from local market? Do you take pakka bills when buy sweets from Bikaner,
Agrawals or such shops? Do you take bills when you buy daily use things from
local market?]
I asked these questions to myself
also. I take pakka bills from chemist shops because I get reimbursements. So
the first question is not applicable to
me. In the last one month I did not
take bills from sweet shops. We bought bed sheets & blanket from a local market in Mehrauli. I checked
the bill. It does not have TIN number. Grocery Shops/ General Store in Mehrauli
never gives pakka bills.
To my surprise majority of the people (98 % of
whom l contacted) do not care about asking bills from these shops. None of them tried to check whether the bill
is Kacchcha or pakka- meaning the bill has TIN or not. The general answer was
“what will we do with the bills? It has to go to the dust bin. So why to ask
for the bills. 5 % take bills from chemist shops if the amount is high (more
than Rs. 200-300/-) or if they want to return the medicines in future. Again
they do not check whether the bills are pakka or kachcha.
Conclusion & Recommendation:
It is important to note that
except in few cases, the amount you way the shop remains the same. I checked
this at several chemist shops- they charge you the same amount whether you take
bills or not. Some shop keepers charges
taxes (VAT) but we should give it.
If we voted for the government in
the name of honesty, we should also become honest. It is a difficult
proposition. It will cost us in the form of taxes, ill treatment from the shop
keepers for wasting their times in making bills and sometime people may make
fun of you. I bought a kg of mutton. When I asked for bill- the shop keeper was
amused. Yeh kaunsa piece hai? He thought I was asking for some specific mutton
piece. I stood for an hour there and noticed that no one asks for bills- some
bought 1 kg and some also bought 5 kg.
I think the common persons can make
a difference buy start asking for
