Petty Corruption not petty to those already suffering

One third of people living below poverty line in India paid bribes to access healthcare, education and water among other basic facilities, says a new study which also dubs the police force as the most corrupt among the services surveyed.

This is from an article in The Hindu. Some academics have argued that in the larger scope of things corruption on this level (aka petty corruption — hand to hand bribes) while inefficient is not necessarily a negative occurrence as it enables individuals to gain access to services they otherwise would be unable to receive.

Yet one must ask how such practices are not damaging when those already below the poverty line must fork up a significant portion of their already meager incomes to obtain basic necessities?