FOCUS
CORRUPTION
Can there ever be a way out?
“Of the world’s 100 largest economies reportedly, 51 are now corporations, only 49 are nation states. The sales of General Motors and Ford are greater than the gross domestic product of the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa, and Wal-Mart now has a turnover higher than the revenues of most of the states of Eastern Europe. Yet few of us understand fully the growing dominance of big business, of how corporations across the world manipulate and pressure governments by means both legal and illegal, and how corporations are taking over from the state responsibility for everything from providing technology for schools to health care for the community”, commented publisher Harper Collins on the book “The Silent Takeover” by the economist Dr Noreena Hertz, an Associate Director at the Centre for International Business at the Cambridge University.
“The Silent Takeover” according to them asks us to recognise the growing contradictions of a world divided between haves and have-nots, of gated communities next to ghettos, of extreme poverty and unbelievable wealth. These are faces of unacceptable extremes.
In the context of Radia Tape exposures, does this statement disturb us? Does it cause unease at the role of big money in the corridors of power in New Delhi?
The whole of media savvy public are aware of the CAG report that hit the headlines a few months ago, which informed that country has lost Rs. 1.76 lakhs crores, a huge sum by any reckoning, because of the apparently wrong process adopted by the DOT for the 2G spectrum allocation for mobile tele services. Whether the amount, as huge as that, is correct or not has to be found out. But it is very clear that some big loss has caused to the nation’s coffer, which means, some private individuals or corporates have become wrongful beneficiaries of this national loss. The question therefore that pops up is, was this benefit allowed to these private enterprise for some illegitimate gratification? Answer apparently, as per media speculation, is ‘yes’, and such illegal gratification runs into thousands of crores. Prima facie, there is a serious charge of very big money having changed hands. This aspect of 2G spectrum auction/allocation, brings us to what the book “The Silent Takeover” tells. Dr Noreena Hertz informs of “how corporations across the world manipulate and pressure governments by means both legal and illegal”
Does this mean, it’s the private enterprise which is the primary source of corruption?
Webster’s unabridged Dictionary of English language, gives the meaning of word ‘corruption’. It tells, among other meanings, that it, “applies to one especially in public office, who acts on mercenary motives, without regard to honour, right or justice!!
This clearly puts the onus on the one who takes or receives illegal gratification. It does not talk about the one who gives, or one who abates an action of illegal gratification. The fact is both are responsible and therefore answerable for their conduct.
For all the 63+ years of free India, if anybody makes a study of published matters by the press, the print media, one can be dead sure that no other subject, other than CORRUPTION must have been written the most. It has permeated into every possible area of give and take, and has affected a huge cross section of our population, across the board.
Answering why we are so corrupt, Mr N. Vittal, a former CVC had stated. “In our country there are five major players in the corruption scene. They are,
1) the Neta – the corrupt politician
2) the Baabu – the corrupt bureaucrat
3) the Laala - the corrupt businessman
4) the Jhola – the corrupt NGO.
5) the daada – the criminal of the underworld
Yes, the phenomenon of public relation (PR) consultants, although were there during his time, they were mostly innocuous. Radia’s Vaishnavi Communication rather burst into national scene by accident and has exposed a systemic dimension into the whole gamut of corruption in high places with huge monetary implication. It must have been there, all the while, but somehow did not appear in the surveillance radar.
According to Mr Vittal, there are five basic reasons why corruption flourishes in our system.
1) Scarcity of goods and services
2) Red tape and complicated rules and procedures
3) Lack of transparency in decision making
4) Legal cushions of safety, that every one is innocent until proved guilty.
5) Fraternity or biraadari among the corrupt who protect each other.
While the first two factors lead to small time sleaze, it is the third factor which leads to big time corruption. In fact this is the single most important cause of corruption. Areas where lack of information can facilitate the sleaze are, buying of assets for governments use or that of any department or company owned by government, or any government schemes where large amounts are expended. The lack of information can leave the public in dark, who could be the beneficiary of the scheme in some form or the other. Non-transparency in sale of government assets or properties can cause huge loss of revenue to government which is primarily tax payers money. There are areas such as government contracts, project clearances, recruitments and many other governmental commitments involving huge money and have the potential of big money changing hands.
In recent times we have heard of many scandals or scams involving humongous size of the money. Go back to news reports of just a few months. The entire festival season, started on 1st Sept 2010, with Shri Krishna Janmashtami, to Ramzaan, to Ganesh Chathurthi, to Navaraathri, to Vijaya Dashami, to Deepavali, to Moharrum to Christmas was full of scams of all kinds. Not one but close to a ‘dirty dozen’.
You have CWG scams involving hundreds of crores. Some Rs. 70000 crores expenditure for the entire Common Wealth Games, need accountability. Then you have Adarsh Housing scam in South Mumbai involving Army land swallowed by politicians, baabus and other influence peddlers. Then you have Lavaasa city development project near Pune involving hundreds of acres of tribal and government land, usurped by Big money and politician nexus. 2G spectrum auction was already known to have caused some Rs. 60000 crores loss to the nation, couple of years ago. But the latest report from the Comptroller & Auditor General of India has stated that country has lost Rs 1,76,000 crores. This amount is enough to upgrade our road net work for the whole country that can give a gallop push to the cross country economic activity and development. Then there is Radia tape episode involving a PR firm of lobbyists in the corridors of power in New Delhi. Lobbyists are basically influence peddlers who work towards national detriment, most of the time, to promote their self interest. Then there is this appointment of Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). The latest appointment is mired in completely avoidable controversy of all kinds. Why a person of ‘questionable past’ was appointed to a position of ‘impeccable integrity’ is never answered.
Then you have land scams involving ministers in Karnataka government, and governor in Bangalore is trying to fish in the troubled waters there. There are also cases involving manganese ore mining, involving very big money. They are state’s properties but leased for peanuts for political friends, virtually amounting to loot of public money for private gain. News from Tamil Nadu is similar, where Tamil Nadu Housing Board houses have been given to friends and relatives of politicians and baabus. Many have been allotted with premium plots for well below the market rate, causing big loss to the state.
To think that these scandals or scams were of only last few months, can we imagine what could be the size of amount which must have been lost to the national exchequer during all those 60+ past years of free India? It is beyond any reasonable imagination and comprehension to size-up the amount. We have been hearing of trillions of $ stashed away in Swiss Banks and other tax havens. This again takes us back to the book “The Silent Takeover” which asks us ‘to recognize the growing contradiction of a world divided between haves & have-nots, of gated communities next to ghettos, of extreme poverty and unbelievable wealth, the faces of unacceptable extremes’.
Media had reported about the charge by a former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan made, that half the Supreme Court chief justices of being definitely corrupt. We have this Soumitra Sen a Calcutta High Court judge not resigning despite an imminent impeachment proceedings in parliament for financial mis-conduct. Then the episode involving former Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan going silent on former union minister Raja, and sticking to his gun in the face of pointed disagreement. Other day Ratan Tata disclosed why he had to drop a plan to start an airline jointly with Singapore Airlines, because union minister incharge of civil aviation at that time demanded Rs. 15 crores for the grant of licence. It was the same Ratan Tata who got bugged by the disclosures of Radia Tapes and went hammer and tong accusing media of encroaching his private domain. There were accusations and counter accusations of how much Tatas have made or did not make in this spectrum allocations. In the muddy waters, nothing was appearing either clean or clear. Then there is this notorious Dr Ketan Mehta, a former chairman of Indian Medical Council. He was found with 1 ton gold, besides huge boxes containing hard cash. One ton gold can’t be accumulated in a month, it could have been going on for years. So the loot was going on, all the while. It is not for nothing that Transparency International has ranked us 87 in their Corruption Perception Index.
Thus stories of sleaze in India is an unremitting saga, where we accused, for the most part, politicians, government functionaries, judiciary etc., besides ordinary citizens. But what about private enterprise, the corporate sector? Go back in time, the Mundra case involving LIC. The then finance minister T.T. Krishnamachari had to quit the cabinet post he held in the Nehru government. There have been many cases involving private sector. Some of the high profile success stories of private companies are a long story of sordid tales of equally high profile corruption. All media savvy readers are privy to the fact that copies of the confidential papers of parliament proceedings found its way to some of the corporate office drawers of its top executives. Does these papers go gallivanting and lost its way and landed into these securely locked drawers? Of course no explanations are needed to postulate that big money had changed hands. Non transparency is the source of the high stake corruption.
During the last 63 years as a free nation, we all know that the rich and powerful have grown more rich and more powerful and poor have become poorer and more powerless. This state of affairs is not only because of shoddy developmental priorities or governance failures, but also because of unchecked corruption where, as Rajeev Gandhi put it, only 15 paise reached the target and 85 paise got lost in transit, siphoned off by well heeled civil society. Thus corruption played its sinister role in widening the social divide.
Yes we are corrupt. Rather very corrupt. So what do we do? Surely we cannot have a tainted CVC PJ Thomas. We need to have somebody else of impeccable integrity.
Karnataka has Lokayukta and upalokayukta headed by retired Supreme Court justice and High Court justice. Justice Santhosh Hegde, the current Lokayukta, is having a kind of running battle with the Karnataka government, may be for all right reasons. But the government is not giving him free hand. If the government in Bangalore, or for that matter any government, if they truly want to help reduce corruption they should have these Lokyuktas with adequate powers, instead of the paper tigers they are, at the moment.
But quite frankly, will it ever be possible to eradicate corruption completely? No, its an emphatic capital ‘NO’. But certainly possible to reduce it to a great level. Every government, every where in India, has spoken about the corruption disease, but it was only treated it in the out patient department (OPD) or at best at casualty, for it to come back again and again. What is needed is surgery, because corruption has become gangrenous. It needs amputation in part. Yes our criminal justice system is wonky. Powerful corrupt politicians and baabus have managed to retain whatever they looted from the system and managed to remain at a safe distance from the law of the land. They are the criminals and perpetrators of continued crimes. Many years ago telecommunication minister Sukh Ram was caught with rupees three crores cash. What happened to him and his case? He is on an ever extending bail. One day he will inevitably die, leaving the loot to his progeny. And case will be closed with a note “accused died”. And life shall go on.
Now look at this haggling, the impasse in the Loksabha, over the setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). For all 23 days of the parliament in session, the Loksabha was seized of only one issue, JPC. Combined opposition demanded it, yet the ruling combine refused to budge from their stand of PAC (Public Accts Committee ) shall go into the problem of 2G spectrum allocation. As whole of India has learnt that Comptroller & Auditor General has put the loss at Rs. 176000 crores. It’s a huge sum to be wasted on debates to set up a committee. If the government is serious to unearth the details of beneficiaries of the alleged loot, they just have to go with opposition and complete quickly the whole exercise. But no, the ruling combine wouldn’t want to go for JPC. It is surely afraid of something very serious. What is it? Nothing can be wagered. Every media observer would vouch that congress party steadfastly and aggressively protects the image of Congress Party President, her children and her late husband. Is there anything in the 2G scam that could besmirch this image? No other explanation appears plausible, for this steely obduracy.
So, if the ruling party is not very sincere and serious about tackling corruption then this indeed is the problem. The photograph of Manmohan Singh, the PM and LK Advani, the opposition leader greeting / but not greeting each other is a reflection of the cross purposes towards which both of them work. This attitude of the ruling combine of riding rough shod over the opposition cannot bring about bonhomie in its functioning. For the success of any government, both should work in tandem. There is no way out.
Yes, if we have to address the issue of corruption at the government level, there has to be oneness of mind and approach and both treasury and opposition have to co-operate with each other. After all corruption is a national cancer.
However, it need not be a lost case. There are still V R Krishna Iyers, Santosh Hegdes, P.Sainaths, Arvind Kejriwals and their ilk. They can keep the hope alive for the civil society to take it further. Of course media can help, but then there are too many of them with their own agendas, thus their help is limited. Despite the odds the battle has to be carried on to make the governments at all levels to take some honest and sincere steps in right direction. Empowering Lokayuktas, CVC and VC at state levels, introducing transparency in administration, conducting RTI workshops to empower general public, involving high schools and colleges in the spread of RTI culture, making the police more humane and democratic, introducing judicial reforms to serve the ends of justice equitably and speedily, are some of the measures which can help in containing this cancer called CORRUPTION.
Can there ever be a way out?
“Of the world’s 100 largest economies reportedly, 51 are now corporations, only 49 are nation states. The sales of General Motors and Ford are greater than the gross domestic product of the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa, and Wal-Mart now has a turnover higher than the revenues of most of the states of Eastern Europe. Yet few of us understand fully the growing dominance of big business, of how corporations across the world manipulate and pressure governments by means both legal and illegal, and how corporations are taking over from the state responsibility for everything from providing technology for schools to health care for the community”, commented publisher Harper Collins on the book “The Silent Takeover” by the economist Dr Noreena Hertz, an Associate Director at the Centre for International Business at the Cambridge University.
“The Silent Takeover” according to them asks us to recognise the growing contradictions of a world divided between haves and have-nots, of gated communities next to ghettos, of extreme poverty and unbelievable wealth. These are faces of unacceptable extremes.
In the context of Radia Tape exposures, does this statement disturb us? Does it cause unease at the role of big money in the corridors of power in New Delhi?
The whole of media savvy public are aware of the CAG report that hit the headlines a few months ago, which informed that country has lost Rs. 1.76 lakhs crores, a huge sum by any reckoning, because of the apparently wrong process adopted by the DOT for the 2G spectrum allocation for mobile tele services. Whether the amount, as huge as that, is correct or not has to be found out. But it is very clear that some big loss has caused to the nation’s coffer, which means, some private individuals or corporates have become wrongful beneficiaries of this national loss. The question therefore that pops up is, was this benefit allowed to these private enterprise for some illegitimate gratification? Answer apparently, as per media speculation, is ‘yes’, and such illegal gratification runs into thousands of crores. Prima facie, there is a serious charge of very big money having changed hands. This aspect of 2G spectrum auction/allocation, brings us to what the book “The Silent Takeover” tells. Dr Noreena Hertz informs of “how corporations across the world manipulate and pressure governments by means both legal and illegal”
Does this mean, it’s the private enterprise which is the primary source of corruption?
Webster’s unabridged Dictionary of English language, gives the meaning of word ‘corruption’. It tells, among other meanings, that it, “applies to one especially in public office, who acts on mercenary motives, without regard to honour, right or justice!!
This clearly puts the onus on the one who takes or receives illegal gratification. It does not talk about the one who gives, or one who abates an action of illegal gratification. The fact is both are responsible and therefore answerable for their conduct.
For all the 63+ years of free India, if anybody makes a study of published matters by the press, the print media, one can be dead sure that no other subject, other than CORRUPTION must have been written the most. It has permeated into every possible area of give and take, and has affected a huge cross section of our population, across the board.
Answering why we are so corrupt, Mr N. Vittal, a former CVC had stated. “In our country there are five major players in the corruption scene. They are,
1) the Neta – the corrupt politician
2) the Baabu – the corrupt bureaucrat
3) the Laala - the corrupt businessman
4) the Jhola – the corrupt NGO.
5) the daada – the criminal of the underworld
Yes, the phenomenon of public relation (PR) consultants, although were there during his time, they were mostly innocuous. Radia’s Vaishnavi Communication rather burst into national scene by accident and has exposed a systemic dimension into the whole gamut of corruption in high places with huge monetary implication. It must have been there, all the while, but somehow did not appear in the surveillance radar.
According to Mr Vittal, there are five basic reasons why corruption flourishes in our system.
1) Scarcity of goods and services
2) Red tape and complicated rules and procedures
3) Lack of transparency in decision making
4) Legal cushions of safety, that every one is innocent until proved guilty.
5) Fraternity or biraadari among the corrupt who protect each other.
While the first two factors lead to small time sleaze, it is the third factor which leads to big time corruption. In fact this is the single most important cause of corruption. Areas where lack of information can facilitate the sleaze are, buying of assets for governments use or that of any department or company owned by government, or any government schemes where large amounts are expended. The lack of information can leave the public in dark, who could be the beneficiary of the scheme in some form or the other. Non-transparency in sale of government assets or properties can cause huge loss of revenue to government which is primarily tax payers money. There are areas such as government contracts, project clearances, recruitments and many other governmental commitments involving huge money and have the potential of big money changing hands.
In recent times we have heard of many scandals or scams involving humongous size of the money. Go back to news reports of just a few months. The entire festival season, started on 1st Sept 2010, with Shri Krishna Janmashtami, to Ramzaan, to Ganesh Chathurthi, to Navaraathri, to Vijaya Dashami, to Deepavali, to Moharrum to Christmas was full of scams of all kinds. Not one but close to a ‘dirty dozen’.
You have CWG scams involving hundreds of crores. Some Rs. 70000 crores expenditure for the entire Common Wealth Games, need accountability. Then you have Adarsh Housing scam in South Mumbai involving Army land swallowed by politicians, baabus and other influence peddlers. Then you have Lavaasa city development project near Pune involving hundreds of acres of tribal and government land, usurped by Big money and politician nexus. 2G spectrum auction was already known to have caused some Rs. 60000 crores loss to the nation, couple of years ago. But the latest report from the Comptroller & Auditor General of India has stated that country has lost Rs 1,76,000 crores. This amount is enough to upgrade our road net work for the whole country that can give a gallop push to the cross country economic activity and development. Then there is Radia tape episode involving a PR firm of lobbyists in the corridors of power in New Delhi. Lobbyists are basically influence peddlers who work towards national detriment, most of the time, to promote their self interest. Then there is this appointment of Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). The latest appointment is mired in completely avoidable controversy of all kinds. Why a person of ‘questionable past’ was appointed to a position of ‘impeccable integrity’ is never answered.
Then you have land scams involving ministers in Karnataka government, and governor in Bangalore is trying to fish in the troubled waters there. There are also cases involving manganese ore mining, involving very big money. They are state’s properties but leased for peanuts for political friends, virtually amounting to loot of public money for private gain. News from Tamil Nadu is similar, where Tamil Nadu Housing Board houses have been given to friends and relatives of politicians and baabus. Many have been allotted with premium plots for well below the market rate, causing big loss to the state.
To think that these scandals or scams were of only last few months, can we imagine what could be the size of amount which must have been lost to the national exchequer during all those 60+ past years of free India? It is beyond any reasonable imagination and comprehension to size-up the amount. We have been hearing of trillions of $ stashed away in Swiss Banks and other tax havens. This again takes us back to the book “The Silent Takeover” which asks us ‘to recognize the growing contradiction of a world divided between haves & have-nots, of gated communities next to ghettos, of extreme poverty and unbelievable wealth, the faces of unacceptable extremes’.
Media had reported about the charge by a former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan made, that half the Supreme Court chief justices of being definitely corrupt. We have this Soumitra Sen a Calcutta High Court judge not resigning despite an imminent impeachment proceedings in parliament for financial mis-conduct. Then the episode involving former Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan going silent on former union minister Raja, and sticking to his gun in the face of pointed disagreement. Other day Ratan Tata disclosed why he had to drop a plan to start an airline jointly with Singapore Airlines, because union minister incharge of civil aviation at that time demanded Rs. 15 crores for the grant of licence. It was the same Ratan Tata who got bugged by the disclosures of Radia Tapes and went hammer and tong accusing media of encroaching his private domain. There were accusations and counter accusations of how much Tatas have made or did not make in this spectrum allocations. In the muddy waters, nothing was appearing either clean or clear. Then there is this notorious Dr Ketan Mehta, a former chairman of Indian Medical Council. He was found with 1 ton gold, besides huge boxes containing hard cash. One ton gold can’t be accumulated in a month, it could have been going on for years. So the loot was going on, all the while. It is not for nothing that Transparency International has ranked us 87 in their Corruption Perception Index.
Thus stories of sleaze in India is an unremitting saga, where we accused, for the most part, politicians, government functionaries, judiciary etc., besides ordinary citizens. But what about private enterprise, the corporate sector? Go back in time, the Mundra case involving LIC. The then finance minister T.T. Krishnamachari had to quit the cabinet post he held in the Nehru government. There have been many cases involving private sector. Some of the high profile success stories of private companies are a long story of sordid tales of equally high profile corruption. All media savvy readers are privy to the fact that copies of the confidential papers of parliament proceedings found its way to some of the corporate office drawers of its top executives. Does these papers go gallivanting and lost its way and landed into these securely locked drawers? Of course no explanations are needed to postulate that big money had changed hands. Non transparency is the source of the high stake corruption.
During the last 63 years as a free nation, we all know that the rich and powerful have grown more rich and more powerful and poor have become poorer and more powerless. This state of affairs is not only because of shoddy developmental priorities or governance failures, but also because of unchecked corruption where, as Rajeev Gandhi put it, only 15 paise reached the target and 85 paise got lost in transit, siphoned off by well heeled civil society. Thus corruption played its sinister role in widening the social divide.
Yes we are corrupt. Rather very corrupt. So what do we do? Surely we cannot have a tainted CVC PJ Thomas. We need to have somebody else of impeccable integrity.
Karnataka has Lokayukta and upalokayukta headed by retired Supreme Court justice and High Court justice. Justice Santhosh Hegde, the current Lokayukta, is having a kind of running battle with the Karnataka government, may be for all right reasons. But the government is not giving him free hand. If the government in Bangalore, or for that matter any government, if they truly want to help reduce corruption they should have these Lokyuktas with adequate powers, instead of the paper tigers they are, at the moment.
But quite frankly, will it ever be possible to eradicate corruption completely? No, its an emphatic capital ‘NO’. But certainly possible to reduce it to a great level. Every government, every where in India, has spoken about the corruption disease, but it was only treated it in the out patient department (OPD) or at best at casualty, for it to come back again and again. What is needed is surgery, because corruption has become gangrenous. It needs amputation in part. Yes our criminal justice system is wonky. Powerful corrupt politicians and baabus have managed to retain whatever they looted from the system and managed to remain at a safe distance from the law of the land. They are the criminals and perpetrators of continued crimes. Many years ago telecommunication minister Sukh Ram was caught with rupees three crores cash. What happened to him and his case? He is on an ever extending bail. One day he will inevitably die, leaving the loot to his progeny. And case will be closed with a note “accused died”. And life shall go on.
Now look at this haggling, the impasse in the Loksabha, over the setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). For all 23 days of the parliament in session, the Loksabha was seized of only one issue, JPC. Combined opposition demanded it, yet the ruling combine refused to budge from their stand of PAC (Public Accts Committee ) shall go into the problem of 2G spectrum allocation. As whole of India has learnt that Comptroller & Auditor General has put the loss at Rs. 176000 crores. It’s a huge sum to be wasted on debates to set up a committee. If the government is serious to unearth the details of beneficiaries of the alleged loot, they just have to go with opposition and complete quickly the whole exercise. But no, the ruling combine wouldn’t want to go for JPC. It is surely afraid of something very serious. What is it? Nothing can be wagered. Every media observer would vouch that congress party steadfastly and aggressively protects the image of Congress Party President, her children and her late husband. Is there anything in the 2G scam that could besmirch this image? No other explanation appears plausible, for this steely obduracy.
So, if the ruling party is not very sincere and serious about tackling corruption then this indeed is the problem. The photograph of Manmohan Singh, the PM and LK Advani, the opposition leader greeting / but not greeting each other is a reflection of the cross purposes towards which both of them work. This attitude of the ruling combine of riding rough shod over the opposition cannot bring about bonhomie in its functioning. For the success of any government, both should work in tandem. There is no way out.
Yes, if we have to address the issue of corruption at the government level, there has to be oneness of mind and approach and both treasury and opposition have to co-operate with each other. After all corruption is a national cancer.
However, it need not be a lost case. There are still V R Krishna Iyers, Santosh Hegdes, P.Sainaths, Arvind Kejriwals and their ilk. They can keep the hope alive for the civil society to take it further. Of course media can help, but then there are too many of them with their own agendas, thus their help is limited. Despite the odds the battle has to be carried on to make the governments at all levels to take some honest and sincere steps in right direction. Empowering Lokayuktas, CVC and VC at state levels, introducing transparency in administration, conducting RTI workshops to empower general public, involving high schools and colleges in the spread of RTI culture, making the police more humane and democratic, introducing judicial reforms to serve the ends of justice equitably and speedily, are some of the measures which can help in containing this cancer called CORRUPTION.
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