Ram:
>Every state should have a vigilance division.
*** Not a bad idea.
Let us see how it might work:
decides that a
project should be on, and the Tehelka described
I could be wrong on the details here ands there, but
substantially it will be like the above, won't it?
So what we are proposing is a replacement for a DEFUNCT and
DYSFUNCTIONAL justice system--an essential component of democratic
governance, with a VC without any teeth.
Why?
Obviously because we know that if it goes thru the court-of-law
route, it probably won't even get a hearing in a life-time.( BTW, what
is the status of the Assam Govt. charge-sheeting dozens of IAS
types and politicians on the LoC scam? Remember the AT report you
forwarded? Is it moving along on track?)
It is like this move these days ( and it is NOT even in Assam) to
have the freedom to vote for NONE among a slate of candidates in an
election, as an antidote for having to vote and select someone from
among a slate of criminals
or fools. This also implies that the Govt. has cornered the right
of the citizen NOT to VOTE. Does this sound right to you? If there is
truth, it would be a whole lot worse than Singapore's PLP :-).
Anyway, Ram, do you see what I am getting at?
There is no alternative to depending upon FUNCTIONING
institutions of governance. If they don't function, they must be
changed, they must be reformed and made to work again.
But here is a much bigger problem as well. I will get to
that in a while. Just so I don't forget, or get
sidetracked--there are so many distractions to attend to :-), please
remind me to address the BIGGER PROBLEM or the BP.
c-da
At 7:21 PM -0500 5/20/05, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
C'da
> How do you propose doing it? Conceptually that is. I don't expect you
> to write up laws or actual procedures for implementation, unlike some
> of you expect me to do for example :-).
If such scams are rampant in the NE, then obviously we have the fox
guarding the hen house.
I am no constitutional/law expert in producing a treatse, but here is a try:
Every state should have a vigilance division. If these divisions were
NOT corrupt, then we wouldn't be faced by such situations is the first
place. The Assam Sales Tax is one such place. The place is rife with
corrupt tax inspectors, who have looted (in crores of RS.) the state
treasure, over many generations.
The ministers, unscruplous businesses and bureaucrats must be
hand-in-glove in these scams.
To clean house, the outrage must come from the people. Just like the
outrage against illegal B'deshis, where a group of citizens are taking
it among themslves to do so, so too must citizens expose these scam
artists in the garbs of ministers or breaucrats. The media can help
expose.
If there is a will, and people want to call these miscreants to
carpet, it can be done. If all we can do is immerse ourselves in self
pity, and wait for the Center to 'tell us not to scam' then we
shouldn't worry at all.
If its a generational thing these scams, how is it that the good
people reelect these people again and again? Whats wrong with the
picture here?
--Ram
On 5/20/05, Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Ram:
>
> There are profound flaws in some of your arguments. I will explain
> later. But first,
>
> > Its time to get the house in order, IMHO.
>
>
> How do you propose doing it? Conceptually that is. I don't expect you
> to write up laws or actual procedures for implementation, unlike some
> of you expect me to do for example :-).
>
> c-da
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> At 6:02 PM -0500 5/20/05, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
> >C'da,
> >
> >I am appalled on two counts.
> >One of course, by the enormity and the sheer ease by these scams have
> >been perpetrated on the NE people. I truly sympathize with the real
> >victims - the people.
> >
> >The second, is how the article shifts the blame on Delhi because it
> >did not pay attention to the scams.
> >Shouldn't one be outraged by the ministers an businesses who scammed
> >the people first? The different State Govts (the primary watchdogs) of
> >the respective NE can then be asked why they have been napping.
> >When we get enough answers, we can then ask the Center, why they have
> >been neglecting the scams in the NE.
> >
> >This is atrocious, if someone's home were to be robbed, the first
> >anger should be against the thieves, then the local cops, and finally
> >the Justice Dept.
> >
> >Something like the lottery scams are controlled by the State Govt.
> >There are procedures. My guess would be that until & unless the State
> >Govt. asks the Center's help, the Center can't do much.
> >
> >Now, it would be understandable, if it were a income tax evasion scam.
> >In that event, the IT department & the Center would be responsible.
> >
> >BTW: I did not see anywhere in the article, that Central Govt.
> >officials or Ministers were involved (atleast those from outside the
> >states). What does that tell us?
> >More than likely, the scams, the artists, the players, and the victims
> >were all of the local variety.
> >Its time to get the house in order, IMHO.
> >
> >--Ram
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >On 5/20/05, Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >> This story, as incomplete a picture as it is, does point to certain
> >> issues that are often overlooked by some of our friends here in Assam
> >> Net for example, and by most Indians. To get a better understanding
> >> of how and why exactly these can take place and with such impunity
> >> one needs to read Sanjib Baruah's book DURABLE DISORDER,
> >> Understanding the Politics of Northeast India, which I have started
> >> reading, finally.
> >>
> >> cm
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Scam as scam can
> >>
> >> Corruption prospers in the Northeast because it bothers so few
> >>
> >> By Nitin A. Gokhale
> >>
> >> The eight states of the Northeast may be unique in most respects but
> >> when it comes to big-time financial scams, the region is no different
> >> than the rest of India: Politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen gang
> >> up to rob the exchequer of big amounts in the Northeast as they do
> >> across the country. For scamsters in the region the colour of money
> >> is same as in any part of India. There is, however, one unique thing
> >> about scams in the Northeast - no one is unduly perturbed, no one
> >> gets punished and all is forgotten with time.
> >>
> >> Being outside the radar screens of New Delhi, most corrupt practices
> >> and big-time scams in the Northeast
> >> go unnoticed and unreported
> >> Financial irregularities, running into hundreds of crores of rupees,
> >> have been uncovered in the region more frequently than anywhere else.
> >> The Rs 300-crore lottery scandal in Nagaland; the Rs 250-crore import
> >> of palmoline oil scandal; the Rs 197-crore power department scam or
> >> the latest Rs 100-crore fci supply scam, the list is endless. Those
> >> in the know have even coined a term for these scandals. They are
> >> called the 60:40 scandals.
> >>
> >> This is how they work. The well-informed bureaucrat proposes a
> >> scheme, the politician endorses it and the ubiquitous businessman
> >> implements it - all on paper! Then the spoils are shared 60:40 - 30
> >> percent each goes to the politician and the bureaucrat and the rest
> >> is pocketed by the trader.
> >>
> >> All these swindles have been well documented and written about but
> > > none of the culprits has been taken to task. Many of them continue to
> >> be active and flourishing politicians or bureaucrats. Businessmen,
> >> under the patronage of the politician-bureaucrat nexus, carry on
> >> defrauding governments in the Northeast with impunity. If any of
> >> these scandals had taken place in the so-called mainland India,
> >> someone would have made a song and dance - the opposition, the media,
> >> civil society groups.
> >>
> >> But India's Northeast appears immune to any of these reactions to
> >> big-time scams. Mainly because, like with most other aspects of
> >> governance, the region suffers from the 'out-of-sight-out-of-mind'
> >> syndrome. Being outside the radar screens of New Delhi, most corrupt
> >> practices that take place in the Northeast go unnoticed and
> >> unreported. In some cases, the watchdogs in Delhi get co-opted. The
> >> Opposition in the state does not raise a voice since its members have
> >> shared the loot during their time in power. The media, in most
> >> Northeast states is weak, dependent, with a few exceptions, upon
> >> government largesse and therefore subservient. Given the combination
> >> of these factors, no one should be surprised that big-ticket
> >> financial scams in the Northeast get a decent burial after creating a
> >> few ripples.
> >> _______________________________________________
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