Political Diary

New Delhi, 7 July 2012

Open Licence To Loot

PUBLIC FUNDS, APNA MONEY, MONEY!

By Poonam I Kaushish

Government money is nobody’s money. This maxim was ruthlessly underscored once again last week. When UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in his pompous magnanimity announced that MLAs could buy SUV worth Rs 20 lakhs from their Local Area Development Scheme (LADS) to facilitate better mobility of their constituencies. Sic. Silly me, why did I think that India’s youngest Chief Minister all of 38 years old would usher in a new bahaar of governance? Forgetting that in rajniti, public funds translate in to Apna money, money!

Why blame Yadav? In the last 19 years since its inception in 1993, the MPLADS followed by MLALAD are synonymous with an open licence to loot of the aam aadmi’s hard earned money. So deep is the malaise that Trinamool’s  MP Kabir Suman in a tell-all two years back revealed, “Local leaders who already control Rs 400 crore of the panchayat samiti and zilla parishad monies, want the funds and won’t let me spend Rs 1 crore of the Rs 2 crore I receive annually on installing 44 deep tube-wells in my constituency.”

Even a ‘sting’ in 2006 whereby seven MPs were caught seeking bribes for doling out contracts under the MPLADS made not an iota of difference.  India’s dalit messiah Mayawati brazenly directed her MPs in 2003 to part with a part of the “commissions” they made from their MPLADS for Party coffers. She said, “Arre bhai sub miljul kar khao”.  Adding, that even the most honest MP makes Rs 50 lakh annually by sitting at home. 

Most scandalously, various CAG reports have pointed out that funds meant for public good are siphoned off to greedy private pockets. Think. Utilisation of the fund ranged from 37% to 52% during 2004-2009. In 23 States works under the scheme had not been inspected, 90% of district magistrates did not maintain an assets or works register. In 6 States, 12 districts showed advance released as ‘utilised’ in ‘utilisation certificate’, thus inflating expenditure figure which peaked during elections. In a sample audit of 106 constituencies, it was found that of a total expenditure of Rs 265 crores reported by the collectors, Rs 82 crores, (31%) was not incurred at all.

The modus operandi is simple. An MP/MLA in connivance with the DM ensures a cut out of every scheme recommended by inflating the cost and taking kickbacks from the contractors. The babu is happy and he makes the MP happier. A smart duo nets up to a maximum of Rs 2.5 crore of Rs 5 crore and an honest duo a minimum of Rs 1 crore. Asserted one, it is a "kind of financial rehabilitation package for the political cadre." For their “protection”, or for other “services”.

Indeed, if you think this is damning, think again. In Hyderabad, over 50% corporators have not used laptops given by the Government to keep track of their wards activities and respond to email grievances of residents, simply because they do not know how to operate them! Of these, some are gathering dust or in being used by their children and not a few have sold them off.

In Chandigarh, residents are outraged by their netagan wasting money by replacing tiles in good condition with new ones on footpaths. Any wonder, aam aadmi ko gussa kyoin atta hai. Demonstrating the urgent need to scrap the MPLADS/MLALADS.

The buck does not stop there. Shockingly, over Rs 30 crore has been spent by various Ministries during 2009-2011 on print and TV advertisements on eulogizing Party leaders on their birth and death anniversaries. What to speak of blowing their own trumpets on completion of 100 days, one year et al year after year. In Delhi, Sheila Dikshit’s Government spent Rs 22.5 crores in 2008-09 on advertisement, just prior to the Assembly polls.

Sadly, there is no agency which can stop public funds from being wasted. Notwithstanding, expert views expressed by various committees. In 2002, the National Commission to Review the Working of Constitution (NCWRC) sought “immediate discontinuance of the MPLAD Scheme”, saying it was “inconsistent with the spirit of the Constitution in many ways”.

In 2005, Sonia’s National Advisory Council (NAC) said “dispense with it” and give the funds “directly to the panchayats and municipalities”. The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) headed by the Union Minister, Veerappa Moily, said in 2007 “schemes such as MPLADS and MLALADS should be abolished”.

Former Chief Justice of India Justice. Venkataramiah, called it an “assault on the Constitution”. Said he, “The scheme not only interferes with the federal scheme but also with the healthy Constitutional principle of separation of powers. There is no provision in the Constitution, conferring power on individual MPs for spending public money or giving directions to any officer, particularly an officer belonging to a State public service, on any matter.

In fact, India is the only country where legislators have the powers to dispense money and favours. In the US, the State imposes penalties for Government finance officers who mismanage public funds. Not only are they removed but barred from holding public office for four years and thereafter until restitution is paid. “When somebody’s got the cheque-book with taxpayer money in it, they’re armed and dangerous and it’s important that people have the way to correct the situation ... before another election comes around”, said a Senator.

Sadly, our leaders act like modern-day feudal maharajas. Whereby they expect the aam janata to prostrate before them. Thus, in this leech infested environment of the uundata takes it all, our carpet baggars refuse to let up. Making it imperative for us to have a code of conduct and ethics in place to minimize the Executives’ violations of regulations including unjustified misuse of public funds.

In a country where 70% of the population is poor and which is run by five-year plans wherein enormous monies are disbursed to various development schemes, which goes into private hands, the time for citizens to understand what happens with the taxes they pay, why public transport is so poorly managed and why the public parks look neglected. Without this awareness, how will citizens stop the loot?

Pertinently, Vijaywada’s 63 municipal corporations have achieved the unthinkable. They have taken a formal credit rating, signifying their interest in creating a public profile and tapping the capital markets for their funding needs. They share their audited financial statements online and the accounts are certified internally by the municipal auditors and the CAG whose reports are submitted to the Assembly.

After all, arbitrary exercise of power, mala fide discretion, cronyism, nepotism and favouritism are dangerous for the country’s future democratic credentials.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh needs to recall his speech during a Short Duration Discussion in the Rajya Sabha on 10 December 2003, on charges of diversion of the MPLADS funds. As Opposition Leader, said he: "If you allow things to go this way, people will lose faith in politicians and the democratic system of governance. This will be a mockery of our legal system also." A democracy cannot allow exercise of public funds as private spending. What says you?  ----- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)