The Supreme Court (SC) sought to strengthen the hands of investigating agencies on Thursday as it said witness corroboration was not necessary in a case of bribery by a public servant.
“Bribe is not taken in public view and, therefore, there may not be any person who could see the giving and taking of bribe,” a bench of justices Harjit Sigh Bedi and Chandramaulikar Prasad said while rejecting an appeal by CM Sharma.
Sharma, who has been charged by CBI with taking bribe from a contractor when he was deputy chief engineer (electrifications), South Central Railway, was challenging his conviction by the Andhra Pradesh high court.
SC rejected the argument of Sharma’s counsel that since there was no eyewitness he could not be held guilty of bribery by a court of law, saying CBI had established the charge against the accused.
A shadow witness had accompanied the contractor but Sharma did not allow him to be present in his chamber where money changed hands.
SC said if Sharma’s submission is accepted in abstract, it would “encourage the bribe taker to receive illegal gratification in privacy and then insist on corroboration in case of prosecution”. “Law cannot countenance such a situation,” the judges said. They also explained the term ‘accomplice’ which is not defined in Evidence Act. “A person concerned in the commission of crime, a partner in crime and associate in guilt is an accomplice,” SC said.
A witness forced to pay on promise of doing or forbearing to do an official act by a public servant is not a partner in crime and therefore, not an accomplice, the court said, adding that the contractor who paid the bribe to Sharma can’t be an accomplice in the crime.
“Bribe is not taken in public view and, therefore, there may not be any person who could see the giving and taking of bribe,” a bench of justices Harjit Sigh Bedi and Chandramaulikar Prasad said while rejecting an appeal by CM Sharma.
Sharma, who has been charged by CBI with taking bribe from a contractor when he was deputy chief engineer (electrifications), South Central Railway, was challenging his conviction by the Andhra Pradesh high court.
SC rejected the argument of Sharma’s counsel that since there was no eyewitness he could not be held guilty of bribery by a court of law, saying CBI had established the charge against the accused.
A shadow witness had accompanied the contractor but Sharma did not allow him to be present in his chamber where money changed hands.
SC said if Sharma’s submission is accepted in abstract, it would “encourage the bribe taker to receive illegal gratification in privacy and then insist on corroboration in case of prosecution”. “Law cannot countenance such a situation,” the judges said. They also explained the term ‘accomplice’ which is not defined in Evidence Act. “A person concerned in the commission of crime, a partner in crime and associate in guilt is an accomplice,” SC said.
A witness forced to pay on promise of doing or forbearing to do an official act by a public servant is not a partner in crime and therefore, not an accomplice, the court said, adding that the contractor who paid the bribe to Sharma can’t be an accomplice in the crime.
All for chai-paani
Ever seen the expression on the faces of passengers the moment they see a railway ticket examiner catch someone travelling without a ticket? It has ‘thank-god-it-wasn’t-me’ written all over it.
Why not? We love recounting boastful stories about how we ‘got away’ scot-free, how our ‘baggage was unchecked’, or how nobody ‘asked for our identification’.
Corruption is a crime. Paying a bribe is also one. However, accepting the notion that the bribe is to be paid anyway, only worsens the malaise, since in this instance, acceptance is a sign that society has succumbed to it.
In a mission to fight corruption, in August this year, a non-profit organisation launched a website called ‘I Paid a Bribe’ (www.ipaidabribe.com), which allowed users to anonymously declare and share accounts of when they paid, accepted or declined a bribe. The website, in this way, also claims to track the ‘market price of corruption’.
Awanti Bele, one of the people behind IPaidaBribe, says, “Discussing corruption evokes a familiar pattern of reactions. Most people accept it as inevitable and unavoidable. Many even say that nothing should be done about it; that it’s a form of gift-giving and that at least, the corrupt deliver efficiently. Most people also see corruption as a social trend arising out of an erosion of value systems.”
According to the research by Janaagraha, the organisation which runs the website, there are seven common excuses for accepting and condoning corruption.
1. Corruption is everywhere. 2. Corruption always existed. 3. The concept of corruption is vague and culturally determined. 4. Cleansing will require a whole change in attitudes and values. 5. Corruption is not harmful; it is the grease that moves the economic engine. 6. Nothing can be done if the people at the top are corrupt and corruption is systematic. 7. Don’t worry, with the free market, it will eventually go away.
On Ipaidabribe.com, the most commonly reported instances of payment of bribes are related to any form of registration, police complaint, municipal service, motor vehicles department, and electricity supply.
“There’s an interesting thing about the count of reports and the amounts,” Bele says. “As registration-related bribes are of a high denomination, purely by amount, a registration department will have a larger figure collected as bribes. But the more frequent bribes are given to cops, and these include traffic violations, passport verification, etc.”
Unfortunately, in popular culture or even in real life, there is no Howard Roark-like figure of inspiration. Is there any public figure who is testimony to having resisted corruption throughout his/her lifetime? A jog in memory lane and you’ll be able to recollect only the biggest scamsters in Indian history. Art and culture, both of which have a strong role to play in creating and nurturing a mindset of zero tolerance to corruption, on the contrary, portray the futility of standing up to corruption (unless it’s a Rajnikanth film).
For example, Rang De Basanti, considered a landmark in arousing the conscience of India’s GenNext, depicts three young protagonists being nailed down by the government after they’ve assassinated a corrupt politician.
Dombivli Fast, a cult film amongst Marathi audiences, narrates the story of Madhav Apte, a middle-class professional. He gets so fed up of corruption in day-to-day life that one fine day, annoyed over an extra rupee charged for a bottle of cola, he loses his mind and becomes a vigilante. He goes on to destroy everything corrupt that comes his way, and is eventually killed in a police encounter.
On the other hand, you have Mani Ratnam’s Guru, which celebrates the crony capitalism of one of the country’s biggest business barons as the way to become a billionaire. Some may say Sanjay Dutt’s Munnabhai brought Gandhigiri to the masses, but that was only presented as an alternative way to tackle corruption, it wasn’t a solution.
At the recently held TEDxGateway conference in Mumbai, Wall Street Journal columnist and CEO, Vu Technologies, Devita Saraf championed the ‘art of jugaad’, which, she believes, will differentiate India from the rest of the world in the days to come.
‘Jugaad’, literally translated, means making sense of the chaos and still delivering results. On the topic of corruption, Saraf says, “Greasing a few palms seems like an easy and convenient option for many people. But bribes never stop at one. If you pay the first bribe, be prepared to pay another and yet another.” For starry-eyed entrepreneurs who are looking to make a mark in business, she has a word of advice. “Stay out of a business that requires regular bribes and corruption. Don’t get into a dirty industry and then complain that your hands got soiled.”
Professor Nandini Vaidyanathan, who teaches at several Ivy-league colleges and is an alumnus of the London School of Economics, says, “Bribing is not Hobson’s choice although people would like you to believe that. Corruption is a two-way street, operating under the market economics of demand and supply. If the supply side doesn’t exist, the demand will lose steam.”
She agrees that there is no reason to believe that our politicians should be morally upright and clean, considering the people they seek to serve, are more than keen to jump the queue. “We ourselves invented this hydra-headed monster called corruption and then we kept feeding it. Now that it has overwhelmed us, we’re trying to invent a Ulysses to kill it. But creating a Ulysses has to be an act of conscious volition, not empty noise.”
Why not? We love recounting boastful stories about how we ‘got away’ scot-free, how our ‘baggage was unchecked’, or how nobody ‘asked for our identification’.
Corruption is a crime. Paying a bribe is also one. However, accepting the notion that the bribe is to be paid anyway, only worsens the malaise, since in this instance, acceptance is a sign that society has succumbed to it.
In a mission to fight corruption, in August this year, a non-profit organisation launched a website called ‘I Paid a Bribe’ (www.ipaidabribe.com), which allowed users to anonymously declare and share accounts of when they paid, accepted or declined a bribe. The website, in this way, also claims to track the ‘market price of corruption’.
Awanti Bele, one of the people behind IPaidaBribe, says, “Discussing corruption evokes a familiar pattern of reactions. Most people accept it as inevitable and unavoidable. Many even say that nothing should be done about it; that it’s a form of gift-giving and that at least, the corrupt deliver efficiently. Most people also see corruption as a social trend arising out of an erosion of value systems.”
According to the research by Janaagraha, the organisation which runs the website, there are seven common excuses for accepting and condoning corruption.
1. Corruption is everywhere. 2. Corruption always existed. 3. The concept of corruption is vague and culturally determined. 4. Cleansing will require a whole change in attitudes and values. 5. Corruption is not harmful; it is the grease that moves the economic engine. 6. Nothing can be done if the people at the top are corrupt and corruption is systematic. 7. Don’t worry, with the free market, it will eventually go away.
On Ipaidabribe.com, the most commonly reported instances of payment of bribes are related to any form of registration, police complaint, municipal service, motor vehicles department, and electricity supply.
“There’s an interesting thing about the count of reports and the amounts,” Bele says. “As registration-related bribes are of a high denomination, purely by amount, a registration department will have a larger figure collected as bribes. But the more frequent bribes are given to cops, and these include traffic violations, passport verification, etc.”
Unfortunately, in popular culture or even in real life, there is no Howard Roark-like figure of inspiration. Is there any public figure who is testimony to having resisted corruption throughout his/her lifetime? A jog in memory lane and you’ll be able to recollect only the biggest scamsters in Indian history. Art and culture, both of which have a strong role to play in creating and nurturing a mindset of zero tolerance to corruption, on the contrary, portray the futility of standing up to corruption (unless it’s a Rajnikanth film).
For example, Rang De Basanti, considered a landmark in arousing the conscience of India’s GenNext, depicts three young protagonists being nailed down by the government after they’ve assassinated a corrupt politician.
Dombivli Fast, a cult film amongst Marathi audiences, narrates the story of Madhav Apte, a middle-class professional. He gets so fed up of corruption in day-to-day life that one fine day, annoyed over an extra rupee charged for a bottle of cola, he loses his mind and becomes a vigilante. He goes on to destroy everything corrupt that comes his way, and is eventually killed in a police encounter.
On the other hand, you have Mani Ratnam’s Guru, which celebrates the crony capitalism of one of the country’s biggest business barons as the way to become a billionaire. Some may say Sanjay Dutt’s Munnabhai brought Gandhigiri to the masses, but that was only presented as an alternative way to tackle corruption, it wasn’t a solution.
At the recently held TEDxGateway conference in Mumbai, Wall Street Journal columnist and CEO, Vu Technologies, Devita Saraf championed the ‘art of jugaad’, which, she believes, will differentiate India from the rest of the world in the days to come.
‘Jugaad’, literally translated, means making sense of the chaos and still delivering results. On the topic of corruption, Saraf says, “Greasing a few palms seems like an easy and convenient option for many people. But bribes never stop at one. If you pay the first bribe, be prepared to pay another and yet another.” For starry-eyed entrepreneurs who are looking to make a mark in business, she has a word of advice. “Stay out of a business that requires regular bribes and corruption. Don’t get into a dirty industry and then complain that your hands got soiled.”
Professor Nandini Vaidyanathan, who teaches at several Ivy-league colleges and is an alumnus of the London School of Economics, says, “Bribing is not Hobson’s choice although people would like you to believe that. Corruption is a two-way street, operating under the market economics of demand and supply. If the supply side doesn’t exist, the demand will lose steam.”
She agrees that there is no reason to believe that our politicians should be morally upright and clean, considering the people they seek to serve, are more than keen to jump the queue. “We ourselves invented this hydra-headed monster called corruption and then we kept feeding it. Now that it has overwhelmed us, we’re trying to invent a Ulysses to kill it. But creating a Ulysses has to be an act of conscious volition, not empty noise.”
It’s hardly a gentleman’s game these days
Whatever the reason, some Tweeters are now having to face the real world and in this real world both Shashi Tharoor and Lalit Modi will either lose their jobs or have their wings clipped considerably.
A lot of questions are begging to be asked. Like who are Gaikwads and do engineering skills equip you to run a sporting franchise?
Sunanda Pushkar modestly says that, “people cannot accept that an attractive woman can also be a business woman.” As it happens, most people can accept that an attractive woman can be a businesswoman. In fact, most people will welcome attractive women being businesswomen.
The point Sunanda Pushkar misses — quite possibly deliberately — is that it’s not her face that people are bothered about, it is what’s behind that face.
When she talks about ‘extensive international business experience’ is it as extensive and so unusual that it merits Rs69 crore sweat equity?
And that, too, given as a percentage fixed in perpetuity and guaranteed against dilution? How many IIM graduates with international experience of a few years are given a deal like that? So if people call this a sweetheart deal with a snigger, do you blame them?
Apart from the Kochi franchise’s less than credible foundation, the income-tax and enforcement department’s investigations will finally give us some clarity on the ownership of other franchises.
Here we have to ask the central question: Why were the IPL franchises covered by “a code of confidentiality” (in the words of the BCCI secretary)? Any company formed in this country is subject to a host of regulations, including full disclosure of shareholding. Why should IPL be different?
Some might argue that owning a franchise is a kind of private investment such as buying real estate or art which does not have to be publicly disclosed.
But that argument cannot hold when you consider how very public the IPL is. In fact, its success depends on the very fact that people across the country take a huge interest in IPL.
That does not include just the cricket itself but also the finances of the team, the cost of each player and who owns what. In such a situation, it’s wrong to ask for confidentiality.
This cloak of secrecy has already fuelled ugly rumours about slush funds, black money and even underworld money coming into the IPL. Is that good for the tournament or good for cricket?
Lalit Modi’s own conduct has been arrogant in the extreme as if the success of IPL somehow puts him above good business practices and even above the law.
What is immeasurably worse is that seemingly intelligent people are saying IPL matches are fixed and they are saying it with absolute certainty.
A moment’s thought will tell you it is impossible to fix cricket matches.
How do you fix a game where 22 people are playing? Do you ‘fix’ all of them? And do you ‘fix’ all 22 in the next match? Are all cricketers such good actors that they can put on such a show of celebration when they get a wicket?
Some say you need to bribe only a couple of players to fix a match. How absurd is that? We have seen again and again that even when two key batsmen fail, there are others who play a winning innings.
What about dropped catches? “That’s fixed!” the conspiracy theorists say. In that case the ball must be bribed to find the fielder who has been fixed so he can drop the catch! How do you bribe a ball? With promise of extra spittle?
Absurd though this kind of talk is, it shows that once a game gets murky, it begins to lose all credibility. That’s why it’s important to get to the bottom of IPL finances.
It’s not just Tharoor, Modi and the others who are on trial. It’s the game of cricket itself.
A lot of questions are begging to be asked. Like who are Gaikwads and do engineering skills equip you to run a sporting franchise?
Sunanda Pushkar modestly says that, “people cannot accept that an attractive woman can also be a business woman.” As it happens, most people can accept that an attractive woman can be a businesswoman. In fact, most people will welcome attractive women being businesswomen.
The point Sunanda Pushkar misses — quite possibly deliberately — is that it’s not her face that people are bothered about, it is what’s behind that face.
When she talks about ‘extensive international business experience’ is it as extensive and so unusual that it merits Rs69 crore sweat equity?
And that, too, given as a percentage fixed in perpetuity and guaranteed against dilution? How many IIM graduates with international experience of a few years are given a deal like that? So if people call this a sweetheart deal with a snigger, do you blame them?
Apart from the Kochi franchise’s less than credible foundation, the income-tax and enforcement department’s investigations will finally give us some clarity on the ownership of other franchises.
Here we have to ask the central question: Why were the IPL franchises covered by “a code of confidentiality” (in the words of the BCCI secretary)? Any company formed in this country is subject to a host of regulations, including full disclosure of shareholding. Why should IPL be different?
Some might argue that owning a franchise is a kind of private investment such as buying real estate or art which does not have to be publicly disclosed.
But that argument cannot hold when you consider how very public the IPL is. In fact, its success depends on the very fact that people across the country take a huge interest in IPL.
That does not include just the cricket itself but also the finances of the team, the cost of each player and who owns what. In such a situation, it’s wrong to ask for confidentiality.
This cloak of secrecy has already fuelled ugly rumours about slush funds, black money and even underworld money coming into the IPL. Is that good for the tournament or good for cricket?
Lalit Modi’s own conduct has been arrogant in the extreme as if the success of IPL somehow puts him above good business practices and even above the law.
What is immeasurably worse is that seemingly intelligent people are saying IPL matches are fixed and they are saying it with absolute certainty.
A moment’s thought will tell you it is impossible to fix cricket matches.
How do you fix a game where 22 people are playing? Do you ‘fix’ all of them? And do you ‘fix’ all 22 in the next match? Are all cricketers such good actors that they can put on such a show of celebration when they get a wicket?
Some say you need to bribe only a couple of players to fix a match. How absurd is that? We have seen again and again that even when two key batsmen fail, there are others who play a winning innings.
What about dropped catches? “That’s fixed!” the conspiracy theorists say. In that case the ball must be bribed to find the fielder who has been fixed so he can drop the catch! How do you bribe a ball? With promise of extra spittle?
Absurd though this kind of talk is, it shows that once a game gets murky, it begins to lose all credibility. That’s why it’s important to get to the bottom of IPL finances.
It’s not just Tharoor, Modi and the others who are on trial. It’s the game of cricket itself.
Maharashtra post master general remanded in judicial custody
A special court today remanded the chief post-master general of Maharashtra and Goa, Manjit Singh Bali, arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs2 crore, in judicial custody till March 15.
Bali and alleged middlemen -- the father-son duo of Arun Dalmiya and Harsh -- were arrested by the CBI on February 25 for allegedly accepting the bribe for issuing a 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) for the construction of a post office in neighbouring Thane district.
The CBI today sought further custody of the trio to ascertain if there are more persons involved in the "conspiracy".
"We recovered foreign currency to the tune of Rs12 lakh from Bali's residence and have found out that he has 35 bank accounts with a balance of upto Rs45 lakh. We want to find out the source of this money," the CBI stated in its remand application.
It further said Arun and Harsh, who own a consultancy firm, hold two Swiss bank accounts with a balance of over one lakh US dollars.
Bali's lawyer Shirish Gupte however opposed the CBI's arguments and claimed there has been no progress in the investigation.
One of the senior most officers in the postal department across the country, Bali had allegedly demanded the bribe for granting a builder a no objection certificate to develop a plot, a portion of which was reserved for a post office at Mira Bhayendar in Thane, according to police
Bali and alleged middlemen -- the father-son duo of Arun Dalmiya and Harsh -- were arrested by the CBI on February 25 for allegedly accepting the bribe for issuing a 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) for the construction of a post office in neighbouring Thane district.
The CBI today sought further custody of the trio to ascertain if there are more persons involved in the "conspiracy".
"We recovered foreign currency to the tune of Rs12 lakh from Bali's residence and have found out that he has 35 bank accounts with a balance of upto Rs45 lakh. We want to find out the source of this money," the CBI stated in its remand application.
It further said Arun and Harsh, who own a consultancy firm, hold two Swiss bank accounts with a balance of over one lakh US dollars.
Bali's lawyer Shirish Gupte however opposed the CBI's arguments and claimed there has been no progress in the investigation.
One of the senior most officers in the postal department across the country, Bali had allegedly demanded the bribe for granting a builder a no objection certificate to develop a plot, a portion of which was reserved for a post office at Mira Bhayendar in Thane, according to police
Produce details of freebies to doctors, MCI to pharma cos
Toughening its stand on pharmaceutical companies luring doctors with junkets and other freebies to promote their products, the Medical Council of India (MCI), the statutory body monitoring medical practice in the country, has decided to ask the companies to furnish details of enticement offered to practitioners.
The regulatory body has directed the drugs controller general of India (DGCI) to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and insert a section banning pharmaceutical companies from sponsoring doctors and undertaking any such activity that is contrary to MCI norms on medical ethics and etiquette. It may also strip the erring doctors off their licence to practice in case a nexus is proved.
The council toughened its stand after two leading private sector drug companies refused to disclose the names of 200 leading doctors who had accepted free junkets from them. It is the first major case of companies withholding information after being served a notice.
Confirming that the notices have indeed been issued to the two drug companies — Piramal Healthcare and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories — MCI president Ketan Desai told DNA they were asked to disclose the names of doctors whom they had sponsored for junkets to Istanbul and Hyderabad over the past one year. This is the first time that MCI took cognisance of violation of rules and sought details that included expenses incurred on these doctors during the trips.
“While both these companies have confirmed the trips, they have refused to divulge the names of doctors and other details. We asked DGCI to help us get the details. Now the DGCI has asked the companies to furnish the details,” said Desai. “This is just the beginning. Many more companies will be now asked to furnish such details.”
Efforts to reach these companies on Friday failed. However, sources tracking the issue at Dr Reddy’s told DNA that the MCI notice did reach the company and it, too, had replied to the notice. It is still not clear if the company had furnished the names of the doctors, sources said. They maintained that the doctors were brought to Hyderabad to attend a technical conference, not for entertainment.
As per MCI rules on professional conduct, etiquette and ethics regulations for the doctors, a medical practitioner cannot accept any travel facility inside or outside the country, including rail, road, air, ship, cruise tickets, paid vacation, etc, from any pharmaceutical or allied healthcare industry or their representatives for self and for family members for a vacation, or for attending conferences, seminars, workshops as a delegate. “If both giving and taking bribe is crime, then how can only the one who accepts the bribe be punished. We also need to penalise those who offers the bribe… We have asked DGCI to suspend the license of all such companies that promote unethical practices,” Desai said.
He said doctors have been prescribing expensive antibiotics and pain killers produced by multinational pharmaceutical companies even though there is a low-cost generic alternative available for it. Similarly, they prescribe particular medicines and devices manufactured by specific companies and sold by specific shops. “This is an unhealthy practice and we want to stop this,” health and family welfare minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had said recently at a function.
The regulatory body has directed the drugs controller general of India (DGCI) to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and insert a section banning pharmaceutical companies from sponsoring doctors and undertaking any such activity that is contrary to MCI norms on medical ethics and etiquette. It may also strip the erring doctors off their licence to practice in case a nexus is proved.
The council toughened its stand after two leading private sector drug companies refused to disclose the names of 200 leading doctors who had accepted free junkets from them. It is the first major case of companies withholding information after being served a notice.
Confirming that the notices have indeed been issued to the two drug companies — Piramal Healthcare and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories — MCI president Ketan Desai told DNA they were asked to disclose the names of doctors whom they had sponsored for junkets to Istanbul and Hyderabad over the past one year. This is the first time that MCI took cognisance of violation of rules and sought details that included expenses incurred on these doctors during the trips.
“While both these companies have confirmed the trips, they have refused to divulge the names of doctors and other details. We asked DGCI to help us get the details. Now the DGCI has asked the companies to furnish the details,” said Desai. “This is just the beginning. Many more companies will be now asked to furnish such details.”
Efforts to reach these companies on Friday failed. However, sources tracking the issue at Dr Reddy’s told DNA that the MCI notice did reach the company and it, too, had replied to the notice. It is still not clear if the company had furnished the names of the doctors, sources said. They maintained that the doctors were brought to Hyderabad to attend a technical conference, not for entertainment.
As per MCI rules on professional conduct, etiquette and ethics regulations for the doctors, a medical practitioner cannot accept any travel facility inside or outside the country, including rail, road, air, ship, cruise tickets, paid vacation, etc, from any pharmaceutical or allied healthcare industry or their representatives for self and for family members for a vacation, or for attending conferences, seminars, workshops as a delegate. “If both giving and taking bribe is crime, then how can only the one who accepts the bribe be punished. We also need to penalise those who offers the bribe… We have asked DGCI to suspend the license of all such companies that promote unethical practices,” Desai said.
He said doctors have been prescribing expensive antibiotics and pain killers produced by multinational pharmaceutical companies even though there is a low-cost generic alternative available for it. Similarly, they prescribe particular medicines and devices manufactured by specific companies and sold by specific shops. “This is an unhealthy practice and we want to stop this,” health and family welfare minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had said recently at a function.
Neta-builder nexus is ruining Mumbai
It appears that the Congress party has a dilemma if it were to replace Ashok Chavan as chief minister for his suspect role in the Adarsh housing scam.
Most of those in line to replace him — and this includes some of the top politicians of Maharashtra — are apparently tainted by the same, or similar, scandals.
The fact that many well-known politicians are linked to Adarsh, a tower that has come up in the posh south Colaba area after breaking various rules, speaks volumes about the nexus between politicians, property and the powerful builder lobby in Mumbai.
Our netas and babus play a big role in making property valuable by clearing or not clearing projects, and the alliance is for mutual benefit.
Politicians in Maharashtra and elsewhere are aware that land is a goldmine; every sliver sold to a builder means huge under-the-table earnings. The builder, in turn, recovers his expenses, legal and illegal, by charging a price that few can afford.
Moreover, since builders know that property prices in Mumbai fetch the best margins, they willingly bribe politicians with cash or by promising them property in much desired suburbs and south Mumbai. The Adarsh scandal must be seen in this light.
Clearly, the politician-builder nexus works against the interests of society — even assuming one ignores the direct damage caused by corruption and the wrecking of building laws.
The ordinary citizen — whether in Mumbai or any other metro — dreams of owning a piece of property that s/he can call home, but the unholy
alliance ensures that no property is priced at affordable levels.
In Mumbai, one can’t own a two-bedroom flat without at least a crore in the kitty — and this means 99% of Mumbaikars cannot afford a home in the city.
They have to move to Thane or Navi Mumbai or even beyond to find a roof over their heads. The situation is not very different in the other metros. The fact that realty cost less in the other metros must be balanced by the fact that earning power is also lower in those cities (barring Delhi).
Mumbai has been, and remains, India’s economic
locomotive. The city’s work ethic and professionalism are the envy of the rest of India.
Ever rupee invested here gets more bang for the buck, making it the favoured destination of MNCs and national industrialists. But we cannot take this for granted anymore, as politicians and builders have made the city too expensive for the professional classes. Mumbai’s future is under threat.
Most of those in line to replace him — and this includes some of the top politicians of Maharashtra — are apparently tainted by the same, or similar, scandals.
The fact that many well-known politicians are linked to Adarsh, a tower that has come up in the posh south Colaba area after breaking various rules, speaks volumes about the nexus between politicians, property and the powerful builder lobby in Mumbai.
Our netas and babus play a big role in making property valuable by clearing or not clearing projects, and the alliance is for mutual benefit.
Politicians in Maharashtra and elsewhere are aware that land is a goldmine; every sliver sold to a builder means huge under-the-table earnings. The builder, in turn, recovers his expenses, legal and illegal, by charging a price that few can afford.
Moreover, since builders know that property prices in Mumbai fetch the best margins, they willingly bribe politicians with cash or by promising them property in much desired suburbs and south Mumbai. The Adarsh scandal must be seen in this light.
Clearly, the politician-builder nexus works against the interests of society — even assuming one ignores the direct damage caused by corruption and the wrecking of building laws.
The ordinary citizen — whether in Mumbai or any other metro — dreams of owning a piece of property that s/he can call home, but the unholy
alliance ensures that no property is priced at affordable levels.
In Mumbai, one can’t own a two-bedroom flat without at least a crore in the kitty — and this means 99% of Mumbaikars cannot afford a home in the city.
They have to move to Thane or Navi Mumbai or even beyond to find a roof over their heads. The situation is not very different in the other metros. The fact that realty cost less in the other metros must be balanced by the fact that earning power is also lower in those cities (barring Delhi).
Mumbai has been, and remains, India’s economic
locomotive. The city’s work ethic and professionalism are the envy of the rest of India.
Ever rupee invested here gets more bang for the buck, making it the favoured destination of MNCs and national industrialists. But we cannot take this for granted anymore, as politicians and builders have made the city too expensive for the professional classes. Mumbai’s future is under threat.
Once held for graft, ex-Mhada officer gets MSRDC post
A state government official soon to be chargesheeted in a case of accepting bribe of Rs7.5 lakh has been appointed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) as their commercial officer as well as the public relations officer (PRO).
Interestingly, while the move has led to widespread resentment among the officials of the loss-making corporation, MSRDC chairman Jaydatt Kshirsagar said he was unaware of the background of Vijay Kalam Patil, the officer concerned.
Kalam Patil, who earned a name for himself in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as the next demolition man after GR Khairnar, was allegedly caught accepting a bribe by the sleuths of the anti-corruption bureau on September 11, 2009.
He was working as joint chief executive officer of the Repair and Reconstruction (RR) Board of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) then.
He was nabbed after ACB officials led a trap following complaints of corruption by him as well as Vijay Pandhre, a community development deputy officer in the authority.
According to top ACB officials, the bureau has been investigating the case for the past six months.
“Kalam Patil and Pandhre were booked inside the Mhada headquarters. A Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) developer from Pratiksha Nagar in Sion had approached us stating that two senior officers from Mhada were demanding huge sums from him to reduce the tax levied on him and also to extend the deadline of developing a plot in Sion.
The complainant first approached Pandhre for getting the tax reduced. Pandhre further asked him to get in touch with Kalam Patil,” said a top ACB official.
He further said the bureau has enough evidence against Kalam Patil to nab him in the case.
“We will be completing the investigations by this month end and will approach the state government seeking permission to file a charge sheet sanctions against him,” added the official.
When contacted, additional commissioner of police, ACB, Niket Kaushik said, “For filing a charge sheet in the case we had to take sanction from the department concerned. In this case, we would be taking sanction from the concerned department by the end of this month.”
Kshirsagar, however, said: “I confirm that Kalam Patil has been appointed at MSRDC; however, I am unaware of his background.
Our corporation wanted an official with a background of the revenue department. Subsequently we sent a requisition to the state government.” In spite of repeated attempts, Kalam Patil was not available for comment.
Interestingly, while the move has led to widespread resentment among the officials of the loss-making corporation, MSRDC chairman Jaydatt Kshirsagar said he was unaware of the background of Vijay Kalam Patil, the officer concerned.
Kalam Patil, who earned a name for himself in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as the next demolition man after GR Khairnar, was allegedly caught accepting a bribe by the sleuths of the anti-corruption bureau on September 11, 2009.
He was working as joint chief executive officer of the Repair and Reconstruction (RR) Board of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) then.
He was nabbed after ACB officials led a trap following complaints of corruption by him as well as Vijay Pandhre, a community development deputy officer in the authority.
According to top ACB officials, the bureau has been investigating the case for the past six months.
“Kalam Patil and Pandhre were booked inside the Mhada headquarters. A Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) developer from Pratiksha Nagar in Sion had approached us stating that two senior officers from Mhada were demanding huge sums from him to reduce the tax levied on him and also to extend the deadline of developing a plot in Sion.
The complainant first approached Pandhre for getting the tax reduced. Pandhre further asked him to get in touch with Kalam Patil,” said a top ACB official.
He further said the bureau has enough evidence against Kalam Patil to nab him in the case.
“We will be completing the investigations by this month end and will approach the state government seeking permission to file a charge sheet sanctions against him,” added the official.
When contacted, additional commissioner of police, ACB, Niket Kaushik said, “For filing a charge sheet in the case we had to take sanction from the department concerned. In this case, we would be taking sanction from the concerned department by the end of this month.”
Kshirsagar, however, said: “I confirm that Kalam Patil has been appointed at MSRDC; however, I am unaware of his background.
Our corporation wanted an official with a background of the revenue department. Subsequently we sent a requisition to the state government.” In spite of repeated attempts, Kalam Patil was not available for comment.
To bribe or not to bribe? Let’s keep it on, decide Bangalore builders
The Hamletian dilemma hit the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) on Friday — to bribe or not to bribe. The five-member panel on podium finally voted three vs two to continue paying bribes to the bureaucrats and politicians.
The ticklish issue came up at the CREDAI South conference gathering at Ashoka Hotel. President of CREDAI, Sushil Mantri, asked if developers and builders should continue to pay hefty bribes to bureaucracy and political nexus. “Shouldn’t we stay united and refuse to pay dark money?”
The panel and gathering received it with a pregnant silence for a while. The panel members on the stage then began to remark on the issue. “If we stay united,” said one of them, “it is possible.”
But there was a big ‘if’ to it. Another panel member wholeheartedly supported it. But SN Raghuchandran, managing director of SI property, shot down the proposal asking builders to be practical in outlook. “I will only remind you what happened to Alacrity, a reputed developer of Chennai, which had vowed to follow the rules of the law strictly and refused to pay bribe.
“Alacrity went out of business soon after,” said Raghuchandran. “In our line of business, it is not possible as long as we have to deal with a tricky labyrinth of laws.”
Realty sector, as admitted by all, is the biggest bribe-payer among all industries. “The archaic land laws are the single-most important culprit for debilitating infrastructure development and encouraging bribery,” said Century MD, Ravi Pai.
As the talk progressed, it was suggested that since there was no unity among builders and there were black sheep who would break the vow first thing after lunch, it was better to go ahead with the practice.
“Nobody pays bribe willingly,” bemoaned a CREDAI functionary. He said, Bangalore realty alone, by a liberal estimate, pays over Rs300 cr to bureaucracy and politicians every year. CREDAI has an active membership of 149 while there are over 400-500 developers and builders in Bangalore.
The ticklish issue came up at the CREDAI South conference gathering at Ashoka Hotel. President of CREDAI, Sushil Mantri, asked if developers and builders should continue to pay hefty bribes to bureaucracy and political nexus. “Shouldn’t we stay united and refuse to pay dark money?”
The panel and gathering received it with a pregnant silence for a while. The panel members on the stage then began to remark on the issue. “If we stay united,” said one of them, “it is possible.”
But there was a big ‘if’ to it. Another panel member wholeheartedly supported it. But SN Raghuchandran, managing director of SI property, shot down the proposal asking builders to be practical in outlook. “I will only remind you what happened to Alacrity, a reputed developer of Chennai, which had vowed to follow the rules of the law strictly and refused to pay bribe.
“Alacrity went out of business soon after,” said Raghuchandran. “In our line of business, it is not possible as long as we have to deal with a tricky labyrinth of laws.”
Realty sector, as admitted by all, is the biggest bribe-payer among all industries. “The archaic land laws are the single-most important culprit for debilitating infrastructure development and encouraging bribery,” said Century MD, Ravi Pai.
As the talk progressed, it was suggested that since there was no unity among builders and there were black sheep who would break the vow first thing after lunch, it was better to go ahead with the practice.
“Nobody pays bribe willingly,” bemoaned a CREDAI functionary. He said, Bangalore realty alone, by a liberal estimate, pays over Rs300 cr to bureaucracy and politicians every year. CREDAI has an active membership of 149 while there are over 400-500 developers and builders in Bangalore.
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