Corruption in India - Why this rich country is so poor.

India currently has the sixth highest reserves of foreign exchage (at $113 billion) in the world. And with an exceptionally strong balance of payments position, these reserves are set to grow. This is just one indication of the money that is available in this country.

The economy is strong and growing at 6% per annum. There is enough food in the country to feed everyone and the land is extensive enough to provide space for everyone. So why do we see such poverty and deprivation all around us?

I think alot of it is due to corruption. We are not talking about a few lowly officials taking a few grand to turn a blind eye to a dodgy building development somewhere. What we are talking about here is billions and billions of government expenditure being wasted on fruitless and incomplete projects. The biggest waste of money is not the sums that are siphoned off as backhanders (which are considerable) but the numbers of projects scandalously started that were not required in the first place, projects put in the wrong place and projects started and never finished.

The reason this occurs has been extensively researched and one of the reccuring reasons seems to be the cost of the political process in this country. Local politics is a massive venture here. Everyone vying for a position of power (which of course allows for a better income through more lucratice corrupt practices). But all this vying and lobbying costs lots of money. The only way anyone can generate these levels of income is through corrupt practices.

So the local contractor approaches you saying he will "donate" a big chunk to your re-election campaign if you will just authorise the construction of a new flyover for the orbital ring road out in Vasant Vihar (I'm making this bit up). This is duly authorised, the "donation" is made and the local government coughs up the millions required to get the construction project up and running. There is some chance that the project will even be completed. However, since there is no orbital ring road in Vasant Vihar, the flyover is of no use to man nor beast. At the best it may provide shelter to a couple of homeless families. Another "x" million down the drain.

Along the road between New Delhi and Agra there are scores of "Institutes for the Development of Management" or "The International School of Developmental Studies". They are modern buildings which would not look out of place in any western city. The funny thing is that although they look like they have been completed for a year or more, the indications are that the building has never been opened and it is completely non-operational. There simply aren't enough tutors, teachers and pupils to fill these institutions. They were all projects that obviously looked wonderful on paper and surely made a considerable impact to the incomes of the officials involved.

However, they are now all rotting away and stand proud and erect as symbols of an outrageous and blatant disregard for the interests and resources of their mother country. It is a striking feature of this country that there seems to be no stage in the life of a building that it could be considered to be complete and operational. It is either in contruction or in the process of delapidation. One or the other. (I just threw that one in).

The daily papers give a running account of the latest corruption scandals (at least just the ones that have come to light). Here is a recent story about the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh State (a state with a population of 166 million), a man with considerable power and obvious ability to rake it in with a few backhanders. I quote from the Hindustan Times of March 24th:

Akhand Pratap Singh was no ordinary public servant. This 1967 (when he started) retired IAS officer led the life of an aristocrat. Accounts in foreign banks, a fleet of swanky cars, farmhouses, dozens of flats in posh localities in and outside of Uttar Pradesh, gold plated sanitary ware, a collection of jewellery and diamonds are just some of the assetts of the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary.

.... The property Singh had aquired is valued at 100 million rupees (roughly equivalent £12 million). He had invested money in floriculture, construction, education and private banking. Booty unearthed during 2 days of search and interogation by CBI sleuths was just the tip of Singh's vast empire built through corrupt practices ....

.... His love of the lavish lifestyle was not limited to his houses. He coaxed his departments to spend large amounts on renovations and interior decorations of his offices....

.... Singh rose to become Chief Secreatary despite being identified as the "most corrupt" officer in the Uttar Pradesh IAS Association in 1996 and 1997.

Meanwhile the Action Group of IAS officers has demanded that the association convene an emergency meeting.

End of story. What's incredible is that he had been on the take for 20 years and it must have been obvious to everyone. No one did anything about it. He was even identified by an investigation team and no one did anything about it. Now he is retired and had been "named" as corrupt the only thing they are doing is "the association will convene an emergency meeting". In other words nothing will be done.

He may have accumulated a personal fortune but the real damage is what he has done with billions of rupees of government funds that will have been wasted so that he could profit. The real damage is the example he had set to the whole of the government of Uttar Pradesh on how not to do your job properly and the real damage is done because he has not been brought to account for his actions and he will probably live the rest of his life out as a very rich man.

Another article in the local paper details how much money it will cost you in addition to the stipulated fees, to obtian local services. Anthing to do with any government office (planning, education, road tax, healthcare) will cost you a great deal extra if you want anything done. Traffic police stop cars all the time and pocket the fines. The local courts are simply unable to deal with the number of cases they have before them. There were at the end of 2002 a mere 20 million unheard court cases. There were also 1 million people in prison who were waiting to be tried. There are 100s of people in jail in New Delhi who have been there for between 3 and 5 years who have yet to be tried.

Poor old Ghandi would be turning in his grave (if he had been buried).