Judge
July 5, 2011
India's Supreme Court took over the investigation of vast amoutnof black money stashed in foreign money accounts from the compromised government.The ruling Congress party has proven to be remarkably reluctant to take action against corruption and black money despite huge pressure from the civil society and the judiciary.The government itself has ministers who are highly corrupt with a telecom minister in jail and the textile minister who may be on the way as well.Other ministers like the Agricultural Minister Pawar has repeatedly surfaced in numerous scams rocking the country.The Supreme Court has also taken the government to task for granting a retail banking license to the Swiss giant bank UBS.Note UBS had not been given a license as it was under suspicion for facilitating the movement of ill gotten money into Swiss bank accounts
July 4, 2011
India has become the third country in the world to start a National Green Tribunal (NGT) which is a judicial body exclusively meant to judge environmental cases.Note Environment has become the one of the most important issues in the country affecting the broader society.Alongwith Land Acquisition,environment has become the most frequent conflict flashpoint.There have been numerous case where large industries have been confronted by local people fighting for the environement.Recent cases like the Vedanta Bauxite smelter in Orissa,Thermal Power Plants in Andhra Pradesh,the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant in Maharashtra have seen huge controversy and protests.Note Vedanta Resources has found itself in the centre of controversy over mining bauxite in Niyamgiri Hills which are held sacred by the Dongria Kondh tribal group.With powerful political and bureaucratic patrons,Vedanta has managed to ride roughshod over Tribal Rights.
Having a National Green Tribunal (NGT) has become essential for the country so that development can proceed with peace between various stakeholders .Note normal judges and courts don't have the expertise to understand the massive complexities and intricacies involved in billion dollar industrial projects and their impact on the environment.The NGT will have each judge having an environmental expert to guide him/her on the ecological issues so that they can come to an informed judgment.
July 4, 2011
India's Supreme Court took the matter of hundreds of billions of dollars of Black Money stashed into foreign bank accounts into its own hands as the government has repeatedly failed to take any action stalling the case.The Indian government led by the Congress Party has been repeatedly blasted by the Supreme Court for not acting against corruption matters.Recently the Court in an unprecedented move took over the supervision of the CBI in 2G Telecom Scandal Case Investigation.Note CBI is under the Home Ministry and like other investigations was being tardy to take action government ministers.The 2G Telecom case has resulted in top ministers and corporate CEOs being jailed with prospects of more being convicted.
July 2, 2011
Indian Businessmen and Politicians have been looting the citizens and the treasury of billions of dollars through numerous corruption scams and scandals.While the focus has been on the big corruption scandals at the centre being perpetrated by ruling party politicians,opposition party has not been far behind.The Nira Radia Tapes revealed the extent to which the Indian politicians have sold the state to big business.Major ministers are appointed by the major industrial conglomerates leading to billions of dollars in embezzlement.There are numerous instances like the Commonwealth Games Scam,Adarsh Scam,the 2G Telecom Scam etc.Many of the politicians are now big businessmen themselves owning companies legally and illegally.According to Nira Radi,India's agricultural minister is the benami owner of one of the largest realty companies DB Realty whose CEO is cooling his heels in jail for the 2G Scam.The concerned minister is also involved in the Lavasa City Scam in which a whole city was built in partnership with HCC flouting all environmental norms and regulations.
June 30, 2011
Note Indian ministries and regulators have been found to be massively corrupt with the 2G Telecom Scandal facing the glare from the Supreme Court .Huge loss has been caused by ministers,corporate CEOs and various politicians a number of which are in jail right now.The CAG report had said that Reliance had doubled its cost in the KG-6 Basin leading to a huge loss for the Indian government.A number of other lapses (intentional) has been found by the DGH and the Ministry each time favoring the private oil and gas companies in India.Now the CBI has filed a case of corruption against the the former chief of the DGH V K Sibal for scuttling a probe by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for showing undue favors to the private companies.Note India has been stuck by a number of scams in the stock market pertaining to mid cap and small caps.This has led to huge losses for investors with some companies like Reliance Telecom,Unitech having over 90% of their share values eroded.Reliance the biggest Indian company by market capitalization might be facing the same fate if the investigative agencies and the courts do their jobs.
June 21, 2011
Now India's Largest Company Reliance too has seen its stock fall to a post Lehman low on concerns that it has colluded with the Oil Regulator and Ministry to gold plate its costs in the KG 6 Gas concession.Reliance is India's biggest oil and gas company with interests throughout the supply chain.Note its nothing new as Reliance has always been known to be the most powerful corporate in India .However with the government's own auditing department CAG raising allegations of collusion and corruption,Reliance too may find itself snared in the corruption scandal.Note the infamous Nira Radia tapes had ample proof of how the powerful Reliance group manages the appointment of its favored persons in key federal ministries.The company must now by hoping that the Supreme Court which is already preoccupied with a ton of corruption cases does not take a keen interest and gets the CBI to investigate the allegations.
May 7, 2011
India's environment minister Jairam Ramesh has pleaded helplessness as he is too being forced to go along with these environmental destructive projects.This is a characteristic which is peculiar to India and has allowed the culture of corruption to flourish.If you build a large enough project with enough billions in investment you can get away with the murder of the environment as the government could destroy such a large investment.These ad hoc measures which lead to construction of illegal projects has been leading to the destruction of ecology in a large scale manner.Only a blanket demolition of all structures built illegally irrespective of the cost will lead to the lessening of the corruption in the business sector.
May 5, 2011
The Tata Group which is known in India for high standards of corporate governance and doing business ethically in a country steeped in corruption too seems to have fallen.Ratan Tata appeared blemished as tapes of his conversations with the now disreputed corporate lobbyist Nira Radia were published in the media.He was caught at least listening and agreeing the the open manipulation of the Indian ministries in government formation if not the architect.Tata Teleservices which was a major beneficiary of the second round of 2G Telecom Auction during Raja's tenure has now again appeared in the news for the wrong reasons.Despite denials by the Tata Group honchos,the Tata companies seem to be complicit in the billion dollar scam that has shaken the political and business roots of India.
May 2, 2011
Lavasa is a story of corruption,looting of the poor and raping of the surrounding environment by the Indian politician-bureaucrat-businessmen nexus in a beautiful cover of a township built for the rich and well heeled.There is little concern for the law as these powerful developers know that they can get away with murder quite literally.The long term sustainability of the township is in doubt which defeats the entire purpose anyway.Any buyer of property in Lavasa should be aware of these problems and should not buy it as their investment will be eroded in the future anyway besides having the taint of being looted from the poor.However the media too has lost interest as a new scandal emerges everyday.
Lavasa Township being constructed near Pune,Maharashtra has been in the media off and on for creating a environmental disaster in the shape of a beautiful township constructed on the hills.The town which has been constructed for 300,000 residents has violated all building and environmental norms of the state and centre.With powerful politicians and businessmen backing the project,its not as surprise that the state government of Maharashtra actively helped the township in bypassing all the laws and regulations.There is no provision for permanent water supply and it would lead to a clash between the water wants of Lavasa and Pune.Note builders in India are notorious for leaving out water and waste sustainability in their plans.The residents of the buildings,apartments and other shelters have to bear the brunt later on when there is no water and problems like waterlogging.Gurgaon the millenium township suffers from both of these problems quite acutely.Note these problems are common to both million dollar homes as well as slums in India.
April 25, 2011
India has lately become a nation known for endemic corruption rather than the world's poster growth boy with the ruling party members implicated in a number of corruption scams.With the government reluctant to take action against its own,the Supreme Court was forced to take over the supervision of the investigating agency CBI.In the first chargesheet top corporate honchos and CEOs were put under arrest alongwith the former telecom minister Raja and his cronies.With the ruling party under pressure from a civil society movement against corruption,the ability to manipulate the investigation process is limited.Not that the government is not trying put impediments in the court cases and top ministers and leaders indulging in character assassination of the eminent social activists like Santosh Hedge and others.This comes even as other chief ministers of the Congress like Gehlot get caught in nepotism.
April 22, 2011
Indian Politicians after being forced to bend against the popular support received by Anna Hazare and other civil rights activists in the recent fast unto death […]
April 15, 2011
Nira Radia the millionaire lobbyist who became a public figure overnight as tapes leaked to her phone conversations were printed by the mass media has revealed sordid details about the politician businessmen nexus.In the chargesheet presented by the CBI to the Supreme Court she has revealed the multi billion dollar realty company DB Realty is a front for Sharad Pawar and controlled by him.This hardly comes as a surprise as powerful Agri Minister Pawar has been linked to a number of corruption scandals like the Lavasa Scandal,2G Telecom Scam,IPL Scam etc.Note DB Realty CEO has been directly implicated in the transfer of bribe giving to Raja the former Telecom Minister in exchange for a Telecom License at dirt cheap prices.It is a tribute to the power of Pawar that despite such massive circumstantial evidence against him and his family,there has been no court case or police charges against him.Note a number of big companies in India are known to be secretly owned and controlled by powerful politicians.Not that politicians don't own billion dollar businesses openly and use their political muscle to further their own interests in a blatant manner.
April 8, 2011
The Government of India has been trying to put hurdles in the 2G Telecom Scam case right from Day 1.Its blatant shielding of the rich and powerful involved in the massive billion dollar corruption involving ruling party alliance members and top corporate houses has been apparent.The proof of the government malintentions was India's top court taking over the supervision of the investigation agency CBI with itself.This was a major slap for the government as CBI falls under the authority of the Home Ministry.With the CBI having filed a chargesheet which names the former Telecom Minister Raja and some billionaire businessmen,the government is again trying its stalling tactics.The government and its repsentative lawyers did not agree to the name of U U Lalit as special public prosecutor.Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Indira Jaising raised objections despite K K Venugopal, who has been appearing on behalf of CBI and ED suggesting his name.
April 6, 2011
The Lok Janpal Bill has received a tremendous response from India's Civil Society which is totally fed up with the endemic corruption and a government which refuses to do anything as most of its ministers are caught in numerous scams themselves.One of its former ministers is already cooling his heels in Jail after India's Supreme Court was forced to take over the investigation as the government refused to take action.The Anti-Corruption Bill which has been formulated by eminent citizens and social activists has been rejected by the government (what a surprise) and the ruling party Congress has refused to talk.Here is a Guide and Summary of the Main Points of the Draft of the LokJanpal Bill.Instead the ruling party has brought in politics into the picture saying that Anna Hazare has become a puppet for the opposition.
April 5, 2011
India’s Civil Society has brought out the Jan Lokpal Bill that has been drafted has been drafted by eminent members of the civil society like Prashant […]
April 5, 2011
The Jan LokPal Bill is supposed to be the answer to India's massive endemic corruption which strikes daily in the form of a new scam or scandal.The government has proven to be woefully inadequate in taking on the corrupt politicians,bureaucrats and businessmen.This corrupt nexus has been repeatedly exposed and its structure exposed through the Nira Radia Tapes.The Indian administration has shamefully failed to take action only promising to do something without doing anything worthwhile.The Indian Judiciary has also castigated the government numerous times for its abject failure in the 2G Telecom Scam,Black Money Scandal etc.However the government instead of strengthening anti-corruption measures has only put obstacles in the way.Its no wonder when the committee meant to look after the Bill comprises of ministers tainted with a number of scams themselves.Anna Hazare has held a fast unto death to put pressure on the government to pass the draft bill but the Minister appear unconcerned.Here is a short summary and guide to the main points of the Jan LokPal Bill which IMHO deserves the support of the whole Indian civil society.
March 29, 2011
It remains to be seen whether the top corporate executives of India's topmost conglomerates get prosecuted over these wrongdoings.Essar and ADAG are amongst the top 10 conglomerates in India with wide ranging operations with billions of dollars in revenues nationally as well as internationally.The Supreme Court has been instrumental in bringing this case so far as the government seems totally coopted by corruption.It has been frequently been castigated by the Supreme Court and has shamelessly defended corrupt bureaucrats and politicians.It remains to be seen how this 2G Telecom Case ends.If justice is done,then it may provide a new chapter to India's corruption ridden story till now.
March 28, 2011
India's Supreme Court castigates ED for incompetence on Black Money Hasan Ali Hawala Corruption Case
India’s Supreme Court has become a schoolmaster for the errant Indian investigative agencies which keep showing glaring incompetence and reluctance to go after top offenders.The Indian […]
December 7, 2010
India has been plagued with numerous corruption scandals being exposed in the last few months.While a number of such scandal like the Adarsh Land Scam,Commonwealth Scams,Stock Market Scam,Stock Market Scam,Housing Finance Scam have been written about in this blog,the spate refuses to stop.With India's Chief Vigilance Officer calling 30% of Indians as utterly corrupt and even the Supreme Corrupt calling corruption in India "mind boggling",it is not a surprise.2G Telecom Scam Prime Suspect Telecom Minister Raja has come into the spotlight again for threatening a High Court Judge in a CBI case related to an eduction scam.The background relates to a High Court Judge of Tamil Nada accusing a Union Minister of influencing a decision of the court.This created a huge ruckus as the said Judge refused to name the Minister.India's Judiciary is one of the more powerful institutions in the country and considered much more trustworthy than the other 2 arms executive and the legislature.The Agriculture Minister brazenly supports favored Business Interest while another Minister was sent packing off after unethically supporting a cricket franchise