Wednesday, November 1, 2017

ஞானச் சுடர் [3]




ஞானச் சுடர் [3]

இன்னம்பூரான் 
நவம்பர் 01, 2017

பிரசுரம்: http://www.vallamai.com/?p=80975

அரசல் புரசலாகக் குழப்பம் அதிகரித்து தலைநகர் முழுதும், பின்னர் சிக்கலாகிவிட்ட மகளிர் கூந்தல்போல் மற்ற பிராந்தியங்களிலும் பரவியது; ‘கந்தரகூளம் போல’ என்று ஒரு பிள்ளையார் கோயிலாண்டி அதை வருணித்தார். இது இப்படியிருக்கும்போது, கணீரென்று நாற்கால் மண்டபத்தின் ஆராய்ச்சி மணி ஒலித்தது; ஜயபேரிகை முழங்கியது; ஆங்காங்கே தண்டோரா சத்தம் காதைப் பிளந்தது. இவையெல்லாம் அவைக்கு அரசர் வருகிறார் என்பதற்கு சமிக்ஞைகள். விழுந்தடித்துக்கொண்டு அதிகாரவர்க்கம், தத்தம் சீருடைகள், மெடல்கள், தலைப்பாகைகள் அணிந்து கொண்டு தர்பார் மண்டபத்துக்கு விரைந்தனர். ரதகஜதுரகபதாதிகளின் படை புடை சூழ, டவாலிகள் ‘பராக்’! பராக்’! ராஜாதிராஜ ராஜமார்த்தாண்ட வீராதி வீர சூராதி சூர மன்னர்பிரான் வருகிறார் என்று கட்டியம் கூற, அவரும் அலங்கார பூஷிதனாக, ஆனால் சிந்தனையில் ஆழ்ந்த முகத்துடன் அரியணையின் படிகளின் பக்கவாட்டுப் பதுமைகளை பார்த்துக்கொண்டே ஏறியமர்ந்தார்.
சங்கொலியும், யாழிசையும், பாணர்களின் புகுழ்மாலைகளும் அவருக்கு உற்சாகம் அளிக்க முயன்று தோல்வி அடைந்தன. இது எல்லாம் எல்லா ராஜாங்கங்களிலும் நடப்பவைதான். இங்கு ஒரு வித்தியாசம் யாதெனில் அரசர் ஏதோ ஒரு தெளிவு பெற்று விட்டார் என்று அரண்மனை சோதிடர் காதோடு காதாக திவானிடம் ரகஸ்யம் கூறினார். அது என்ன?
[தொடரும்]
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இன்னம்பூரான்

http://innamburan.blogspot.de/view/magazine

www.olitamizh.com








இன்னம்பூரான்

http://innamburan.blogspot.co.uk

http://innamburan.blogspot.de/view/magazine

www.olitamizh.com

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

When bitumen breeds graft, black money

Printed from

When bitumen breeds graft, black money

TNN | Nov 1, 2017, 12.05 AM IST

If coal is black diamond, bitumen is black gold for the scamster. This considering the rising number of bitumen scams that have surfaced in vigilance and audit reports and court verdicts across the country in the past decades. In a recent ruling, the Madras high court was dismissive of an affidavit through which the state government absolved itself of criminality in an alleged bitumen-related scam of `1,000 crore in the TN highways department during 2014-2016. The court instead sought a vigilance inquiry.

This development takes us to a CAG report of 1996-1997 on Bihar. It said that even though the road budget itself was cut down by 6%, the expenditure on bitumen saw a steep climb of 14-94% — a corruption marker. Worse still, the Central Vigilance Commission in its Administrative Report 2016 bemoaned that its advice was not heeded in a case against a project director who allowed contractors to be given bitumen on credit in seven cases. The list goes on.

What matters is not mere recovery, but the rationale behind burdening infrastructure-related contracts for bitumen and similar products with queer price variation clauses. Most of the time, bitumen prices vary within a narrow band. This fluid price variation is exploited to indulge in malpractices.

Price variation clauses are best avoided. Tenders will be truly competitive and lend little scope for corruption if contractors are free to buy and use bitumen, crushed stone-ships and sand according to contracted work requirement and under strict technical supervision. Such clauses are inserted only when the particular commodity is a scarcity or has to be custom-made — for example chain-links for a battle tank. But the elaborate procedure involved in procurement of bitumen itself facilitates corruption. The earliest variant of such a risky clause was seen in Jharkhand in 2001. The CAG in his Jharkhand audit report 2011 stated, "According to a government order dated 21 March 2001, contractors engaged in road work were to procure bitumen from government oil companies directly ... on award of work ... engineers will issue authority letters to the oil companies, specifying the names of the contractors, quality, specification etc ... the oil companies will sell only against such letters ... the contractors are to report such supplies within 48 hours and submit invoices ... the engineers will conduct physical verification." It is difficult to imagine a more tortuous way of tying up everyone in knots or creating the right ambience for dubious conduct. The audit report also mentioned 58 fake bitumen invoices worth `98.11 lakh and criticised the non-recording of physical verification. The CAG, however, remained silent on the scope for mischief afforded by the government order. This was not a policy decision and could have been criticised on the very count that the quality of roads was demonstrably deprived of bitumen-binding. The Jharkhand high court adversely commented on this 'cumbersome' procedure in 2012.

Disregarding such observations, this escapade is being reenacted again and again in other states too. A random sampling of bitumen scams from 2004 onwards glaringly presents conspiracy, collusion and covering the track by oil company officials, government servants and contractors to an alarming extent.


While the CBI has been consistently bringing several scams under the judiciary's scanner, a few responsible officials have been on their guard. Recently a municipal commissioner in Ahmedabad ordered a detailed inquiry after discovering a set of fake bills that were used to procure bitumen supplied from government-owned pertroleum companies. A vigilance study says that a portion of bitumen purchase was only on paper.


This litany of woes of public finance should jostle the government to wake up from its slumber and take severe actions to curb further frauds. The fraudulent practices can be dismantled and good governance can be restored by simplifying the procedure, detoxifying the tender models and disabling the guilty. Conspiracy can be forestalled by vigilance and internal control. Collusion can be scotched only by honest supervisors. It is also necessary that government officials once exposed are punished severely.


(The writer is a former additional deputy CAG)