Prof Rajita Chaudhuri follow some off-beat trends like organizing make up sessions
Karnataka is a state where corruption runs rampant. even the hapless victims of last September's flash floods haven't been spared, reports BS Narayanaswamy
First the deluge, then a gigantic wave of a scam ' the woes of the flood victims of North Karnataka seem unending. Crores of rupees sanctioned for flood relief have been siphoned off over the past few months even as the illegal mining lobby continues to hold sway over the Karnataka government.
Fourteen districts of North Karnataka were lashed by heavy rains last September. The floods that ensued left 221 people dead and rendered 3.68 lakh families in over 4,000 villages homeless. According to government estimates, property worth Rs 4,602 crore was lost.
But much worse was to follow as the government machinery moved in with what was purported to be a massive relief operation. Nine months on, the victims of nature's fury find themselves up against something far more intractable ' the insatiable greed of officialdom and the ruling class who will stop at nothing in the pursuit of easy gains.
Justice Santosh Hegde's resignation as Karnataka Lokayukta did not come a day too soon. The anti-corruption crusader found his hands tied as chief minister BS Yeddyurappa and his ministers chose to turn a blind eye, if not actively participate in, the nefarious activities of the mining lobby and the men behind the multi-crore-rupee flood relief scam. Amid charges and counter-charges traded by the government and the Opposition, it became increasingly clear that something was rotten in the corridors of power in the state of Karnataka.
Justice Hegde may have withdrawn his resignation following an assurance from BJP leader LK Advani that his demands would be met, but political pundits in the state believe that we haven't seen the last of this sordid saga.
While Advani and the BJP high command know the value of clean governance and the continuance of Justice Hegde, the CM and many of his cabinet colleagues want to govern the state according to their own will. The unseemly developments that forced the Lokayukta to step down are a direct fallout of the power tha mining mafia wields. No Karnataka officer can utter a word or take action against the wrong-doers. The Bangalore-Bellary-Karwar nexus is strong on both the political and economic fronts.
"Seventy per cent of iron ore exported from Karnataka is sent out done without valid permits. In 2009-10, 35 lakh tonnes of iron ore was exported without permits. The cost of this is around Rs 2,500 crore," says Opposition leader Siddaramaiah.
The CM himself has pleaded helplessness. The mining lobby is bigger than him and it is alleged that this lobby controls the Karnataka government. Yeddyurappa, on his part, has put the ball in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's court. He has written a letter to the PM calling for a ban on iron ore exports.
The revenue secretary has officially declared that up to March 31, 2010, the state government spent Rs 1878 crore on flood relief. Did that money actually reach the victims? After the flood, the government decided to permanently shift 308 villages from the low-lying areas. Corporate giants, religious institutions and a few individuals came forward to help. A new housing project named 'Aasare' was launched and Rajya Sabha member Rajiv Chandrashekhar was made the head of that project. According to him, under the 'Aasare' scheme's plan of building 69,500 houses, only 844 houses have been built so far. Not a single house has been officially handed over to the victims.
Housing minister Katta Subramanya Naidu claims that "all is well in North Karnataka now". Speaking to TSI, he said: "The people are happy there and flood relief projects are going on in a phased manner. By September we will construct 15,000 to 20,000 houses." What about the remaining 50,000 houses?
Four TSI reporters recently toured six flood-affected districts and found that the ground reality was pathetic. There were clear cases of deep-rooted corruption. The Lokayukta himself told us, "I know what is happening in the flood-affected areas and I have submitted a report about the corruption that is happening in the name of rehabilitation of flood victims."
Both government and private institutions have poured crores of rupees into the flood-affected area. But this fact isn't evident on the ground and the woes of the flood victims haven't ended. The TSI team visited more than 50 villages in a span of seven days and the situation was grim everywhere. In many cases the relief distribution was erratic; lakhs of people are still living in temporary sheds built nine months back on an emergency basis.
In our week-long exercise we couldn't find a single village that has been spared the ill-effects of corruption in distribution of compensation, building of temporary sheds and erection of permanent colonies for shifting the most affected villages. From Kotyal village in Bijapur to Shakhavaadi village in Rayachur, every villager has a litany of complaints against their village accountants. In Raichur taluk, the tehsildar issued blank cheques to his subordinate village accountants for distributing among the flood affected but the money has been siphoned off.
In Kotyal village, a compensation cheque of Rs. 4.6 lakh, released for onion farmers, has lapsed thanks to local politics. In Kolur village of Devadurga taluk, the government distributed compensation cheques to the farmers six months back but they have not been encashed yet as there is insufficient funds in the government's account. The tehsildar of Badami released huge sums against false bills for rehabilitation that remained on paper.
The temporary sheds that have been set up are a complete sham. These 10X10 structures do not have proper bathrooms or toilets. Some of the sheds don't have electricity. Many sheds in Pattadkal and Hiremaagi villages of Bagalkot are unfit for habitation and people have refused to move in. House construction is the worst in villages like Holealur, Kuruvinakoppa of Gadag district, Ukumnaala of Bijapur and Allur sub-post of Badami taluk. Villagers here have decided not to occupy these houses as they feel the roofs could collapse anytime.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice Board
IIPM Lucknow – News article in Economic Times and Times of India
IIPM Prof Rajita Chaudhuri's Snaps
IIPM Prof Rajita Chaudhuri: The New Age Woman
Karnataka is a state where corruption runs rampant. even the hapless victims of last September's flash floods haven't been spared, reports BS Narayanaswamy
First the deluge, then a gigantic wave of a scam ' the woes of the flood victims of North Karnataka seem unending. Crores of rupees sanctioned for flood relief have been siphoned off over the past few months even as the illegal mining lobby continues to hold sway over the Karnataka government.
Fourteen districts of North Karnataka were lashed by heavy rains last September. The floods that ensued left 221 people dead and rendered 3.68 lakh families in over 4,000 villages homeless. According to government estimates, property worth Rs 4,602 crore was lost.
But much worse was to follow as the government machinery moved in with what was purported to be a massive relief operation. Nine months on, the victims of nature's fury find themselves up against something far more intractable ' the insatiable greed of officialdom and the ruling class who will stop at nothing in the pursuit of easy gains.
Justice Santosh Hegde's resignation as Karnataka Lokayukta did not come a day too soon. The anti-corruption crusader found his hands tied as chief minister BS Yeddyurappa and his ministers chose to turn a blind eye, if not actively participate in, the nefarious activities of the mining lobby and the men behind the multi-crore-rupee flood relief scam. Amid charges and counter-charges traded by the government and the Opposition, it became increasingly clear that something was rotten in the corridors of power in the state of Karnataka.
Justice Hegde may have withdrawn his resignation following an assurance from BJP leader LK Advani that his demands would be met, but political pundits in the state believe that we haven't seen the last of this sordid saga.
While Advani and the BJP high command know the value of clean governance and the continuance of Justice Hegde, the CM and many of his cabinet colleagues want to govern the state according to their own will. The unseemly developments that forced the Lokayukta to step down are a direct fallout of the power tha mining mafia wields. No Karnataka officer can utter a word or take action against the wrong-doers. The Bangalore-Bellary-Karwar nexus is strong on both the political and economic fronts.
"Seventy per cent of iron ore exported from Karnataka is sent out done without valid permits. In 2009-10, 35 lakh tonnes of iron ore was exported without permits. The cost of this is around Rs 2,500 crore," says Opposition leader Siddaramaiah.
The CM himself has pleaded helplessness. The mining lobby is bigger than him and it is alleged that this lobby controls the Karnataka government. Yeddyurappa, on his part, has put the ball in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's court. He has written a letter to the PM calling for a ban on iron ore exports.
The revenue secretary has officially declared that up to March 31, 2010, the state government spent Rs 1878 crore on flood relief. Did that money actually reach the victims? After the flood, the government decided to permanently shift 308 villages from the low-lying areas. Corporate giants, religious institutions and a few individuals came forward to help. A new housing project named 'Aasare' was launched and Rajya Sabha member Rajiv Chandrashekhar was made the head of that project. According to him, under the 'Aasare' scheme's plan of building 69,500 houses, only 844 houses have been built so far. Not a single house has been officially handed over to the victims.
Housing minister Katta Subramanya Naidu claims that "all is well in North Karnataka now". Speaking to TSI, he said: "The people are happy there and flood relief projects are going on in a phased manner. By September we will construct 15,000 to 20,000 houses." What about the remaining 50,000 houses?
Four TSI reporters recently toured six flood-affected districts and found that the ground reality was pathetic. There were clear cases of deep-rooted corruption. The Lokayukta himself told us, "I know what is happening in the flood-affected areas and I have submitted a report about the corruption that is happening in the name of rehabilitation of flood victims."
Both government and private institutions have poured crores of rupees into the flood-affected area. But this fact isn't evident on the ground and the woes of the flood victims haven't ended. The TSI team visited more than 50 villages in a span of seven days and the situation was grim everywhere. In many cases the relief distribution was erratic; lakhs of people are still living in temporary sheds built nine months back on an emergency basis.
In our week-long exercise we couldn't find a single village that has been spared the ill-effects of corruption in distribution of compensation, building of temporary sheds and erection of permanent colonies for shifting the most affected villages. From Kotyal village in Bijapur to Shakhavaadi village in Rayachur, every villager has a litany of complaints against their village accountants. In Raichur taluk, the tehsildar issued blank cheques to his subordinate village accountants for distributing among the flood affected but the money has been siphoned off.
In Kotyal village, a compensation cheque of Rs. 4.6 lakh, released for onion farmers, has lapsed thanks to local politics. In Kolur village of Devadurga taluk, the government distributed compensation cheques to the farmers six months back but they have not been encashed yet as there is insufficient funds in the government's account. The tehsildar of Badami released huge sums against false bills for rehabilitation that remained on paper.
The temporary sheds that have been set up are a complete sham. These 10X10 structures do not have proper bathrooms or toilets. Some of the sheds don't have electricity. Many sheds in Pattadkal and Hiremaagi villages of Bagalkot are unfit for habitation and people have refused to move in. House construction is the worst in villages like Holealur, Kuruvinakoppa of Gadag district, Ukumnaala of Bijapur and Allur sub-post of Badami taluk. Villagers here have decided not to occupy these houses as they feel the roofs could collapse anytime.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice Board
IIPM Lucknow – News article in Economic Times and Times of India
IIPM Prof Rajita Chaudhuri's Snaps
