A scam waiting to happen

Power corrupts, even transient power corrupts absolutely

It was John E D Acton, a historian and moralist widely known as Lord Acton, who made that memorable statement in 1887 about power and corruption — “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” Many may view that as an extreme statement without moderation. Yet, in Maharashtra, as in so many other states across India, people in positions of power do not any longer seem to need even “absolute power” to be corrupted absolutely. The Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society scam is precisely the kind of self-serving act of corruption of people in public life that is always waiting to happen and get exposed in India. To be sure, one must not paint everyone associated with this case and all members of the housing society with the same brush. There may well be some genuine innocents among those named as having taken administrative decisions and membership of the society. It would most certainly be unfair to accuse or even suspect every member of wrong-doing. Hence, it is important that the facts of the case are immediately made public so that the really guilty are punished and innocent not harassed. The enquiry ordered by the president of the Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, is only an internal political enquiry meant to establish the culpability of state Chief Minister Ashok Chavan. Mr Chavan is a johnny-come-lately. A 31-storey apartment complex does not come up in a few months. The role of his predecessors must be investigated. Equally of all those who gave clearances for the building to be built. Till the facts of the case are out, the media must suspend its judgement. Trial by media is not a healthy development in a democracy where rule of law must always prevail.

Hence a thorough, time-bound enquiry, including into the conduct of defence staff and all ministries and departments concerned, should be undertaken and its findings made public. Pending the enquiry, all those who were directly associated with the transaction and the processing of the paperwork must be asked to step down so that investigations are fair and free and not tampered with.

The thing about this scam is that it is precisely the kind of misuse of power that is always waiting to happen in India. Few in this business can point a hand at someone else with a clear conscience. Land hunger has grown enormously in India along with fast-paced economic growth and development. There is a new “land grab” movement of another kind sweeping urban India where government land, especially prime land belonging to defence and railways, is being eyed greedily by those who can lay claim to it. Some of this land should, in fact, be put to better commercial use. But that requires a transparent land-use policy and public auction of such land. While the south Mumbai housing scam has attracted much national attention, this is by no means a unique case. There are scores of such scams waiting to happen and waiting to be exposed all around the country, especially where those in power today see themselves out of it sooner rather than later.