The governance standards in India, one of the finest civil service structures in the world have descended to such deplorable depths.
Tragically, several IAS officers have willingly entered into this kleptocratic pact in return for plum commercial postings during service, coveted ‘independent directorships’ and an ever-multiplying government sinecure after retirement.
In its judgement in the ‘Blackmoney Case’ (July 2011), the Supreme Court talks of the “unholy nexus between lawmakers, law-keepers, and lawbreakers”, clearly indicating that a State-sponsored kleptocracy runs the country.
Delhi is a kleptocratic den with loots and scams galore—Commonwealth Games, ISRO Antrix- Devas deal, 2G Spectrum, Godavari basin gas, National Spot Exchange, imported nuclear deals, thorium and mining loot, Air-India mega purchase to name a few and the biggest of them so far, Coalgate, where crucial files have gone missing. These notwithstanding, defence purchase scams that vitally affect the nation’s security, takes the cake. Here, even the Comptroller & Auditor General of India, the most important officer under the Constitution, has been brought into the kleptocratic network. This IAS officer has served in the Ministry of Defence (2003-2013) the joint secretary, the additional secretary, the Director-General of Acquisitions, officer on special duty and, finally, the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, when he was seamlessly shifted as CAG as if it was just another routine bureaucratic transfer.
During his long tenure in the ministry, he has been closely associated with many policy/purchase/acquisition decisions and deals spanning the Army, Navy and Air Force. Most of these have become stinking scams due to wheeling and dealing and huge kickbacks. They are either under the CBI scanner or CAG scrutiny. Now that he is CAG, he can cover up anything & everything under the kleptocratic pact!
The UPSC, that recruits the crème-de-la-crème of India’s civil services, has also not been left out. Here, the coveted position of Member, UPSC has gone to the loyal retainer of a State land/real estate mafia. For eight long years, this IAS officer has been deputy principal secretary, principal secretary and, on re-employment, officer on special duty to the Haryana CM. In these capacities, he has been handling the State’s Town & Country Planning Department, which, plundered Gurgaon and issued colony licences and change-of-land-use certificates for thousands of acres in the State, causing a loss to the exchequer running to Rs 3.5 lakh crore due to land frauds. This officer also managed to scuttle an ongoing ‘performance audit’ by the CAG on these frauds, that included the DLF-Vadra land deal. It clearly looks as if the UPSC too has lost its moorings. Others include his successor as principal secretary to the CM, who has already spent seven years as director, TCP Department, and its principal secretary.
