Newton's Law of Corruption in India

Nitin Gupta (Rivaldo) is a stand-up comedian & is an alumnus of IIT Bombay (Chemical Engg) and founder of Entertainment Engineers.
Here he is seen performing for the students at the S.P. Jain College and the subject is the CWG, 2G and other scams - the Archimedes Principle and Newton laws are a brilliant take why nobody gets caught in the scams in India – this can be explained by the Archimedes Principle for corruption "Any minister fully or partially immersed in corruption is pushed up by a buoyant force which is equal to the weight of the money displaced by him in the scams".
Laws of corruption should be passed – similar to Newton laws of motion

Black money at rest will remain at rest, scams in motion will remain in motion, until unless an external force like the Jan Lokpal Bill is applied to them by people outside the parliament...
See and enjoy the hilarious video for more - unfortunately its not a laughing matter, it is the current state of affairs in India.
click here for more funny comments

Senior Military Officers caught in Money Spinning Spree

Army Maj Gen in the dock in electronic warfare equipment scam
[ Updated 30 Aug 2012, 14:09:27 ]
New Delhi, Aug 30: Major irregularities and siphoning off of funds have come to light in the purchase of electronic warfare equipment worth Rs 80 crore for the crucial Northern Command that covers Kashmir.
A Major General of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME) is in the dock in the Court of Inquiry, presided over by a Lieutenant General.
The Major General was attached to the Udhampur-based Northern Command earlier this month. The senior ranking officer has been divested of all operational responsibilities pending completion of the Court of Inquiry.
A newspaper report quoting sources said, the deal for electronic warfare and other sensitive equipment was signed last year and the Army carried out a preliminary probe when allegations of misappropriation by way of submitting fake bills came to light some months later.
Finding substance in the allegations, the Army then ordered a formal Court of Inquiry in May this year against a Colonel.
He, however, denied the allegations and pointed fingers at his Major General, who was the Master General (overall chief) of the Northern Command EME.
Officials said the officers were not able to explain expenditure of nearly Rs 30 crore out of the Rs 80 crore deal.
Sensing the seriousness of the charges, the Army ordered another Court of Inquiry after allegations surfaced against the Major General.
The latest scam involving senior officers comes in the backdrop of cases like Adarsh Housing Society scam in Mumbai, Sukna land scam and allotment of defence land to builders in Pune. All these cases involved officers of the rank of Lt Generals.
A former Military Secretary was also divested of his rank in the Sukna land scam.
Besides these high profile cases, two Lieutenant Generals, now retired, were prima facie found guilty of misappropriation of funds in procurement of rations including dal and mutton for troops.
Army Maj Gen in the dock in electronic warfare equipment scam
Comment: EW equipment purchase scandal by EME seems to be a new avenue for kickbacks as the equipment is shrouded in secrecy... Thank heavens there are no imminent war threats... Our Corrupt senior officers and bureaucrats will ensure defeat even before combat commences!

Rank Pay: Will the MOD in conjunction with UOI throw more spanners?

LATEST UPDATE
IV Pay Commission Rank Pay Anomaly Case
In the case of Maj AK Dhanapalan Vs Union of India in OP 2448/96, The Hon’ble High Court of Kerela allowed the plea of the officer and held that the deduction of the rank pay was not correct and directed to re fix the basic pay of the officer from 1.1.1986. Appeal filed by the Union of India before the larger bench of the High Court & SLP in the Hon’ble Supreme Court against the judgment was dismissed. Although Govt sanction to pay arrears to Maj AK Dhanapalan were issued, the benefit was not extended to similarly placed officers of the three Services.
Similar cases were filed by a large number of officers in various courts throughout the country. The Supreme Court of India directed that such of the cases be transferred to the apex court. Retired Defence Officers Association (RDOA) has been able to transfer one of the ‘lead cases’ from Kerela to the Supreme Court.
AS ON 04 SEPT 2012
The IV CPC Rank Pay Case was finally heard today ie 04 Sept 2012, in Court no 7, in the court of Hon’ble Justices RM Lodha, TS Thakur and Anil S Dave. The appeal file by UOI for recall of order of the Hon’ble Court dated 08 March 2010 was dismissed by the Court. The court upheld its order of 08 Mar 2010. The Solicitor General spent marathon four hrs to convince the court about the legitimate deduction of the rank pay but was not able to justify the deduction of rank pay and as to fitment of pay of AF officer vis a vis a civilian offr drawing same basic pay as on 1/1/1986.
The said order will be applicable to all affected offrs of the AF wef 01/01/1986 to 01/01/2006 across board. It would also be applicable to all pending cases in various courts and AFT’s across the country on the subject case.
The interest will be applicable @ 6% wef 01/01/2006 and not 1986. This is the only change made by the court. The court has also directed that all arrears should be paid within outer limit of 3 months from today ie 04 Sept 2012.
So, the pay and pension of all affected officers of the AF are set to revise from 01/01/1986.
RDOA Blogspot
SPANNERS PROPOSED BY UOI through Solicitor General as on 11 Jan 2012
The UOI has suggested a big 'spanner' to cause delay in the IV CPC rank pay case. In its affidivit filed the UOI says that the Central Govt is open and willing to constitute an independent commission headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court to examine the correctness of the implementation of the recommendations by IV CPC related to rank pay as given in para 28.113 of its report and to make recommendations for further improvements to the proceedure for disbursement of pension to retired Armed forces personnel based on Govt orders subsequent to VI CPC recommendations THIS IS PURE HOGWASH AND ONLY TO DELAY MATTERS. RDOA IS NOT GOING TO BUY THIS LINE OF ACTION. Further it says: Apart from the enormous financial implications, actual implementation of the Hon'ble Court's order would involve the following stages;

Revision of pay of offrs on 1/1/1986, 1/1/1996, and 1/1/2006 with simultaneous revision of all pay linked allowances/benefits.

Calculation of DA on slab basis from 1/1/1986 to 31/12/1995 is time consuming

Revision of retirement benefits (gratuity, leave encashment)of offrs retiring after 1/1/1986

Revision of pension on 1/1/1986, 1/1/1996, 1/1/2006.

Revision of family pension based on revision of pension of offr

Payments to be made to legal heirs of deceased offrs

Interest @ 6 % per annum for upto 24 yrs in each case will have to be calculated and paid. This would be a protracted exercise taking a lot of time and involving huge manpower as each case will have to be examined/ calculated individually.
RDOA comment. UOI is responsible for this faux pas and should do the needful and pay the offrs their legitimate dues. The Court should raise the penalty to 18% for causing unnecessary delays in implementing court orders.

Disconnect between GOI and Armed forces grows

Disconnect between GOI and Armed forces grows – Rank Pay Shows
By IDU Analysis on September 5, 2012
No body listens to the Armed Forces in any matter is a truth. The Armed Forces have been blamed for the messed up wars and operations in 1962, 1965 and Op Pawan but no blame as in the Henderson Brooks or K Subrahmanyam or any other report goes to any bureaucrats’ or politicians’ scalp. And we want to be a Super Power but have become the No 1 Defence Importer in the world because we are a ‘Rich Nation With Fine Poor People’ and the Armed Forces are the fine poor in more sense than one.
The Armed Forces have finally won a victory of sorts on 4th Sept by going to court and there are lessons to be learnt. The Supreme Court three Judge Bench courageously decided not to interfere in its earlier decision granting the cumulative benefits and arrears of Rank Pay with effect from 01-01-1986 to all affected officers. However, the 6% interest component has been admissible on arrears from 01-01-2006 rather than 01-01-1986, because the Government cried ‘foul’ it has no money, which is true for the Armed Forces. Lets hope Chidambaram does not do some retrospective change.
Sadly the case remained pending for years and was finally argued in marathon four hour arguments by the Solicitor General Nariman Jr who had said he had a solid case appearing for the GOI on technical grounds. The SC , decided that there was no infirmity in the order passed on 08 March 2010 which the previous SC had lost but MOD appealed. The welfare of the Armed Forces is a less looked after subject with an IAS secretary warming the chair looking for loop holes only he can plug.
And today news comes Shekhar Agrawal, an IIT product Secretary, Defence Production, Ministry of Defense, Government of India will be looking after additional charge of the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare for three months. He has been screwing up private sector attempts to let Private sector defence companies enter production and has been naturally protecting PSUs. Lets see what is in store as he has his hands full in Defence Production. Welfare can wait.
All this shows there is disconnect between the MOD which should have agreed and fought for Rank Pay when the SC verdict came but it is learnt that that the Services HQ were in favour of getting the verdict implemented, The three services on the basis of a decision taken officially and categorically informed the Solicitor General in writing that the Armed Forces were not in favour of the matter being contested against the affected officers and in fact were in favour of getting the verdict of the SC dated 08 March 2010 implemented. But who listens.
Thereafter, the MOD wrote to the Services HQ asking them to withdraw the communication to the Solicitor General, however to the credit of the Services, the said communication was ultimately not withdrawn. Besides showing utter disregard for the opinion of the services in this matter, this incident also shows as to how the MoD tries to browbeat the services into accepting its views and huge nerve centre connects with UPA Chairperson the PMO drives many of these issues. Unfortunately elements of the JAG Branch also toe the line of the MoD rather than the Services for greener pastures.
This shows the dangers of the workings of the Indian government and political parties and shows the insides of national security too that straddles the philosophical divide between India’s Armed Forces and the leadership and extends to India’s foreign and military policy and hijacks the ability of the military ability to deliver. And as the picture shows China leaps ahead with economy , women power, military and nuclear muscle and intelligence which was what the out going Chinese Defence Minister came to gather with 23 others.
Another debility in India is that which ever Indian government has come to power, it has shown a quest to dominate the military by any means fair or foul and has evaded the appointment of a CDS despite Arun Singh, K Subrahmanyam and now Naresh Chandra committee having recommended. They were no fools.
It is only after examining the factors of corruption in purchases like Bofors, HDW submarines, Tehelka and now the cancelled contracts and the war Room leak case connected with absconding Lt Cdr Shakaran and Abhishek Verma that one realizes how Armed Forces are the losers while bureaucrats politicians get away. The names are known but cash leads abroad are not easy to trace.There have also been failures in wars of 1962, 1965 and Op Pawan , that one can point to ill conceived motives and failures of India’s foreign and military policy. The Armed Forces are kept at arm’s length from decision making or foreign policy and offered sops like posts of Governor or Ambassador to Naval Chiefs as one hears the post will now go to the retired Naval Chief for good work done.
Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat tried to challenge the system and took on the Deference (Sic) Minister Fernandes and Defence Secretary and DRDO Dr Kalam and asked for an audit of the ATV INS Arihant project where he was a spectator member. He got sacked under Art 311 with out rank or pay as powers rest with the Defence Minister to dismiss any inconvenient officer under Art 311 though Justice Shah when introducing the article in the Constitution asked for ‘application of mind’. More recently Gen VK Singh tried to take on the Government but failed and its said he is safe as he holds many interesting conversations his special unit tapped in to, and his daughter is an Army wife and an in house lawyer. Bhagwat was simple sailor and lives down Colaba.
With this SC Rank Case ruling and many scams the question before Indians today and the Armed Forces and educated citizens is how can we have faith that their government will steer well and honestly and keep them safe. India wants to rise but has a charted a strategy for India where bureaucrats in MOD apply yard sticks to keep the Armed Forces subservient. How clueless can Government be about scams under the Minister’s and PM’s nose which has the most intelligent officers in PMO looking after India’s Intelligence agencies which have mushroomed so no one finger can point at any one agency. This is a moot point for national intelligence too.
And brings in a relevant question is “Do our intelligence agencies deliver or in the cloak of secrecy get away unquestioned”? When one accidentally took over as Director of Naval Intelligence and consulted a British counterpart who dealt with MI-5 and MI-6 (One had to deal with IB and RAW and DOE only then), he said, “Intelligence is like a cow. You have to ‘milk it’ and learn how to milk a cow (Intelligence) first. She does not give milk by itself”. Nor does any intelligence agency as the act of withholding information, is rampant in India.
Today the Indian government presents a view of reactive Indian foreign and military and nuclear policy, as reported by the Atomic Scientists and Mail Today as the Indian military is not in the loop who are to ‘man the bombs’, even if never to be used. And clever people say its ambiguity as is CWG, 2G and now Coalaveri gate.
This luckily for India is in stark contrast to that depicted by corporate India where to most minds the private industry (not the coalgate and 2G and CWG gainers) is leading India’s rise on the world stage. For years the Indian military was supplied, stocked and supported by the erstwhile Soviet Union but with its fall, now Israel and the US have emerged as India’s suppliers, and till we become some what self sufficient where private industry has to join India will as its now said, “Muddle along well and react only when the chips are down, and the loyal Armed Forces will react after a few days and get their act together”.
But today it’s a day to celebrate our Supreme Court not our MOD or Defence Minister or our PM who promised us pay of our Rank from the ramparts of the .RED FORT on Independence Day when PM announced the Pay Commission of rank not band.. He also ordered a group of secretaries to give a report on OROP on 8th Aug …..but what is an order from one bureaucrat to another unless there is something in it for him or her. The report is still to come. Command and Control of India is in slumbers and Khamooshi (Silence) as PM put very eloquently before he went to Iran for NAM meet, to defend himself in Coalgate is the order of the day.
Disconnect between GOI and Armed forces grows – Rank Pay Shows

Rank Pay: Supreme Court Orders Payment

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2012
Rank Pay forms a part of basic pay, release arrears to affected officers : Supreme Court, today, 04 September 2012
Perhaps historically the most important litigation involving the military has culminated today.
A three judge Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court today decided not to interfere with its earlier decision granting the cumulative benefits and arrears of Rank Pay with effect from 01-01-1986 to all affected officers. However, the interest component has been modified and interest @ 6% per annum would now be admissible on the arrears from 01-01-2006 rather than 01-01-1986.
All payments have been directed to be made within a period of 12 weeks from today and the benefits shall be released to all officers irrespective of whether they had approached a judicial forum or not.
As many would be aware, after the 4th Central Pay Commission (CPC), an integrated pay scale of Rs 2300-5100 was implemented for officers from the rank of 2/Lt to Brig. In addition, rank pay was authorised to officers from the rank of Capt to Brig ranging from Rs 200 to 1200 which was to be added into the basic pay for all intents and purposes.
However, while fixing the pay in the new scales, an amount equal to the rank pay was deducted from the emoluments resulting in financial loss to all affected officers. Hence all officers holding the rank of Capt to Brig as on 01-01-1986 suffered cumulative losses.
The Hon’ble Kerala High Court in a case filed by Maj AK Dhanapalan had termed illegal this deduction of rank pay. The SLP filed by the Union of India was also dismissed, albeit not on merits but on technical grounds of limitation.
Soon thereafter, many similar petitions were filed in various Hon’ble High Courts all over the country which were clubbed together and transferred to the Hon’ble Supreme Court to be heard alongwith an SLP of similar nature which had arisen out of a case that was allowed on the basis of the judgement in Dhanapalan’s case. The Hon’ble Supreme Court on 08 March 2010 upheld the said verdict and granted relief to all similarly placed officers alongwith an interest of 6%.
Things were however not to end there since the Govt constituted a committee to look into the amount involved and went back to the Hon’ble Supreme Court by filing an application for recall of the order dated 08 March 2010 on the grounds of burdening of the exchequer and also stating therein that many more issues on the subject were not taken into consideration by the Court and hence the order needed to be recalled.
The case thereafter remained pending before the Hon’ble Supreme Court and was finally argued today when the Hon’ble Court, after hearing marathon arguments of the Solicitor General appearing for the govt, decided that there was no infirmity in the order passed on 08 March 2010. As informed above, only the modification in the grant of the interest component was effectuated.
The case was not without surprising developments which can now be shared since the issue no longer remains sub judice.
First was the total incorrect and skewed presentation of the status and pay of military officers vis-à-vis officers of the civil services projected in the affidavit appended with the recall application filed by the Union of India. The speciousness thereof has already been discussed by me on the blog in November 2011 and all those falsities were exposed in the affidavit filed on behalf of the affected officers before the Hon’ble Court.
Secondly, which can be disclosed now, is that when it was being projected by the Govt that the Services HQ were also in favour of getting the verdict recalled / reversed, the three services on the basis of a decision taken at the apex level, clearly, officially and categorically informed the Solicitor General in writing that the Armed Forces were not in favour of the matter being contested against the affected officers and in fact were in favour of getting the verdict of the SC dated 08 March 2010 implemented. Thereafter, the Ministry of Defence wrote to the Services HQ asking them to withdraw the communication to the Solicitor General, however to the credit of the Services, the said communication was ultimately not withdrawn. Besides showing utter disregard for the opinion of the services in this matter, this incident also shows as to how the MoD tries to browbeat the services into accepting its views. Needless to state, in litigation, one party to a particular litigation can never direct another to take a particular stand. However this has been continuing unabated in the MoD wherein they force the Services to reflect the stand of the MoD before Courts and not project their (services’) independent views as is permissible under law. And unfortunately, it’s also seen that elements of the JAG Branch usually toe the line of the MoD rather than the Services.
The biggest ‘Thank You’ for this win goes to Retired Defence Officers’ Association (RDOA) who had been unflinchingly following up the matter with great zeal in a very objective and balanced manner.
Jai Hind.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh at 5:17 PM
Rank Pay forms part of basic Pay: Supreme Court
Related Blog Posts:
GOI prays before the Supreme Court
Supreme Court Restores Rank Pay denied to Military since 1986
Comment: MOD which tried to cheat the Military of Rank Pay since 1986 has been finally ordered by Supreme Court to pay arrears and interest from 2006. Will the MOD skirt the issue with another appeal? Money has gone down the drain in Coalgate and such like scams. Is the Government being robbed of the National wealth and now declared a pauper that it cannot pay its Soldiers?

Fakes take Flight at Srinagar Airport

Srinagar land scam: Over hundred acres of airfield sold
NDTV Correspondent, Updated: July 23, 2011 12:32 IST
Srinagar: Shocking as it may sound, India's most security-sensitive airfield the Srinagar Air Force Station and International Airport has been on sale for four years, and till recently nobody knew about it!

NDTV has exclusive documents that show bit by bit more than 100 acres of the 2,300-acre airfield has been sold to private players by land sharks who bribed their way through the Defence Estates Office and the government's Revenue Department.

These corrupt officials cleared sale agreements in such a zone that could easily fall prey to cross-border terror; selling off pieces of an area, ironically, we are not even allowed to enter.

A R Hanjura, a lawyer, bought 1.5 acres of this land in Naaru Village in 2008. He bought it from Mrs. Fazi, who claimed to be the previous landlord, and had the papers to show for it.

Mr Hanjura says these were Revenue Department records that confirmed the land was still in Mrs Fazi's name, even though the area was being used by the Defence.

Mr Hanjura was told once the plot is his he could claim rent from the Defence.

The sale was cleared by the Defence Estates Office in Srinagar, whose permission was mandatory, since the plot fell in an area under its use.

It was also verified by the Revenue Department that it belonged to Mrs Fazi and not the Defence Ministry. Mr Hanjura bought the plot at a pittance for Rs. 20,000 which he thought to be a bargain, till he was told it was a fraudulent sale of Defence land.

According to documents with NDTV, at least 60 buyers like Mr Hanjura risked purchasing village land, right inside the airfield since 2008, hoping for a rent from the Defence.

They drew assurance from the fact that a Defence Office okayed the purchases.

"I have been deceived. I have obtained a no-objection certificate from the Defence Estates Office. That way it was perfect for me to purchase this land," said A. R. Hanjura, man who bought plot in Srinagar airfield.

NDTV has accessed many of these No-Objection Certificates, issued by the previous Defence Estates Officer Ajay Chowdhary.

It claims that the plots were neither acquired nor requisitioned nor hired by the Defence Ministry.

Blatantly contradicting these documents that show the Defence Ministry acquired this whole area, all 2,300 acres, way back in the 50s and the 60s.

The catch: Only 500 acres of these acquisitions have been updated in the revenue records of the state till today because of red tape and inefficiency in both the Defence and Revenue offices.

"The Revenue Department does not give any documents required unless they get no-objection, requisite clearance from the Defence Estates Office. Once they give no objection, that means all encumbrances are ruled out," said Rafi Ahmad Deputy Commissioner and Collector, Budgam District.

The Srinagar Defence Estates now under a new officer has challenged petitions of five buyers who demanded rent. Alternately they were asked to vacate the land.

The Defence has argued these petitions be dismissed, since the purchase of these plots is a scam. It has also stopped issuing NOCs pertaining to any land sale in the area.

This is along the lines of the Adarsh Scam in Mumbai, which exposed the collusion between Defence and government officials, trying to make a profit from sale of properties occupied by the Defence. Only in this case the stakes and dangers of such a sale are much higher.
Srinagar land scam: Over hundred acres of airfield sold

Clueless: Government Commissions Study to unearth Black Money

PIB 29-May, 2011 11:24 IST
Government Commissions Fresh Study Through Top National Level Institutions for Estimation of Unaccounted Income/Wealth both Inside and Outside the Country.
Ministry of Finance, Government of India has commissioned an in-depth and fresh study, engaging three top national level institutions for estimation of unaccounted income and wealth held within and outside India. This study will bring out the nature of activities that encourage money laundering and its ramifications on national security. The study has already commenced in March, 2011 and is expected to be completed within a period of 18 months. The study is being undertaken by the following national institutes:

National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP);

National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) ; and

National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
The terms of reference of the study are as follows:

To assess/survey unaccounted income and wealth both inside and outside the country.

To profile the nature of activities engendering money laundering both inside and outside the country with its ramifications on national security.

To identify important sectors of economy in which unaccounted money is generated and examine causes and conditions that result in generation of unaccounted money.

To examine the methods employed in generation of unaccounted money and conversion of the same into accounted money.

To suggest ways and means for detection and prevention of unaccounted money and bringing the same into the mainstream of economy.

To suggest methods to be employed for bringing to tax unaccounted money kept outside India. (vii) To estimate the quantum of non-payment of tax due to evasion by registered corporate bodies.
The issue of black money has attracted a lot of public and media attention in the recent past. So far there are no reliable estimates of black money generated and held within and outside the country. The different estimates on quantum of black money range between USD 500 billion to USD 1,400 billion. A recent study by Global Financial Integrity has estimated the illicit money outflow to be USD 462 billion. These estimates are based on various unverifiable assumptions and approximations. Government has been seized of the matter and has, therefore, commissioned these institutions to get an estimation and sense of the quantum of illicit fund generated and held within and outside the country. ******* DSM/SS (Release ID :72383)
Government Commissions Fresh Study to quantify Black Money
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UPAII Visualises the next elected PM to be tainted or a scamster?
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CWG Conman's Event Knowledge Services under investigation

Taking a serious view of Shunglu committee findings, the Prime Minister's Office has suggested to Sports Ministry a probe by CBI and Enforcement Directorate based on the panel's report into alleged irregularities in the contracts executed by CWG Organising Committee.

In its letter, the PMO has asked for probe by the agencies specifically in works carried out by Event Knowledge Services (EKS), an international private consultant, and other irregularities pointed out by the Committee.

EKS was given three contracts of over Rs 70 crore by the organising committee to extend consultancy services for the venue development and management, games workforce, and games planning and project management services.

The PMO has directed "expeditious action" on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's order in the matter and sought the reply of Sports Ministry within a month on the fifth report of the high-level committee appointed by him.

The financial loss suffered by the Government due to favouritism for workforce contract aggregated to Rs 18.36 crore, the report said.

"Department of Sports may forward, to the CBI/ED, for action as appropriate, relevant extracts of the report pertaining to the matter of EKS, and the clear cases of forgery, falsification, record creation etc., mentioned in case of other highlighted irregularities," the letter written to the Sports Ministry said.

The Prime Minister had on 25th October last year appointed the high-level committee under the chairmanship of former Comptroller and Auditor General V K Shunglu to investigate and report all irregularities in executing various projects by several government agencies during the Games held here between October 3-14 last year.

The committee, in its report submitted to the PMO on 28th March, found several discrepancies in the projects executed by the company and "collusion" among sacked OC Chief Suresh Kalmadi, Chief Executive Officer of CWG Federation Mike Hooper and other senior functionaries of the Games body.

"The contract was awarded on a single source basis on the recommendation/statement of Mike Hooper, CEO of CGF that EKS was much better informed regarding Delhi venues status than any other International Consultant. This was both a biased and misleading statement," the report said.

"CEO, CGF made every effort to ensure award of these contracts to EKS. The CEO not only personally testified the credentials of this firm but also justified the reasonableness of rates and maydays utilisation and also attended the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) meetings," it said.

The panel found indication of "personal interest" by Kalmadi, currently lodged in Tihar Jail, in giving the contract to EKS.

"The fabrication of the minutes of two meetings (to decide on contracts) purportedly held on January 30, 2008 and March 10, 2008 was strongly suggestive of collusion between OC top management, CGF functionary and EKS for accomplishing its pre-meditated objective," the report said.

Interestingly, the Games Planning and Project Management Contract permitted EKS to assign the same to a sister concern.

EKS incorporated a new company in November, 2008 in Mauritius by the name Event Knowledge Services Pvt Ltd.

The entire contract was assigned to the new company in June 2009, thus, making a mockery of Quality Based Selection System (QBS), it said.

"This is a fit case for reference to the CBI and the ED. They would have to investigate the ownership of EKS Private Limited, Mauritius and trace the flow of funds from the OC to EKS private limited and onwards to other recipients.

"The aspects of fraud involved in this case would also need to be investigated and suitable criminal action taken against the guilty," the findings read.

The committee's fifth report has scrutinised all projects like sponsorship, ticketing, overlays, ceremonies, technology contracts and catering among others executed by the Games OC. (SP-8/5)
PMO recommends CBI, ED probe in CWG contracts

Air Force Fighter Pilot dons title of "Sports Mafia"

Suresh Kalmadi (born May 1, 1944) is an Indian politician and senior sports administrator. He is a member of the Indian National Congress political party. He is the president of the Indian Olympic Association, Asian Athletics Association, and Athletics Federation of India. He is currently being investigated into for his possible role in the misappropriation of $10 Billion allotted for the hosting of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
Early years
Suresh Kalmadi studied at St. Vincent's High School, Pune in the state of Maharashtra in South West India; and then at Fergusson College, Pune. In 1960, he joined the National Defence Academy, Pune, and in 1964, he joined the Air Force Flying Colleges in Jodhpur and Allahabad. He served the Indian Air Force between 1964–1972 and was a recipient of eight medals in his career. After a premature discharge from the Air Force, Kalmadi ran a small fast food shop in Pune and was spotted by Sanjay Gandhi during one of his trips there and was one of the young people at that time that he convinced to join politics with the Congress Party. Kalmadi has served effectively in various capacities with the Congress since and is now one of the wealthiest businessman as well in Pune even from his known sources of income.
He was the president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress from 1978-1980. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha for three terms from 1982 to 1995, and again in 1998. He was also elected to the 11th Lok Sabha in 1996, and to the 14th Lok Sabha in 2004. Presently, he is the sitting MP from Pune. During the tenure of P. V. Narasimha Rao as the Prime Minister of India, Suresh Kalmadi served as the Minister of State for Railways from 1995 to 1996.
Political Strides
He was the President of the Indian Olympic Association and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of recently concluded Commonwealth Games held in Delhi from 3 to 14 October 2010. On October 11, 2008, in Pune, Kalmadi was elected president of the Indian Olympics Association for the fourth time
During the felicitation ceremony that had been arranged to honour the three Indian medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Kalmadi reportedly walked out because he had not been offered a chair next to the Vice-President of India Hamid Ansari. In January 2010, former Indian hockey captain Pargat Singh accused Kalmadi of being a 'sports mafia'.
CWG Scam
The conduct of 2010 Commonwealth Games has come under public scanner and legal scrutiny as well with the Chief Vigilance Commission (an apex anti-corruption body of India) asking CBI to probe certain aspects of the games' organization. For this, the opposition demanded the resignation of Suresh Kalmadi. It has been alleged that illegitimate wealth created through over reporting (inflating) of games costs has been parked with the Jaypee Group, through financial involvement of his son, Sumeer Kalmadi, in the F1 circuit project at Greater Noida. However, Kalmadi continues to deny corruption charges. Finally, in spite of repeated attempts at meeting with the PM, officials in the PMO have thwarted any direct meeting between the two since the Commonwealth Games controversy. Finally, minutes before the start of the Winter Session of Parliament on 9 November 2010 the Congress party gave marching orders to Suresh Kalmadi. He is still in the media glare and continues to deny any corruption or money laundering!
Wikipedia Inputs; Click here

Kalmadi's team to study Beijing Olympics cost the exchequer Rs 8 Crore

CWG Scam: India Today Maneesh Pandey New Delhi, February 17, 2011 Updated 09:40 IST •Kalmadi, Bhanot sacked from CWG OC• Shunglu panel slams Kalmadi, Lalli• OC paid for Mrs Kalmadi's trip: CAG
The mystery of controversial Beijing trip of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OC) - labelled the jumbo junket of Suresh Kalmadi - has been solved.

If the official reply to an RTI filed by Subhash Agrawal is to be believed, Kalmadi and his friends spent Rs 8.15 crore to take 166 people on board for this "study group and observer programme" to Beijing to learn "first-hand about the technical and logistics details of Olympics in August 2008".

MAIL TODAY was the first to report about the CWG junketeers, including those who made it to the Beijing Olympics as the observer group, and had pointed out that there were many in the trip who, sooner or later, had little role to play in the CWG preparations.

The RTI reply endorses this and hints further - " some of the names in the list were purely out of obligation".

For instance, Chhattisgarh governor Shekhar Dutt, then the deputy national security adviser.

What was his role in the OC? Sources in the government said that Dutt was on leave from office to enjoy Kalmadi's party.

He was, in fact, present at the sports presentation event at Hotel Guo Yi in Beijing on August 19. He had signed in the visitors' register as deputy NSA and member OC, CWG.

There were others like National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah and his son-inlaw and Congress leader Sachin Pilot, who had little connection with the sporting event.

Even the name of Nafisa Ali among the 166 Beijing junketeers raises question. There were some like Vijay Goel, who was later shown the door by Kalmadi.

The team also included four persons from Pune whose contributions to the OC are hard to assess.

However, they are being probed by the investigators. The trip, nevertheless, came at a cost of `8.15 crore, says the official reply.

It is anybody's guess what the group learnt in Beijing and how effectively it implemented the lessons back home.

The trip was meant to be a "learning experience to understand the physical environments of the Games being conducted there".

Also, the observer group was required to keep a record of processes, operational needs and policies which would have supported the organisation of the Games.

Interestingly, one of the key sessions, which the OC claimed to have been attended by the group, was related to ticketing, workforce and technology. The ticket distribution mess during the CWG, the accreditation and other technical glitches only explain what the group had actually learnt from the trip.
Suresh Kalmadi spent Rs 8 cr on his Beijing junket

Comment: Suresh Kalmadi's largesse to his Cronies and Sycophants down the drain. Had he only taken professional help from the Indian Armed Forces Kalmadi could have saved the Nation 8 Core Rupees!

Rs 1300 Crore deficit for Commonwealth Games, taxpayers will Pay

NDTV Sidharth Pandey, Updated: February 22, 2011 23:36 IST
New Delhi: One crooked deal after another has revealed that the team that organised the Commonwealth Games in India was incorporated as the worst sort of Badmaash Company.
Adding to the injury of the thousands of missing crores is the insult that the various deals were crassly crafted. But the corruption that became the currency of the Games is now going to hit India where it hurts.
Some of the men who organised the Games have been arrested, interrogated and released. They have left behind a stack of unpaid bills. Bills that will be paid by you.
NDTV used the Right to Information Act to get the financial big picture. The Games were held in October amid a series of media reports on how the Organising Committee for the event, headed by Suresh Kalmadi, had converted the Games into their financial fiefdom. The net result: a deficit of Rs 1500 crore...
Rs1300 Crore deficit for Commonwealth Games, taxpayers will Pay
Comment: Suresh Kalmadi as a Fighter Pilot has shamed the Indian Air Force.

Government may bring ordinance to tackle corruption

Saturday, January 01, 2011, 21:24
New Delhi: Finding itself on the backfoot in the wake of a rash of scams, Government plans to come out with an Ordinance to put in place a mechanism to fight corruption among public servants including politicians.

Sources said the issue was discussed at a meeting of the Congress Core Group here yesterday in which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi were present.

The meeting discussed a note prepared by the Prime Minister's office in the light of Gandhi's five-point action plan to fight corruption suggested in her address to the Congress Plenary here two weeks ago.

Sources said in case the laws concerned needed to be amended to put in place such a mechanism, an ordinance could be promulgated for the purpose. The mechanism, the sources said, may be different from that of the Central Vigilance Commission which deals with only corruption by officials.

There was no no official word on whether the Ordinance could be the precursor to the long-pending Lok Pal Bill and whether the Prime Minister's office would be covered by it.

Gandhi's plan included among other things institution of a new system of fast-tracking of all cases that concern corruption by public servants including politicians and to bring closure to such cases in a well-defined time-frame. She had also talked about Congress Chief Ministers and Ministers including Union Ministers shedding discretionary powers especially in land allotments as they "breed corruption". She also wanted legislative and clear procedures to ensure transparency in public procurement.

In his address, the Prime Minister referred to Gandhi's five-point action plan and said the government would pay careful attention to the agenda set out by Gandhi. Gandhi, in her valedictory address, said they would take the issue of corruption head on and demonstrate through actions and not not words that they meant what they say. "I had made specific suggestions and the Prime Minister has assured us that they will be taken forward," she had said. At the Plenary, Rahul Gandhi had also demanded severe punishment for those guilty of corruption. In his New Year message yesterday, the Prime Minister has already made a pitch for making a "new beginning" in the year ahead.
"We will redouble our efforts to deal effectively and credibly with the challenges of inflation, cleansing our governing processes, national security and making our delivery system work for the aam aadmi", he had said.
Govt may bring ordinance to tackle corruption
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Onion prices soar as scamsters frolic

24/12/2010 The week that was
Week@glance was dominated by the whole country crying hoarse when prices of onions, tomatoes and garlic hit the roof. The government woke up late from its slumber and Pawar was caught on the wrong foot. This week was also dominated by CBI raids in the residences of A Raja, Suresh Kalmadi and Nira Radia — the scamsters of 2010. N D Tiwari has been asked to take a DNA test, while veteran Congress leader K Karunakaran passed away. All this and more...

When the govt was in a veg soup
Onions, tomatoes and garlic dominated the week that started on Dec 20. Onion prices touched a record Rs 90 (in contrast- price in USA- less than 90 Cents- Rs 45/- per Kg) in major markets, sending the government into a tizzy. Garlic and tomatoes followed the onion's race to pinch the pockets of the aam admi even as the opposition and the public hauled the government over the coals. The government stopped the exports, but the action came a bit too late. The government, however, remained clueless about surging trend in tomato given that the Agriculture Ministry has not received any reports of damages from any part of the country.
The week that was