The statements of Jual Oram, a senior Cabinet Minister of the Central Government, reiterated the general perception of the people of Odisha. When Mr Oram tried to clarify things, he also said, “The CBI going slow in the chit fund and mining scams is the perception of the people and not my own.” Claiming that the Centre did not interfere in the functioning of the CBI, he further said on January 3, “I also said even though a section of people are under impression that the probe into these scams by the CBI is slow, the NDA Government has never interfered in the activities of the CBI.”
The hide-and-seek and the love-hate relations between the BJP and the BJD are conditioned by political expediency. The BJP has not yet forgiven Naveen Patnaik for breaking the BJD's alliance with them from 2009 onwards. Mr Patnaik outsmarted them and achieved a majority on his own.
The BJD's stand is that they are equidistant from the BJP and the Congress. However, when political interests coincide, the BJD is prepared to go along with the BJP, surely for political help and protection.
The chit fund scam is under investigation by the CBI on account of a directive of the Supreme Court. Initially, the investigations started with aggressive publicity. Subsequently, things have definitely gone slow. In the case of the mining scam, the CBI has not formally undertaken the investigation, though major sectors, e.g., the railways, the ports, the IBM, etc., are already within its domain. The Justice Shah Commission produced a very detailed report on the state of affairs of Odisha in the mining sector. So far as culpability of individuals is concerned, the commission felt that the matter should be further investigated into by the CBI. A litigation is pending in the Orissa High Court inter alia praying for handing over of the investigation of the mining scam to the CBI. In this matter, the hearing was concluded and the judgment was reserved. A long period lapsed. The judgment remained undelivered and one of the judges was appointed as a Supreme Court judge and the matter has been hibernating since then. The Central Government had appointed the Justice Shah Commission. This was when a litigation inter alia praying for appointment of an Inquiry Commission was then pending before the Supreme Court. The commission recommended further investigation by the CBI, but the Central Government has remained inactive and silent in this regard. This is also despite the fact that a vital sector is already covered being under the Central Government. In this context, the remarks of Mr Oram that the Odisha Government should thank the Centre for “letting them off the hook” in the chit fund and mining scams is a timely remark to make the Central government realise that it is being a party to a go-slow method and, to some extent, a cover-up method. It is, therefore, reasonable to justify the perception of the people relating to an alleged “deal” between the BJD and the BJP.
The Central Government has come to the aid of the violators of law in the mining scam by bringing in amendments to the MMDR Act by extending the tenure of the leases with retrospective effect. This has legitimised the continuity of the lease, but it has not legitimised the violations of several environment laws, ceilings of authorised extraction of minerals and the like. Rakes of valuable minerals have gone missing. Both the Central and State Governments have thrown up their hands as the transportation was also partially by Railways and probably the exports were from a major port.
When the details of the scam started crawling out like worms from a can, there was kneejerk reaction by the State Government. Some officials were suspended pursuant to a so-called Vigilance inquiry, and some criminal cases were booked through a procedure which had its inherent flaws. Even the initiation of prosecution by the Vigilance department is in the arena of doubt so far as violations of the MMRD Act are concerned.
There were demand notices relying on the comments of audit without any show-cause notices issued to the operators of mines. It looked as though the fatal flaws were being left unattended to ensure that the operators of mines got the benefit there from. Of course, this is independent of the fact that the illegal excessive mining had been undertaken with the State Government collecting the royalty and other dues. The cases of excessive mining were thus ignored and acquiesced into by the State Government at the relevant points of time.
In the arrangements of expediency between the Central Government and the State Government, the nation and the State have lost an immense quantum of nonrenewable valuable resources. The flaunting of easy money in the State capital Bhubaneswar has no doubt reduced, but the illegal wealth amassed still continues to control many vital fields of an effective administration.
When a Commission of Enquiry headed by a former judge of the Supreme Court has unearthed the details of vital flaws in the mining operations in Odisha and recommended a further investigation by the CBI for bringing to book the culpable persons, both the State and Central Governments ought not to shy away from it. This is a justified recommendation and ought to be acted upon without any further avoidable delay.
On account of silence of the Central Government and the machinations of the State Government, it is but natural for the youth of Odisha and other citizens to be led to believe that money power is clouding the logical decision-making process with its inevitable adverse impact on proper governance. This feeling by itself is a harmful indicator. Majority decision-making may not always be rational. But the intergeneration equity due to our youth has been badly hampered by the clandestine activities of a few. They have proved Mahatma Gandhi's statement, “There is enough for everybody's need, but there is not enough for everybody's greed.” Will our youth permit the greedy to grasp the administrative machinery and gear it in the manner that suits them, or will the youth power rise to the occasion and demonstrate the power of the majority in the cleansing operation that would protect their future and bring the culprits to face the consequences of Rule of lawIJ The people of Odisha cannot remain indolent and cannot be silent spectators to the ravaging of their national wealth. The youth should not tolerate the robbing of their future. But this requires an organised voice of the youth and the non-youth to be fine-tuned together to be loud and clear for the deaf ears of the Governments at New Delhi and Bhubaneswar. Effectuating this measure must involve one and all in the State, and we must have the courage to rise above the personal interests and not be lured by the gains of money power in political decision-making. In the New Year, let the youth of Odisha arise and protect their future in an adequate manner. Surely this concerns us all!
(The writer, a Senior Advocate, is a former All India Service officer, a former diplomat, a former editor, a former President of Orissa High Court Bar Association and a former Advocate General of Odisha. jayantdas@hotmail.com)