Is Rome really burning?

 
Scams (Theft of resources : 2008-2010)  
 
(1) 2G Spectrum scam (2010) -
wiki link

• The 2G spectrum scam involved officials and ministers in the Government of India illegally undercharging mobile telephony companies for frequency allocation licenses. According to a report submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General based son money collected from 3G licenses, the loss to the exchequer was 1,76,379 crore (US$38.27 billion).

(2) Adarsh Housing Society Scam (2010) -
 wiki link

• In 2010, the Indian media brought to public the violations of rules at various phases of construction in the Adarsh Society. Questions were raised on the manner in which apartments in the building were allocated to bureaucrats, politicians and army personnel who had nothing to do with Kargil War and the way in which clearances were obtained for the construction of the building of the Adarsh Society. It had led to resignation of the then Chief Minister,Shri Asokh Chavan.

Times of India news

• Each of the 103 members, some of them private individuals like the relatives of politicians and bureaucrats, will have to pay just Rs 60 lakh to Rs 85 lakh for their apartments in the sea-facing skyscraper. That's barely 10% of the going rate in the area.
• An average two- to three-bedroom-hall-kitchen (BKH) apartment could cost between Rs 6 crore and Rs 8.5 crore in this area," said a leading real estate consultant.

While the exact extent of the robbery is unknown, it could be as high as Rs. 800 crore for 103 allotments.

(3) Commonwealth Games scam (2010)

Snippets from a Express India article

• The Central Vigilance Commission, involved in probing the alleged corruption in various Commonwealth Games-related projects, has found discrepancies in tenders and alleged misappropriation amounting to about Rs 8,000 crore.

Snippets from wiki link are highlighted below

• Among the alleged corruption and defrauding of the games budget, toilet paper rolls valued at $2 were costed at $80, $2 soap dispensers at $60, $98 mirrors at $220, $11,830 altitude training simulators at $250,190.

(4) ISRO Spectrum scam (2011)

Snippet from Tehelka news report.

• According to preliminary CAG estimates, the spectrum largesse to a private customer could have caused the exchequer a loss in excess of Rs 2 lakh crore. According to the contract with Devas, Antrix would have earned Rs 50 crore a year per satellite for 12 years. By comparison, the presumptive loss incurred in the allocation of 2G spectrum by the DoT, as estimated by the CAG, is Rs 1.76 lakh crore

What does it really mean?

• Total expected loss of income to Government (excluding ISRO scam) : 1,85 Lakh
• Total expected loss of income to Government (including ISRO scam)  : 3,85 Lakh crore

Admittedly, the ISRO scam was brought up by media at correct time to stop it. But no credit to the GoI for the process, so it is included in the metrics as well.

To provide a picture of the magnitude of (projected) loss, here are various ways to look at this loss of 3,85 Lakh crore with respect to the budget of 2010-2011 (Link to Union budget 2010-2011 sumary).

• Would have fed every family below poverty line for 88 months ( more than 7 years)
• The budget deficit  : 3,81,408 crore. (Could have been wiped clean)
• Defense allocation  :  1,47,344 crore. (Could have been doubled to make India a power house of defense research)
• Social service allocation : 1,27,570 crore
• Rural development allocation : 55,190 crore
• Science and Technology Allocation : 13,677 crore. (Increasing this could do wonders for the future of Indian scientific research, hence laying groundwork for a technological powerhouse.)
• Youth affairs and sports : 2,844 crore (Could have been increased to invest more on training the youth towards manufacturing and other high-yielding professions)

So, is the above identified theft of resources really a big deal? Is it akin to "Rome is burning"?

What do you think?