THE Rs 3.66 crore seized by the CBI in raids on Sukh Ram's residences may be peanuts compared to the goldmine waiting to be unearthed. Alleges a former high-ranking official with the Department of Telecommunications (DOT): "During Sukh Ram's three-year tenure as communications minister, Rs 1,200-1,500 crore was paid as kickbacks. About half of this amount was distributed between DOT officials, touts, within and outside the Communications Ministry, and the top brass of some telecom firms who served as conduits for the pay-offs." The story doing the industry rounds is that politicians pocketed the other half.
The unwritten norm was that 10 per cent of the value of each contract would be paid as "speed money", adds the official. The modus operandi for extracting pay-offs was simple. A centralised system was created with standing instructions that all purchase files be routed through the minister-in-charge for endorsement. While in the past, purchase contracts were normally passed by the Telecom Commission member (production) in consultation with the member (finance), without even the chairman bothering about them, the 'well-informed' political head of the ministry reportedly kept track of the movement of every file and had the last word.
In some instances, Sukh Ram allegedly used his discretionary powers to dole out orders without inviting tenders or seeking the opinion of purchase committees constituted for a technical evaluation of contracts. Even files that would not have routinely gone to the minister's office were intercepted for scrutiny—with obvious motives.
Telecom industry sources say that a well-organised, systematic nexus was thereby established between those who commanded clout and influence in the top echelons of the Communication Ministry and the shadier players in the industry who bagged deals by questionable means for themselves or 'fixed' lucrative DOT contracts they were not competent or qualified to handle
Senior DOT officials who worked with Sukh Ram allege that tenders for basic and cellular services were also convenient milch cows. Infamous touts used a series of excuses to extract money at various stages of the tendering process. So, in retrospect, the delays and various cross-connections in the tender cycle appear to be a well-planned strategy.
Another gold chest was new telephone lines and public call office (PCO) permits granted out-of-turn from the minister's discretionary quota—which has now been scrapped. Sanchar Bhavan insiders say that in the last three years about 1,000 new connections and PCO permits were sanctioned on a priority basis every month. With minimum Rs 5,000 for each line, this could have involved kickbacks amounting to Rs 50 lakh a month.
While the immediate provocation for the CBI to raid Sukh Ram's residences was an excess payment of Rs 1.68 crore to the Hyderabad-based firm, Advanced Radio Masts (ARM), for the purchase of their Multi Access Rural Radio system (MARR), the list of alleged irregularities perpetrated during his tenure is almost endless. The sales turnover of ARM has grown from Rs 7.17 crore in 1990-91 to Rs 185 crore now—something Sukh Ram could be asked to account for.
Can this kind of corruption be contained? To quite an extent, says N. Vittal, chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board and former Telecom Commission chairman. Vittal feels that decentralising the decision-making process could help streamline things. He suggests that DOT be split into four zonal corporations. This would ensure greater transparency in tenders. But will these procedural reforms prevent another minister from calling for files from the four zones, leading to further delays? And will the United Front Government throw away the keys to the treasure chest?
