Bangalore: After a "sweet and sour" experience as Karnataka Lokayukta, Justice Santosh Hegde is stepping down today, looking forward to a relaxed and enjoyable life like"what every retired person does".
The 71-year-old former Supreme Court judge whose report on illegal mining triggered a political storm that eventually cost B S Yeddyurappa his Chief Ministerial chair, said that his innings as Lokayukta can be described as a "sweet and sour experience".
"I got an opportunity to help many poor people and also an opportunity to catch some corrupt officers and politicians and have been able to create awareness about the happenings in Karnataka," he said. "First of all, I had a wonderful team who worked with me."
Hegde agreed that the "system is not up there" to punish quickly the corrupt who had been caught.
"Main thing is you must have a quick disposal system in the country. In Jan Lokpal bill, we have suggested that all corruption cases should be completed from the first court within one year. And for that, as many special courts as are required should be created," said Hegde, a member of the joint drafting committee on the Lokpal bill.
He said, "No corruption case should be pending for more than one year, under any circumstances, and that will also strengthen the case of the prosecution. Now it takes ten years from the first court. There should be some radical changes in the judicial justice disposal system".
-NDTV
Mining in a state of mess: Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde's report on illegal mining in Bellary points at extensive corruption in evacuating and shipping iron ore, and more. In its call to probe corporates like Jindal Steel for rampant bribery in accessing ore, the report underscores the glaring lack of transparency in mining policy.
And the Supreme Court's interim order suspending mining in Bellary cannot be a practical, long-term solution either. Policy distorts the domestic market for ore, forcing a race to game the system on all users of ore.
The warped policy on mining hinges on repressed ore prices, including of ferrous ore, for years, with the concession rates for minerals generally unrevised in tandem, to willy-nilly incentivise metal production, never mind the efficiency of conversion.
And despite the fact that domestic finished steel prices have been linked to globally traded rates, for two decades now. It is true that since 2009 the royalty on minerals is supposed to be ad valorem, pegged to ore value. Yet the practice on the ground has been to price ore at widely varying local rates, which are known to quote at a deep discount to the going international prices.
Artificially repressed mineral value is perverse incentive to wantonly mine and despatch ore illegally. Domestic ore prices do need to reflect international scarcity value, given that domestic output cannot but be a fraction of global production. A recent steel ministry panel rightly wants domestic ore prices to be linked to those for sale to Japanese and Korean steel producers, which are revised on a quarterly basis.
The point is to put paid to reckless opacity and widespread give-and-take in ore mining, as the Hegde report has detailed. There is also a solid case for hiving off captive mines, to price ore at market prices. It would actually incentivise value addition in steel. Mining permits must not be left to ministerial discretion. The bottom line is to have a thriving market for iron ore that is above board. Proper value for ore would rev up royalty, shareable with local communities, and so boost the development delivery mechanism in mineral-rich states, which have high poverty ratios.
-ET
I don’t foresee any revamping of system
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| Santosh Hegde |
The 71-year-old former Supreme Court judge whose report on illegal mining triggered a political storm that eventually cost B S Yeddyurappa his Chief Ministerial chair, said that his innings as Lokayukta can be described as a "sweet and sour experience".
"I got an opportunity to help many poor people and also an opportunity to catch some corrupt officers and politicians and have been able to create awareness about the happenings in Karnataka," he said. "First of all, I had a wonderful team who worked with me."
Hegde agreed that the "system is not up there" to punish quickly the corrupt who had been caught.
"Main thing is you must have a quick disposal system in the country. In Jan Lokpal bill, we have suggested that all corruption cases should be completed from the first court within one year. And for that, as many special courts as are required should be created," said Hegde, a member of the joint drafting committee on the Lokpal bill.
He said, "No corruption case should be pending for more than one year, under any circumstances, and that will also strengthen the case of the prosecution. Now it takes ten years from the first court. There should be some radical changes in the judicial justice disposal system".
-NDTV
Mining in a state of mess: Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde's report on illegal mining in Bellary points at extensive corruption in evacuating and shipping iron ore, and more. In its call to probe corporates like Jindal Steel for rampant bribery in accessing ore, the report underscores the glaring lack of transparency in mining policy.
And the Supreme Court's interim order suspending mining in Bellary cannot be a practical, long-term solution either. Policy distorts the domestic market for ore, forcing a race to game the system on all users of ore.
The warped policy on mining hinges on repressed ore prices, including of ferrous ore, for years, with the concession rates for minerals generally unrevised in tandem, to willy-nilly incentivise metal production, never mind the efficiency of conversion.
And despite the fact that domestic finished steel prices have been linked to globally traded rates, for two decades now. It is true that since 2009 the royalty on minerals is supposed to be ad valorem, pegged to ore value. Yet the practice on the ground has been to price ore at widely varying local rates, which are known to quote at a deep discount to the going international prices.
Artificially repressed mineral value is perverse incentive to wantonly mine and despatch ore illegally. Domestic ore prices do need to reflect international scarcity value, given that domestic output cannot but be a fraction of global production. A recent steel ministry panel rightly wants domestic ore prices to be linked to those for sale to Japanese and Korean steel producers, which are revised on a quarterly basis.
The point is to put paid to reckless opacity and widespread give-and-take in ore mining, as the Hegde report has detailed. There is also a solid case for hiving off captive mines, to price ore at market prices. It would actually incentivise value addition in steel. Mining permits must not be left to ministerial discretion. The bottom line is to have a thriving market for iron ore that is above board. Proper value for ore would rev up royalty, shareable with local communities, and so boost the development delivery mechanism in mineral-rich states, which have high poverty ratios.
-ET
I don’t foresee any revamping of system
Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde’s last week in office has, perhaps, been his most action-packed one in five years. It witnessed the completion of his final report on illegal mining which cost BS Yeddyurappa his job as the chief minister of Karnataka. Hegde, who retires on Tuesday after completing his tenure at the anti-corruption agency, tells FE’s Ajay Sukumaran that the mining report was the single biggest job he undertook but he does not expect to see a revamping of the system which the report has exposed.
We have already seen the political fallout (sacking of Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa) of the report. What would you expect in terms of a result from this report?
The political fallout does not concern me. It is left to the political parties to create situations for or against themselves. I have only sent a report in regard to certain factual illegalities from which the state is suffering. Therefore, in this background, we felt that this should be brought to the notice of the government. So we have sent a report. It may have political repercussions and it may have administrative repercussions.
You have given suggestions for revamping the system. Do you really see changes happening?
I don’t foresee any such changes being brought in. I would say only an independent body from outside Karnataka, not a single person, given enough time alone can see that these irregularities are stopped. And persons responsible, or more persons which it may find in the process, face legal consequences. I don’t think it will stop easily.
Apart from government officials, you have mentioned over 100 companies involved in mining and export. Has this come as a surprise to you?
No. For a long time now, we have been getting information about the involvement of not only individuals but also companies, well known companies. Some of them are now reacting rather violently, threatening legal action and what not. I think we have done it legitimately, impartially, without any malice. We have recommended action against such companies also.
When you started off on this report what were your thoughts about the enormity of the task and taking `important’ people head-on?
I really didn’t know....but now we have come to know with the required documents. For me it made little difference because I don’t have to think much about myself or my future. But I was really feeling sorry and worried about my officers who have a long future. They may have to face a lot of harassment from all these people, the so-called `sufferers’ of this report.
After being in the judiciary, in what way has this assignment shaped your thoughts?
Well, I never knew all my life — I’m 72 now — that the government could be so very indifferent. Deliberately indifferent, towards such huge...I won’t call it a scam though I suppose it is a scam also where huge amount of money belonging to the government has been secreted by certain companies and a portion of it has been shared by many in the seat of power, be it a bureaucrat or a political seat of power.
You have said there is a bit of disappointment when you look back at your tenure? Why is that?
Many, many respects, you know. There are many recommendations made by this institution which have not been accepted or implemented. There is an element of disappointment because we have worked hard and found there is something wrong -- we have asked the wrong to be rectified and the government is not doing it.
-Financial Express
Yeddyurappa smashes Naidu's laptop, slaps minister
BANGALORE: Minutes after being relegated to the status of caretaker chief minister of Karnataka, B S Yeddyurappa (BSY) vented his anger at senior central BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu, who was trying to pacify him. BSY flew into a rage and grabbed Naidu's laptop and smashed it on the floor on Sunday, according to party sources.
The incident took place in a suite at Hotel Lalit Ashok where the BJP central observers, including Naidu, a past president of BJP, had called the chief minister to demand his resignation, the sources said.
Such was the 68-year-old Lingayat leader's anger that when a minister close to him woke him up at his Race Course Road residence, he slapped the minister's face.
BSY was already miffed at the central leadership's decision to ask him to step down and its reluctance to heed his choice of a pliable successor. The trigger for his violent behaviour appeared to be Naidu's refusal to sign a letter supporting BSY's cause. Sources said Naidu, who had so far always supported BSY's cause, toed the central line in removing BSY as CM.
The state minister close to BSY who faced the disgraced CM's wrath was not named by the sources.
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