North-East And The 60:40 Rule

The latest Tehelka (29 may 05) brings some news about the North-East - that invisible since out-of-sight is out-of-mind region. Can't link to it since Tehelka online is only for the chosen few. From the hardcopy:

The Eight states of the Northeast may be unique in most respects but when it comes to big-time financial scams, the region is no different than the rest of India: Politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen gang up to rob the exchequer of big amounts in the Northeast as they do across the country.
...

Financial irregularities, running into hundreds of crores of rupees, have been uncovered in the region more frequently than anywhere else. The Rs 300-crore lottery scandal in Nagaland; the Rs 250-crore import of palmoline oil scandal; the Rs 197-crore FCI supply scam, the list is endless.

Apparently people have been coined a name for these scams. The 60:40 scandals!

This is how they work. The well-informed bureaucrat proposes a scheme, the politician endorses it and the ubiquitous businessman implements it - all on paper! Then the spoils are shared 60:40 - 30 percent each goes to the politician and the bureaucrat and the rest is pocketed by the trader

...
Being outside the radar of New Delhi, most corrupt practices that take place in the Northeast go unnoticed and unreported. In come cases, the watchdog in Delhi get co-opted. The Opposition in the state does not raise a voice since its members have shared the loot during their time in power. The media, in most Northeast states is weak, dependent, with a few exceptions, upon government largesse and therefore subservient.

And so it goes. I think I badly need that cup of coffee and soon.