Don’t take it at the cost of others

Whatever ‘presumptive’ or ‘actual’ the lethargic approach of government in allocating natural resources is grotesque to the largest democratic country in the world. CAG assumed a loss of 2.7 lakh crore in spectrum allocation and around 8 lakh crore in different band allocations. After all, we can’t imagine the amount of losses in allocating coal mines.

Albeit resources are scare people have equal right for them. The illegal practices in the operation of mines in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the scam of KG basin and others totally exhausted common people. A country amidst fiscal deficit and current account deficit, imports its 70% of energy resources is in a abysmal position in different policy matters. The honorable Supreme Court pointed out the same in connection with the Presidential Reference on 2G “has to be fair, reasonable, non-discriminatory, transparent, non-capricious, unbiased, without favouritism or nepotism, in pursuit of promotion of healthy competition and equitable treatment. It should conform to the norms which are rational, informed by reasons and guided by the public interest, etc. All these principles are inherent in the fundamental conception of Article 14.”

The procedure adapted for resource allocation was in question. Even though the cost and revenue involved in the resource utilization is unknown, a constitutionally valid method would have adopted for selling natural resources. Also revenue generation is not only logic behind auction as a constitutionally valid method. Bench added “Auctions may be the best way of maximising revenue but revenue maximisation may not always be the best way to subserve public good. Where revenue maximisation is the object of a policy, being considered qua that resource at that point of time to be the best way to subserve the common good, auction would be one of the preferable methods, though not the only method. Where revenue maximisation is not the object of a policy of distribution, the question of auction would not arise. Revenue considerations may assume secondary consideration to developmental considerations.”

Bench is right in this regard, but the government (executive and legislature) don’t have the privilege to bend it for their coerciveness.  As a common possession, no natural resource should be dissipated as a matter of largesse, charity, donation or endowment for private exploitation. The amalgam  ‘common good’ and ‘justifiable’  method shall be considered for allocating natural reserves to private players.

Paul V Mathew