The Telgi stamp paper fraud is being described as the biggest scandal ever to hit the country. Indications are that Bihar, host to the mother and fodder of all scams, must reluctantly surrender that dubious honour to Maharashtra and Karnataka. Estimates on the size of the Telgi scam differ widely — from a mere Rs 6,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore (this paper has reported the respectable median figure of Rs 23,000 crore.)While media reports rightly focus on the various cops, officials and politicians who have fattened themselves on the racket, so weary have we all become of scams that we tend to lose sight of important issues related to the money itself. Where did all that money go anyway? Will most or all of it be recovered? And, if so, who will benefit? Such questions are particularly important in this case, given the staggering amount involved.But first, how do we even come to grips with a figure like Rs 23,000 crore? Imagine the entire amount as being made up from 100-rupee notes. If we strung all the notes together, they would make a chain over 368,000 kilometers long — enough to stretch to the moon, with plenty left over to knot our bridge-of-notes securely around the lunar and terrestrial equators. Interestingly, India’s proposed lunar mission is expected to cost Rs 386 crore; so Telgi could have financed at least 50 such missions!We could also view the amount in terms of national defence. Naval-gazers are thrilled that, after a decade of haggling, India is close to acquiring the refitted Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, along with a full complement of fighter aircraft for just around Rs 9,000 crore. Well, the Telgi-team could have bought us two Gorshkovs, with maybe a couple of submarines thrown in as well. On the other hand, their boodle could have bought us 160 Sukhoi-MK1 fighters (Rs 140 crore each) and have still left enough small change for 500,000 bullet-proof jackets for our army jawans.“Now wait a minute!” the scamsters might protest, shedding copious tears. “Moon missions and fighters do not do any good for our poor people. Sure we made money; but we also provided employment to thousands of stamp-vendors; we supported paper mills, helped small entrepreneurs and industries who made our inks and dyes and seals.why, we’ve done real social service!”A well-reasoned argument, which can best be countered by comparison with another (real!) social service scheme: Karnataka’s midday-meal scheme named ‘Aksharadasoha’. Launched in March this year, this scheme provides hot midday meals to schoolchildren up to Class V in government schools across the state. It costs Rs 200 crore annually, and this amount is met by taxes on Karnataka lotteries. So the Telgi gang could have run this wonderful scheme for 115 years, or perhaps run a similar scheme in every other state for five.Did someone say India is poor?
