The floods in Kerala are a huge calamity, with over 350 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. Our hearts go out to those suffering.

But it was a man-made disaster, twice over. First in 1991, during the UDF Government, which had commissioned a report by Madhav Gadgil, a reputed ecologist and a former Advisor to the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (1986-1990), to study the ecology of the Western Ghats. Gadgil’s report was submitted to the Congress-led UDF Government in August 2011.

It was not accepted. Gadgil had recommended that restrictions be placed, in the interest of the ecology of the sensitive region, on mining and quarrying, on high-rise construction and on non-forest purposes. The report was lauded by environmentalists and frowned upon by vested interests. Madhav Gadgil blames the non-acceptance of the recommendations as a reason for the floods.

Don’t blame God for human mistakes.

So, the consequence of a decision not to accept the recommendations of an expert committee appointed by the then government in 2011 has been felt by the people of the State seven years later.

To add to this is the alleged absence of oversight and preventive action now. The LDF Government knew that the reservoirs were full in July and could have slowly released water to prevent the dams from bursting. They did not, but released water in August in a rush, and, allegedly without warning the people.

Don’t blame God for human follies.

There are other examples of poor decisions, the consequences of which are felt years later, and often nobody thinks of correlating the two.

Venezuela’s collapse

Venezuela’s collapse is another such instance. The country with the largest reserves of crude oil is now bankrupt. Its previous President, Hugo Chavez (1999-2013), was profligate in the use of the funds of State-owned PDVSA, its oil company, when crude oil prices were riding high. . When prices later fell, as prices do, PDVSA had no funds to tap into its deep sea oil reserves. Meanwhile, the competent staff of PDVSA moved on. So, now, years later, the people of Venezuela are facing the consequences of those poor decisions. The country is suffering from hyperinflation (you need a trunkload of currency to buy a loaf of bread), unemployment and unpayable debt. Lately, the government devalued the bolivar by 95 per cent. They can’t blame God for their economy getting wrecked. Rather, they should blame their governments for the bad decisions.

The PM has promised to protect the honest tax payer. He has a lot of work to do to live up to this promise. Is he, for example, going to recompense depositors for the ₹94 crore stolen in a cyber theft from Cosmos Bank? Or will that, too, be an act of God? Ponzi scamsters such as NSEL, Rose Valley and others are yet unpunished, while their victims, the honest tax payers, continue to suffer. The PM must look into these cases if he wishes to keep his promise.

If India is to grow and investors prosper, then those making bad decisions should be held accountable, and crooks must be punished. It is as simple as that.

(The writer is India Head — Finance Asia/Haymarket. The views are personal.)

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