A Tale of Three Slogans: Innovation in Corruption and India’s Road Infrastructure

 A Tale of Three Slogans: Innovation in Corruption and India’s Road Infrastructure

by JK

 

India’s road sector illustrates how governance models shape infrastructure quality. From “khao aur khane do” (eat and let eat – tolerate corruption) to “na khaoonga, na khane doonga” (I will neither be corrupt, nor allow corruption), and now “hum khayenge, lekin khane nahin denge” (we will take bribes at the top, but won’t let anyone else in), each slogan reflects shifts in power, accountability, and corruption. While earlier systems produced resilient but inefficient assets, today’s centralized model prioritizes optics over durability—leading to debt, delays, brittle assets, and public mistrust. Reform requires quality-based procurement, transparency, independent oversight, and accountability that flows upward.

 

1. From “Eat and Let Eat” to “We Eat, You Don’t”

• Pre-2014: Corruption tolerated, but engineers overdesigned assets. Roads built thicker, safer, and slower. Conservative practices led to resilience despite leakage.
• Post-2014: The zero-tolerance promise centralized discretion. Dashboards tracked lane-kilometres built, not asset longevity. Thinly funded consultants became scapegoats while elite contractors benefited through inflated change orders.
• Today: Corruption is concentrated at the top. Petty graft is suppressed, but systemic manipulation thrives, producing fragile infrastructure.

 

2. Why Assets Lasted Despite Corruption (Pre-2014)

• Conservative engineering: Thicker pavements, larger drainage, generous safety margins.
• Slower pace: Contractors compacted layers, cured concrete, allowed time for strength.
• Decentralized oversight: Team Leaders/Resident engineers had stop-work powers.
• Stable contracts: Schedule-of-rates limited redesign churn.
• Maintenance culture: Annual overlays and repairs were funded

3. Evidence of Today’s Failures

• Cost escalations: Dwarka Expressway rose from ₹18.2 crore/km (~US$22m/km) to ₹251 crore/km (~US$300m/km).
• Delays: By Dec 2024, 55% of NHAI projects worth ₹1 trillion delayed over six months.
• Resilience failures: Silkyara Tunnel collapse revealed systemic lapses across surveys, contractors, and oversight.
• Debt: NHAI debt exceeds ₹3.5 trillion (~US$42b), forcing monetization at the expense of safety.

 4. The Himalayan Test Case

 

Courts warned against aggressive hill-road widening without slope studies. Ignoring this, projects in Char Dham have triggered landslides and collapses. The Silkyara disaster confirmed the cost of sidelining resilience.

5. When Slogans Replace Systems

• Then: Corruption coexisted with robust design.
• Now: Centralized corruption produces brittle assets, inflated costs, and debt-driven speed.
• Result: Governance incentives prioritize perception over performance.

6. Reform Agenda

 

Procurement & Design:

• Replace L1 (lowest cost) bidding with QCBS (Quality-Cum-Cost Based Selection).
• Independent peer review for DPRs (Detailed Project Reports).
• Confidential estimates until bidding closes.

 

Transparency:

• Publish change orders and escalations in real time.
• Open project files: DPRs, bills of quantities, test results, variation orders.

 

Performance Metrics:

• Tie payments to resilience (ride quality, rut depth, drainage uptime).
• Mandate post-monsoon audits before final bills.

 

Accountability:

• Attribute failures to approving authorities, not only consultants.
• Financial clawbacks from negligent officials.
• Statutory ombudsman with audit powers.

 

 7. What Good Looks Like (12–24 Month KPIs)

• ≥80% high-value projects procured via QCBS.
• 100% stage-gate evidence published.
• ≤0 projects exceed 15% variation without re-approval.
• Post-monsoon audits public.
• Crash rates reduced 25%.

The shift from “खाओ और खाने दो” (eat and let eat) to “हम खाएँगे लेकिन खाने नहीं देंगे” (we will eat, but won’t let others eat) is less reform than regression. Earlier, despite leakage, India’s road assets were built with conservative engineering, decentralised oversight, and resilient practices. Today, corruption has been concentrated at the top, while systemic accountability has eroded.

The result is a cycle of debt-driven, fragile infrastructure. Highways and expressways rise quickly, but thin design margins and rushed execution leave them vulnerable to collapse, forcing taxpayers to pay twice—first for inflated construction, then for repeated repairs.

True sustainability demands three conditions: integrity in design, accountability in execution, and resilience in outcomes. Without aligning authority with responsibility, India’s highways risk remaining monuments to “innovation in corruption” rather than engines of mobility and growth.

8. Might We Return to the Original Policy “खाओ और खाने दो (eat and let eat)”?

9. International Relevance

 

India’s case shows how anti-corruption slogans can mask centralized rent-seeking. The lesson for other nations: durable infrastructure requires systems, not slogans. Buying quality, verifying performance, and enforcing upward accountability are universal principles.

Conclusion

India’s road sector doesn’t need another slogan—it needs governance that aligns authority with accountability. Unless reforms embed transparency, quality, and resilience into every stage, infrastructure will remain a tool of “innovation in corruption” rather than a public good. For global policymakers, India’s trajectory is a cautionary tale: reform rhetoric means little unless backed by systems that deliver durable, trustworthy assets.