Vulnerabilities of Institutional Checks in Indian Federalism: The Case of the Adarsh Society Scam in Mumbai |
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Authors: | Vaidehi Tandel Sahil Gandhi Sirus Joseph Libeiro Chaitanya Marpakwar |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Economics, University of Mumbai.;2. Vibhooti Shukla Centre, Department of Economics, University of Mumbai.;3. The Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.;4. The Mumbai Mirror |
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Abstract: | In developing countries, separation of powers coexists with corruption by the ruling elite. This can be attributed to informal institutions, which counter the formal checks and balances. We demonstrate, by studying the Adarsh scam, the vulnerabilities of checks and balances. Fourteen actors belonging to different tiers of the Indian federal setup who could have vetoed the project or certain permissions failed to do so.We find that 54 percent of the checks collapsed because of quid pro quo, 21 percent due to being overridden, 4 percent due to misrepresentation, 7 percent due to absorption, and 14 percent due to omissions in the process. |
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