Just how our Nation spends Money ...

Today Chandrayaan-1 led to the confirmation of presence of water on moon via American made M3.
The cost of this historic discovery was Rs 386 crores (77 million)Just made me think how well this money had been spent, such wealth of knowledge and expertise was applied to complete the mission, and further wealth and knowledge to be generated as a consequense.

Another news some time back was the a 300-feet high statue of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji to be erected in the Arabian Sea, facing the Marine Drive. The proposal is for it to be surrounded by a garden with a museum. It will be a unique a landmark in the country's financial capital.
The cost of this project is estimated at around Rs 350 cores (70 million)
Speaking of Mumbai Landmarks, nobody can miss the grand Bandra-Worli sea link that stands proudly as the city's ornament.
This project, when all 8 lanes are complete will eventually cost us Rs 1600 crores (400 million )
UPA government's Farm loan waiver, Rs 60,000 crore (12,000 million)
And then we have Mayawati statues in Lucknow and Noida, at a cost of Rs 500 crore (100 million)

The DMK government gave away colour TVs worth Rs 700 crores (140 million)

The Delhi Metro project, which has set high standards of project completion and execution not only in India but worldwide has cost of Phase 1 as Rs 10,600 crores (2120 million)

Now people will have a different take on each of these acivities and others like that depending on their socio-economic level, native place and community affiliations. There have already been heated debates about a few of them.

As these random expenditures came to my mind, I realised that the problem isn't the expenditure as such. The concern lies somewhere else:

1. Priority of work. Where is the money required first?
2. Vested interests. Is the work beneficial to some section alone?
3. Whose money is it anyway, to be spent on this work?

Once this gets sorted, there will be no issue. Every activity i wrote above drives economic activity, in some way or other. Those like DMRC, Sea-Link etc can be measured in their ROI as a pure economic activity. Others like statues and Space mission have a greater social impact on the psyche of the nation, compared to the economic rewards.

So, nothing is a waste as such when things begin. The waste sets in when the premise is wrong. The waste in Mumbai's sea-Link project due to court battles; the waste when Mulayam Singh says he will demolish Mayawati statues when he comes to power; the waste when money for farm loan waiver disappears in the middle...
The only matter is, prioritize, start execution with full planning, approvals and advance court rulings.. and dont steal.