Conquerors of the golden city
In March 2010,Hardnews reported of the many irregularities in the Commonwealth Games. It was futureless quagmire, those games and Delhi seemed to be helplessly sinking in a haze of smoke and construction, beside a sewage-drain called the Yamuna. While Suresh Kalmadi had the last laugh
Akash Bisht and Sadiq Naqvi Delhi
Some days back, an advertisement on the upcoming Commonwealth Games (CWG) appeared in several newspapers seeking volunteers. The irony was that most of the volunteers posing for the ad were 'employees' of the Organising Committee (OC). With games just a sniffing distance away, the preparedness can be well gauged from this 'event'.
The hurry and haste in pulling off a 'successful' CWG is clearly evident from the uncanny narratives that keep resurfacing in the media and elsewhere. For instance, the Commonwealth Games Federation Coordination Commission report noted, "Venue delivery and handover schedules have recently been pushed back from January to March and for athletics/ceremonies and aquatics to the end of June. This has had a detrimental impact on test events. ...Any further delay will have a substantial impact on (the) games' operational delivery."
While the massive spending in millions of public money is increasing manifold with each passing day, most games venues are still running behind schedule and doubts linger about a timely finish. Union Sports Minister MS Gill had earlier accepted that the preparation is at least four years behind schedule. Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit has cryptically said that she too was sceptical about the preparedness for the games.
At a time when the CWG idea was proposed, Rs 200 crore was the budget. With passing years, this figure has gone up drastically to Rs 1,600 crore. And this does not include Rs 4,100 crore which is being spent on different stadia and other facilities across New Delhi. The amount excludes several thousand crore which are being spent on building new infrastructure or in the renovation of the existing ones. It is believed the final projected cost stands at approximately Rs 20,000 crore. No wonder, opposition parties are demanding a white paper on this gigantic expenditure.
Comments
CWG
It is a good write-up. The foreign consultants retained for sponsorships have not got any international or domestic success. What has come in is mainly from the public sector which is anyways government money. And this has come through active interests pursued between the 'concerned' politico who also happens to be a MP and the respective head of the cash rich PSU.
But the hefty commission on every rupee of the government money will be paid to the appointed consultant (with no minimum sponsorship amount guaranteed in the contract)—projected as an Australian organisation with experience. The Organising Committee (OC) has to get most of the business done for the appointed agency and then also give commission which has been decided already. Good planning—it is going to be a very successful games for some.
The icing is that the expenses of this agency for over two years—their staff, travel and office operating costs are also met by OC as per the contract—this is over and above all, the commission payable.