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Sheila Dikshit is confident that the city will be ready by August 31 and the legacy of the CWG will be a source of envy for the world. However, there are questions of what will happen to these multi-million dollar stadia once the games get over
Sadiq Naqvi Delhi

"The legacy of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) will be envy of the entire sporting world," said Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister, Delhi. She was speaking at the RK Khanna Tennis Stadium which was ceremonially handed over to the Organising Committee (OC).

However, the stadium will be actually handed over to the OC on August 1, 2010 when the entire work finishes. Temporary overlays by the OC will take another month and are expected to be complete by August 31, 2010.

Looking seemingly anxious and nervous, Dikshit said that all the agencies are on their toes to finish the work on time. "We will be ready by August 31, 2010, so that we have a whole month of September for testing and checking the infrastructure," she said. The government is already facing flak for missing the deadlines. Experts feel that the work should have been completed one year in advance so that everything could be tested to perfection.

However, worried about the damning reports which have raised questions on the preparations, Dikshit urged the media to not feel discouraged as the work will be completed on schedule.

Interestingly, a few minutes of rain had earlier brought the city to a halt. Debris and construction material lying on the roads blocked the drains and the smooth movement of traffic. Moreover, the newly built stadia are already crumbling. "In India we have this great culture of doing things at the last minute." said Jaipal Reddy, Minister for Urban Development to Hardnews. Reddy also heads the Group of Ministers on CWG.

Looking worried over the lack of a legacy plan for the multimillion dollar sporting infrastructure Reddy said, "I don't know what we will do with these stadia after the games get over. GoM has to look into this aspect seriously."