Rs 2,460 crore

Five Commonwealth Games venues in New Delhi overshot the budget, doubling construction costs of several projects

Rs 2,460 crore

Five Commonwealth Games venues in New Delhi overshot the budget, doubling construction costs of several projects

So what's the right price. The cost of construction of five Commonwealth Games venues by Central Public Works Department (CPWD) escalated by over Rs 1,110 crore than the original sanctioned amount.

Besides, over Rs 20 crore were spent on installing closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in three other stadiums, developed by Public Works Department, in the capital.u00a0

The CPWD had renovated Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Complex, Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex, Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Pool Complex, Major Dhyanchand National Stadium and Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range for the CWG held here between October 3 and 14, 2010. A total of Rs 42 crore was spent on taking consultancy services.

RTI revelations
"A consolidated sum of Rs 1,000 crore (plus or minus 10 per cent) was sanctioned for these stadiums initially. No stadium wise cost was approved. Later, revised sanction for Rs 2,460 crore was accorded by Cabinet," the CPWD said in an RTI reply.

The money allocation was proposed by the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, Sports Authority of India and Ministry of Youths Affairs and Sports, it said in reply to the RTI filed by Vivek Garg.

Interestingly, an amount of Rs 345.12 crore still remains un-utilised by the construction agency. The PWD spent Rs 396.06 crore in construction of Thyagraj Sports Complex (spread in 65,544 square metre), Chhatrasal Stadium (57,465 sq m) and Ludlow Castle Wrestling Training Venues (17,766 sq m), which include Rs 20.14 crore on CCTV cameras and Rs 5.81 crore as consultancy charges, the reply said.u00a0

About 11 venues were renovated by different civic and construction agencies like CPWD, PWD, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Delhi Development Authority for the mega sporting event.

Under scanner
Besides, the DDA has developed Commonwealth Games Village in over 63.5 hectare area that includes residential complexes, huge practice and recreational area near Akshardham temple in east Delhi. The Central Vigilance Commission, apex anti-corruption body, is enquiring into financial and administrative irregularities in several Games-related projects.u00a0

CBI has also registered three FIRs in connection with alleged irregularities in the Games, and questioned OC Secretary General Lalit Bhanot among others. It has also asked OC chief Suresh Kalmadi to appear before it for questioning in connection with the alleged scam.

'Need people'

Burdened by a rising number of pending cases, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the investigating arm of the Ministry of Finance, is planning to substantially beef up its operations, both in terms of head count and offices.

The agency has been under immense pressure with several high-profile cases including the Indian Premier League and Commonwealth Games being registered in the current year. Facing a huge shortage of investigating staff, the directorate has sent a proposal to the expenditure department in the finance ministry to increase its workforce by 4-5 times.

Missing Files

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing Commonwealth Games-related irregularities and corruption cases, has not been able to get hold of crucial files which seem to have simply gone missing from the Organising Committee office.

Files relating to two cases registered by CBI with regard to the Queen's Baton Relay and the timing, scoring results (TSR) contract have gone missing and despite the agency's repeated requests, papers relating to contractual obligations and authorisations have not been made available.

The issue cropped up at a meeting called by OC chairperson Suresh Kalmadi this week which was ostensibly aimed at countering the impression that he or secretary general Lalit Bhanot were obstructing CBI. CBI chief A P Singh had written to cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar requesting that Kalmadi and Bhanot be removed from the Organising Committee.

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