Sonia steps in, new officials to oversee CWG works (Night Lead)

NEW DELHI - Stung by corruption charges and delays, the government Thursday took direct charge of all work to ensure the completion of stadiums well ahead of the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games.

In a sweeping move that virtually clipped the wings of Games Organizing Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi, the government named 11 top bureaucrats to oversee all the agencies involved in the preparations.

The officials, drawn from various government departments and ministries, “will ensure completion of various assignments in Games venues allocated to them”, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

The appointments came on the day United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chief Sonia Gandhi made it plain that the Games were “a matter of national pride and efforts should be made to hold them successfully”.

“As soon as the Games are over, the government will look into the allegations of malpractises and spare no one found to be involved in them,” she added.

Thursday’s move followed widespread reports of corruption and delays in the preparations for the Games, prompting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to consult ministers and officials Saturday to review the works.

The appointments coincided with the visit of Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Mike Fennel to Delhi. On the conclusion of the two-day day visit, Fennel said at a press conference Thursday: “We (CGF) do not and will not tolerate any corruption.”

Reports of corruption, Fennel said, “should be investigated thoroughly and acted upon as per the law of the land”.

The newly-named bureaucrats have been told to resolve problems of coordination between multiple agencies and have also given the power to take decisions on the spot “in order to tie up any loose ends”.

They will be on deputation to their new assignments till Sep 15.

“Decisions taken by these officers would have to be complied with by the executing agencies (at) the venue level,” the PMO statement said.

The officers drawn for the gigantic task include Subodh Kumar, S.R. Rao, R.C. Mishra, Amarjeet Singh, J.S. Deepak, Rohit Nandan, Shashi Shekar, Taradatt, Gopal Krishna, Rajeev Kapoor and Injeti Srinivas.

Srinivas, joint secretary in the ministry of sports, will look after issues of media accreditation.

The officers would first discuss with the sports secretary if the decisions they take have financial implications, the statement said.

According to informed sources, Deepak will be in charge of the sprawling Commonwealth Games village coming up on the banks of the Yamuna river.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies, will be overseen by S.R. Rao.

Earlier Thursday, Fennel met Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for about 30 minutes to discuss issues related to the Games and infrastructure development.

Fennel had Wednesday inspected various stadiums in the city.

The Commonwealth Games — India’s biggest sporting event after the 1982 Asian Games — will see participation from 53 countries.

Allegations of corruption and delays as well as various infrastructure problems have cast a shadow on the preparations, forcing the government to intervene.