Stung by criticism, government takes over CWG work

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 10 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”, an official statement said.

The appointments came on a day when 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”.

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

“Decisions taken by these officers would have to be complied with by the executing agencies (at) the venue level,” the 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 discuss with the secretary in the sports ministry if 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, Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike 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 be held here with 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.