Commonwealth Games hotel projects to be ready only by 2011

In another setback for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 3,000 hotel rooms that had been expected to come up around the New Delhi international airport may be ready long after the curtain drops on the event.

The reason: tardiness by the airport developer in awarding contracts to hoteliers. At least 40,000 visitors are expected to fly in for the 3-14 October Games, the biggest sporting event to be hosted by India since the 1982 Asian Games.
“The contracts were awarded so late that I don’t think any of the hotels will come up in time,” says Uttam Dave, the India head of European hotel company Accor SA and president and chief executive officer of InterGlobe Hotels. “We are trying our best to open one hotel at the airport under the Ibis brand before the Games but even that is touch and go.”

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the airport developer, has set apart a 45-acre hospitality district. It invited bids in October last year for 13 projects and received about 60 bids. Since March this year, DIAL has awarded hotel firms plots of land to develop and operate seven hotels.

While Accor, which was awarded two plots of land, will operate three hotels—one each under its brands Pullman, Novotel and Ibis—Lemon Tree Hotels, Bird Group and Hyatt Hotels with RS Saraf Juniper Hotels are setting up one each. Aria Hotels and Hyatt are setting up one hotel and more recently DB Hospitality, part of the Mumbai-based real estate developer DB Group, has been awarded two plots of land by DIAL.

As part of the deal, the developers were to build facilities such as convention centres, restaurants and commercial plazas within the hotels to meet the requirements of passengers and airlines. But except for Accor’s budget hotel Ibis, the other projects are likely to miss their deadline, say hotel industry officials.

InterGlobe hotels is Accor’s joint venture partner for the Ibis brand in India. The airport Ibis will have 465 rooms and will be built in two phases, with the first phase comprising 300 rooms. “We are hoping the phase-I will be ready before the Games,” Dave said. “We are working in 24 hour shifts to develop the hotel.”

A top DIAL official, who asked not to be named, said given the delay in awarding the contracts because of issues raised by the government over the financing model, there is unlikely to be even a single room ready for the event. “Even the ground breaking (ceremony) has not started,” this official said.

According to Patu Keswani, chairman and managing director, Lemon Tree Hotels, DIAL needed to resolve issues between its shareholders and the government, which led to a delay in awarding the contracts.

Lemon Tree is developing a 300-room hotel near the airport, which will be launched in mid-2012, according to information on the company’s website. According to an October report by hospitality consultant firm HVS India, around 60 hotel projects are being developed in Delhi and its suburbs in time for the Games. The report said only 53% of these hotels will be built over the next five years, which will make around 8,780 rooms available.

Out of this, only 5,700 rooms will open before the Games. “The hotel contracts at the airport were to be auctioned four years back,” said Manav Thadani, managing director, HVS India, a hospitality consultancy. “None of the hotels are going to be ready except maybe for Accor’s Ibis because a budget hotel does not take more than a year or year and a half to be built.”

Hyatt Hotels Corp., which sold shares in an initial public offering in the US in November, declined to comment, citing US Securities and Exchange Commission rules that bar company officials from making any public statements until 45 days after the listing.

The Bird group is developing a 240-room hotel under the Dusit 2 brand, which is expected to be ready by 2011 end. “Procedural delays by DIAL led to a delay in awarding the contract, so it is not possible for any hotel to be ready before the Games,” says Ankur Bhatia, executive director, Bird Group. The group is developing another 50-room hotel near the airport under the Dusit Devarana brand which is likely to be ready before the Games.

MCD hopes to complete all Games projects by July 2010

Vowing to complete all works related to the Commonwealth Games by June 30 next year, the MCD on Wednesday said Rs 1,005 crore more has been allocated for timely and effective implementation of projects.

Doling out figures and facts, Commissioner K S Mehra during the presentation of the MCD budget for 2010-11 fiscal hoped that most projects are likely to be completed well in time but maintained that it was a “challenging job”.

Mehra said the work on bus parking site over Sunehri, Kushak and DPS nallah near main Games venue Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is expected to be completed by March 2010. The work on upgrading and streetscaping of 20 roads will be over by June 30, 2010. In streetscaping, government-to-citizen (G2C) kiosks, phone booths, benches, tree guards, garbage bins, public utilities will be included, he said.

He said the MCD “has also started work on a Rs 236 crore ambitious project” for upgrading the areas near hotels and guest houses in Karol Bagh, Pahar Ganj and City Zone.
Accepting that it will be a “challenging job”, he said the works to be undertaken will include improving public utilities, parks, lighting, underground ducting of cables, improving central verges and greening the areas.

On streetlighting works in 158 roads, Mehra said 40 per cent work has already been done.

MCD confident of meeting June 30 deadline for CWG 2010

MCD Commisssioner KS Mehra today said the civic body was confident of meeting deadlines for the works it has undertaken for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

Presenting the Revised Budget Estimates for 2009-10 and Estimates for 2010-11, Mr Mehra said, ''With 298 days left for the Games, we have set a June 30 deadline for the major works we have undertaken and we are confident of a good show.'' He added that the construction of parking facilty for 700 buses near Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which costs Rs 350 crore, was progressing in a time-bound manner.

He also said arterial roads in areas like Karol Bagh and Paharganj were being upgraded for the Games.

Adding that underbridges and overbridges were under construction at 15 level crossings in the Capital with an investment of Rs 440 crore, the Commissioner stressed that the mentioned work will be completed by June 30.

The civic body will also build Government to Citizen (G2C) and Business to Citizen (B2C) kiosks to assist tourists during the Games.

Mr Mehra informed the media that MCD was also pumping Rs 613.36 crore to provide computerised stack parking for Ecculent Car Space (ECS) at 21 sites like Rajouri Garden, Hauz Rani, Jungpura and Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg.

''We have also proposed building 14 automated multi-level parkings for 9,400 cars under the Public-Private Partnership model,'' he added.

The MCD has already launched a public awareness campaign to spread awareness about the significance of sanitation and hygiene. The Commissioner also said facilities in hospitals like Hindu Rao, Swami Dayanand, Kasturba and Maharishi Valmiki were being upgraded for the Games.

The MCD will soon open a poly-clinic in Kasturba Nagar.

Regarding slum-dwellers, Mr Mehra said 7,000 multi-storeyed buildings, with an investment of Rs 220 crore, were under construction to relocate them before June 30.

Great volunteer spirit warms my heart

As I drove into the headquarters of the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 in Delhi on Tuesday morning, the countdown clock showed 299 days to go. It was a good time to let freeze frames from the past fortnight flood the mind.

The warm response that Sindhushree Khullar, Sports Secretary, and I drew at breakfast at the CHOGM in Port of Spain; the roadshow of the Commonwealth Business Club of India in Glasgow that sparked a good response and now the baton heads for an African safari.

I have seen some amazing pictures and read newspaper reports from far off lands and I know that there is tremendous enthusiasm there about the games.

Yet, one memory stands out: the eagerness of those who were at the launch of Delhi United — the volunteer programme for the Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi. Nearly 12,000 people have signed up for the programme and I must say that such spirit warms my heart. Such selfless citizens will be the face of the Games and the heartbeat of the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi in the run-up to and during the Games next year.

These champions will portray our rich culture to the visitors and in the process also add layers to their own personalities. Abhinav Bindra shared an interesting anecdote at the launch of Delhi United about how volunteers can make a stunning impression on athletes who are the fulcrum of sport.

After he won the Olympic Games in Beijing, a couple of Chinese volunteers who had been assigned to help the Indian shooting team presented him a greeting card written in Hindi. He says the framed letter now occupies a special place in his home.

On Monday, the director-general, Mr VK Verma's status report on the 36 Functional Areas of the Organising Committee and joint-director-general, Mr VK. Saxena's update on the construction of various competition, training and non-competition venues were well received.

Delhi government's chief secretary, Mr Rakesh Mehta's briefing on how the city administration was spending significant sums on power and water sectors, among others, was praise-worthy. Secretary-general Dr Lalit K Bhanot's annual report and treasurer Mr A K Mattoo's audited statement of accounts were passed and approved unanimously.

In the coming fortnight, the Coordination Commission of the Commonwealth Games Federation will visit Delhi. I am confident that it will find us up to the mark. I am also confident that the citizens are eager to participate in the conduct of the Games. Together with such a strong desire, our commitment to meeting the challenges will ensure that we stage the Games on a grand scale.

Delhi belly scare makes Brit CWG gymnasts run!

Britain’s gymnastics body has decided to pull out its top names from next Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday. Strangely, it’s a fear of the tummy bug that prompted such a decision.

The move means Britain’s top trio Beth Tweddle, Louis Smith and Daniel Keatings will be absent. The artistic gymnastics competition at the event takes place from from October 4 to 8 and the rhythmic discipline from October 12 to 14, the latter finishing just three days before the start of the 2010 World Championships, which take place in Rotterdam.

"It’s not just the travel and jet lag but the potential for tummy bugs and diarrhoea that exists in making the trip," the paper quoted British Gymnastics’ performance director Eddie van Hoof, as saying. "We just cannot afford to take the risk when so much is at stake."

Jessica Ennis, world heptathlon champion, and marathon runner Paula Radcliffe have already pulled out of the Games. Ennis told the Daily Telegraph that the timing of the event would clash with her preparations for the World Indoor Championship and European Championship.

Projects for 2010 games, Metro facing the bulldozer

Two Commonwealth Games projects, a Delhi Metro stretch, structures within the Imperial Hotel in Janpath and alterations at Delhi finance minister A.K. Walia’s house in Daryaganj — they all face the threat of demolition.

Reason: they fall within the prohibited 100-metre limit of protected monuments.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to issue showcause notice of demolition to 92 properties in the Capital, including those mentioned. Altogether 171 properties across the country will get notices within a month.

All the construction was okayed by an expert committee of the ASI, which the court had declared illegal on October 30.

It had held that the ASI, entrusted with the preservation of monuments, had no right to form a committee without legal basis and permit construction within prohibited limits. It had asked the committee to review all the projects it had approved within a month.

On the court's order, counsel for the ASI, Jayant Tripathi, on Wednesday submitted a list of the owners of the 171 properties.

The six-member panel, formed in 2006 and comprising historians and town planners, got 150 requests for relaxation of norms from Delhi alone and approved 116 of them.

It got over 400 applications from across the country.

The matter went to court when Supreme Court lawyer Gaurang Kanth challenged the committee's permission to a private builder to construct within 88 metres of Humayun's tomb in south Delhi.

Top British gymnasts pull out from Commonwealth Games

British Gymnastics (BG) has decided not to send its top stars, including world champion Beth Tweddle, to Delhi for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, citing its scheduling as the reason.

The October 3-14 event ends three days before the world championships in Rotterdam, which is also a qualifying event for the London Olympics and a major part of their preparations for 2012.

“As with all Olympic sports, the priority for British Gymnastics over the next 36 months will be to qualify for, and compete with distinction at the 2012 Olympic Games,” Tim Jones, British Gymnastics’ Olympic Performance Director said, responding to a query from The Indian Express.

“The qualification for this begins at the 2010 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam. This does result in logistical issues as they are scheduled in extremely close proximity to the Commonwealth Games. British Gymnastics will be looking to ensure that our long term goals of success in London will not be compromised,” he added.
Another BG official, Eddie Van Hoof, told a section of the British media that apprehensions regarding the gymnasts’ participation in the Games included “potential for tummy bugs and diarrhoea”.

“It’s not just the travel and jet lag but the potential for tummy bugs and diarrhoea that exists in making the trip. We just cannot afford to take the risk when so much is at stake,” he was quoted as saying.

Besides Tweddle, who is the reigning world champion in the floor event, the decision also rules out world silver medallist Daniel Keatings and Olympic medallist Louis Smith from the Commonwealth Games.

This is latest in the series of setbacks to Games, which has seen quite a few top athletes pulling out and many more refusing to commit.

Last week, another world champion, heptathlete Jessica Ennis, had said she won’t be participating in the Delhi Games as its “timing is not great”. Paula Radcliffe, who holds the world record in marathon, has also confirmed she won’t be coming to Delhi and will instead participate in one of the big city races.

Among those who are in doubt for the Games include Usain Bolt. Last month, Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi had said that the triple Olympic gold medallist would participate in the Games, following which Bolt’s management issued a statement denying that the athlete had committed for the event. Bolt’s fellow Jamaican former world champion Asafa Powell and Olympic gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser are also doubtful starters due to the scheduling of the event.

Bruce James, president of the MVP Track & Field Club to which Powell and Fraser belong, had told The Indian Express: “No final decision has been made with regard to their participation in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, however the timing of the Games makes it unlikely for our athletes to run in New Delhi next year.”

The latest to join that list is British world champion cyclist Mark Cavendish, who may give the Commonwealth Games a miss in favour of the world road race championship which begins on September 29 in Australia.

MCD plans penalty for litterbugs

In a bid to improve cleanliness in the Capital ahead of next October’s Commonwealth Games, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has decided to implement a host of improved sanitation facilities.

During the MCD budget presented on Wednesday, Municipal Commissioner K S Mehra said the civic body has already sent the Delhi Cleanliness and Sanitation By-laws (2009) to the state government for approval. If notified, the by-laws will enable the civic body to issue on-the-spot challans to offenders and charge higher penalty — between Rs 50 to Rs 500.

The MCD is currently authorised to only levy fines according to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act (1957) and can charge a maximum of Rs 50 for offences such as dumping garbage in public areas, depositing filth on the street among others, as per the provisions of the Act.

The Corporation is also contemplating civic sense awareness drives and harsher anti-littering measures, and has already initiated the first phase of the door-to-door collection of waste.

The garbage collection drive will be undertaken in all residential and commercial establishments by two different auto-tippers in two colours — green for bio-degradable and blue for non-bio-degradable waste.

The auto-tippers are small in size enabling them to navigate through narrow lanes and by-lanes and are fitted with sirens and a public address system to announce their arrival.

According to Commissioner Mehra, once the existing garbage dumps or dhallaos in areas where the auto-tipper scheme is to be implemented become vacant, they can be utilised for providing public utility services and help generate revenue for the civic body.

The proposal further said, around 100 acres at the landfill site near Ghazipur will be provided for deriving fuel or compost from waste and around 75 per cent of the garbage will be used for this. The remaining 25 per cent will be dumped at the landfill site.

The MCD also plans to install special ‘underground dustbins’ and do away with dhallaos before the Games. The civic body will begin by installing 67 such dustbins as the first phase of the project to ensure “hygienic garbage collection”. It will spend Rs 3.25 crore on each dustbin and the task of installing them has been given to a company from Finland.

Fines if by-laws are implemented
Offence-- existing fine--proposed fine

* Littering--Rs 50--Rs200
* Spitting--Rs 50--Rs 200
* Urinating in Public--Rs 50--Rs 200
* Feeding animals/birds--no fine--Rs 500 in non-designated areas
* Washing utensils/clothes--no fine--Rs 200 in non designated areas

Projects proposed: Old wine in new bottle?
Development projects:
* Town Hall redevelopment
* Novelty cinema complex redevelopment
* Defence Colony land belonging to defunct primary health centre to be redeveloped
* MCD Kashmere Gate Building redevelopment
* A district-cum-commercial centre in Raja Garden
* Development of MCD-owned vacant lands in areas like Ghazipur, Model Town, Raj Niwas and Tis Hazari. MCD is currently working on changing the land-use plan for the above vacant plots.
* Once implemented, the projects will generate revenue over Rs 1,500 crore.

Commonwealth Games projects
* Streetscaping of areas near the Games venues; development of multilevel parking lots near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Friends Colony, ITO, Janakpuri and Kamla Nagar
* Installing G2C kiosks, public telephone booths, vending kiosks, police booths and other public utilities
* Streetscaping and redevelopment of guest houses in Karol Bagh and Paharganj
* Constructing 16 new Railway under-bridges and over-bridges at a cost of Rs 440 crore for better traffic movement
* Improve sanitation and health facilities

Expenditure check
* A new monitoring committee will be formed to check and identify the sources of all dishonoured cheques that the Corporation receives from regional treasuries and citizen service bureaus
* New ‘security printed’ receipts, similar to bank cheques, will be issued to curb forgery
* Bio-metric attendance system, which has helped cut expenditure on overtime payments, to continue.
* Installation of prepaid electricity meters
* Investing available funds in small scale revenue earning projects rather than depositing them in banks
* Payment of salaries through ECS
* Strengthening mechanism for property tax and transfer duty collection
* Upgrading house tax rates according to the unit area method
* Avoiding unnecessary expenditure and cutting establishment expenditures
* Avoiding loans and consequent interest

Recession dents earnings, MCD to cut

No prizes for guessing this! The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will focus on Commonwealth Games related projects and parking lots in the new financial year the budget
for 2010-11 sets aside a huge chunk for these projects.

On Wednesday, MCD commissioner K S Mehra unveiled the budget of Rs 6,000 crore for financial year 2010-2011. The civic body expects to earn Rs 6,347 crore next year while it has pegged the expenditure at Rs 6,327 crore. However, this year it could earn only Rs 4,964 crore against the target of Rs 6,000 crore.

The lower earning is primarily on account of lower property tax collection. The civic agency earned Rs 542 crore in property tax till November 16, 2009-10, which is Rs 85 crore more than what was collected in the same period last year. However, there is a strong possibility that the target of property tax for 2009-10 Rs 1,400 crore might not be achieved.

The transfer duty earnings have also come down due to recession. Moreover, MCD's revenue collection from advertisement has also fallen short so much so that it has revised its estimate by half from Rs 300 crore to Rs 150 crore. The civic agency also promises to cut down on avoidable and non-productive expenditure. Said Mehra: "Efforts are being made to bring more people and institutions under the tax net. We are also introducing better practices like tracking down dishonoured cheques and designing a proper logo for receipts issued by us so that they cannot be forged.''

Meanwhile, money will be mainly spent on sanitation, cleanliness, engineering works, health and education sectors. A total of Rs 989.55 crore has been allocated to engineering and development works this financial year.

The allocation for environment management has been increased from Rs 835.22 crore to Rs 844.26 crore, while that for primary education it has been increased to Rs 1441.76 crore from Rs 1231.20 crore and for health to Rs 847 crore from Rs 758.11 crore. For horticulture, another key area in which MCD will carry our works related to Commonwealth Games, the allocation has been raised to Rs 206.89 crore from Rs 203.92 crore.

Said Mehra: "Work on bus parking sites over Sunehri, Kushak and DPS nallah near main Games venue Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will be completed by March 2010. The work on upgrading and streetscaping of 20 roads will be over by June 30, 2010. All works related to the Games will be completed on time.''

He added: "We have also started work on a Rs 236 crore ambitious project for upgrading the areas near hotels and guest houses in Karol Bagh, Paharganj and City Zone.''

To end the city's parking woes, the civic agency has come up with a number of stack parking, automated parking and multi-level parking sites.

To increase its revenue, MCD has identified 12 prime locations, including land behind Ghazipur village, vacant plot behind Hanuman Mandir near Baba Kharak Singh Marg, emptied Idgah slughterhouse, to commercially exploit them.