Finance Ministery grants Rs Rs 2,296.43 for CWG

Bogged down by controversies and delayed preparations, the Commonwealth Games (CWG) received a major boost today with the Finance Ministry allocating Rs 2,296.43 crore for the multi-sports event in the budget under several heads.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee allocated the amount to various departments with a view to improve perk up the sagging preparations. The Sports Ministry got the lion's share of the moolah, bagging Rs 2,069.52 crore. Out of this, the CWG Organising Committee got Rs 1175.54 crore. The Sport Authority of India (SAI) and other sports organisations got Rs 377.92 crore for upgradation of the various stadia, the Union Urban Development Ministry got Rs 176.90 crore and the Delhi government Rs 50 crore.

The Delhi Police also got a share with the finance ministry giving the men in Khaki Rs one lakh for paying bandwidth charges for an integrated security solutions.

However, the athletes, who should be the main focus, were allocated a comparatively meagre amount of Rs 378 crore.