100% rise in CWG project cost

Commonwealth Games 2010 is costing the taxpayer a pretty penny, with the cost of major projects going up from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,460 crore. Authorities have been facing flak for some time now over delays in completion of projects but it now appears that cost escalation is a major cause for concern as well.

In response to an RTI query filed by activist S C Agrawal, CPWD has admitted that construction and upgradation work on Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium has cost nearly double the original estimate — from Rs 455 crore to Rs 961 crore.

Construction work at other stadia in the city has also seen a marked increase. The cost incurred on the Dr Karni Singh shooting range, for instance, has shot up from a mere Rs 16 crore to Rs 149 crore.

The revised cost for Indira Gandhi Stadium has gone up from Rs 271 crore to Rs 669 crore, while work at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee swimming pool complex finally cost Rs 377 crore compared to the estimated Rs 145 crore.

Major Dhyanchand National Stadium — inaugurated by the sports minister in March — has cost the exchequer Rs 262 crore compared to the estimated Rs 113 crore while an additional cost of Rs 42 crore was added for consultancy services, which was not budgeted for earlier.

Explaining the revised expenditure, CPWD said costs went up because of revised cost indices and escalation, change in scope of work, additions and deletions made to the venues and the addition of ancillaries like service tax, quality assurance and contingencies .

Incidentally, JLN Stadium has missed its deadline with work on venues for athletics, lawn bowls and weightlifting still going on. The deadline has been extended for the weightlifting venue from February 15 to May 31.

At Indira Gandhi Stadium, the cycling track was expected to be finished by March 31 but will only be ready by May 31 as is the case with the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee swimming pool complex.