DDA overspending on Games; Delhi CM ignorant

Even as the official cost estimates to organise Commonwealth Games 2010 have gone up by a whopping 525 per cent since Delhi won the bid about eight years ago, Chief Minister Shiela Dixit seems to be completely unconcerned by it.

A Headlines Today investigation showed how the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has been overspending on various projects in the name of games.

But when Headlines Today approached the chief minister, she refused to explain the escalation in cost of organising the games. "I am not some financial expert, nor a wizard. I don't know anything about it. Go, talk to finance department about it," she replied.

When India bid for the games in 2003, it was estimated to cost Rs 1,899 crore. But after several revisions, the estimates now range from an official figure of Rs 10,000 crore to independent experts at an astounding Rs 30,000 crore.

The reasons for this astonishing cost escalation were delays and overspending in several projects. A Headlines Today investigation zeroed in on one such case where the DDA incurred some highly questionable expense to install hi-tech electronic gear in swimming pools reserved for training at Siri Fort Sports Complex and Yamuna Sports Complex.

The cost of electrifying Sirifort Sports Complex swimming pool worked out to Rs 4.7 crore and for Yamuna Sports Complex it came to around Rs 4.3 crore. But a pool with similar specifications at Chilla Sports Complex has been electrified for just Rs 28 lakh.

Vinish Khanna, the director of Adroit Water Treatment Plant, said, "We have done a lot of other pools also including DDA's Chilla Sports Complex. Chilla pools are deeper than these pools (Sirifort and Yamuna sports complexes). They have more volume of water and the same specification."

"Almost same specification fibre glass filters, same ozone generators as Chilla. It was tendered around a year back and was inaugurated as the first pool this year. The electrification of Chilla pool cost around Rs 28 lakh, while the other two 10 times of it. But it has now gone up by 20 times," Khanna added.

When confronted, the DDA verbally told Headlines Today that standards followed at Yamuna Sports Complex and Sirifort were much higher than Chilla and they have followed International Swimming Federation (FINA) guidelines. Interestingly, FINA has no guidelines whatsoever to decide electromechanical parts of pools.

Former national swimming champion Khajan Singh said, "See FINA only sets guidelines for the pool specifications and the standard of water in it. They have nothing to do with the machines used in it. Whichever machine fulfils their requirements, they are more than comfortable with it."