PM concerned about CWG delays, seeks status report

Taking a serious view of construction delays at the Commonwealth Games venues, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar to call a meeting of the concerned parties and submit a status report by next week.

The meeting, scheduled for Friday, will be attended by, among others, sports, expenditure and urban development secretaries, the chief secretary of Delhi, the chiefs of CPWD, SAI, NDMC, MCD, DDA and the Archeological Survey of India besides Organising Committee CEO Jarnail Singh.

According to sources, the Prime Minister, who is periodically briefed by the Group of Ministers for the Games, was concerned about the slow pace of work at certain projects and the damage the rains have caused at two venues — Yamuna Sports Complex and the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

At the Yamuna Sports Complex, constructed by Delhi Development Authority, water seeped through the maple wood flooring.

At the S.P. Mukherjee Auqatic Complex, which was inaugurated last Sunday by sports minister MS Gill, had a few technical deficiencies, including the starting blocks having to be hurriedly redone so that time keepers Omega could install the equipment.

The PM is also reportedly worried about the ongoing civic work in the city and whether the authorities concerned have taken precautionary measures to prevent flooding of approach roads to the stadiums.