PM reviews progress of CWG; guilty to be punished

Faced with scathing criticism relating to the preparations for the Commonwealth Games, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today convened a high-level meeting which took a series of key decisions in this regard, including asking the concerned agencies to complete the pending works and conduct thorough investigations into all the complaints that have been received of ''procedural and other irregularities''.

The Prime Minister categorically stated that those found guilty should face ''severe and exemplary punishment''.

Dr Singh asked the Group of Ministers set up for the Commonwealth Games, headed by Minister for Urban Development S Jaipal Reddy to meet ''immediately and frequently''.

The Group was empowered to take all decisions necessary for the smooth conduct of the Games.

It was directed that the Group of Ministers will refer any matter that may require further consideration to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for a final decision.

The meeting was convened to review the preparations for the Games scheduled to begin on October 3.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Urban Development S Jaipal Reddy, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports M S Gill, Lt Governor of Delhi Tejendra Khanna, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister T K A Nair, Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, Chairman, Organising Committee, CWG Suresh Kalmadi and other senior officials.

The Prime Minister was briefed by the Ministry of Sports, the Ministry of Urban Development, the Government of Delhi and the Organising Committee on the progress of Commonwealth Games preparatory works assigned to them.

Dr Singh observed that there had been slippages in time schedules of some of the construction works and deficiencies had also been observed in some of the works.

He said in the run up to the Games, it was important to gain public confidence by instilling order and carrying out effective supervision of the preparation works.

The Prime Minister announced his decision to visit selected venues of the Commonwealth Games in the last week of August.

He directed the Ministries concerned, the Government of the National Capital Region and the Organising Committee to complete all pending works expeditiously through time-bound action plans and carry out a quality audit of the completed facilities.

All the facilities must meet international standards, he added.

The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the ongoing preparations supervised directly by the Group of Ministers would enable the Games to be conducted smoothly and in a ''befitting manner''.

The Cabinet Secretary was directed to liaise closely with the Group of Ministers to ensure effective coordination among all concerned authorities.

The Committee of Secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary would continue to review implementation and will have the status of an Empowered Committee.

It would have jurisdiction over matters relating to the Organising Committee and a Secretary-level officer of the Cabinet Secretariat would liaise with the Organising Committee on a daily basis.

The Prime Minister asked the Organising Committee to take appropriate steps urgently to conclude all pending preparations.

The Senior Management Committee of the OC would meet daily and be chaired by CEO in the absence of Chairman or Vice-Chairman, Organising Committee.

Additional senior and experienced officers from the Government of India would be deputed as required.

The Cabinet is to be briefed on the state of preparations on a weekly basis.

Dr Singh said the public has a right to know the facts and the Group of Ministers would ensure that ''timely and authentic'' information on the state of preparation and in particular on the remaining tasks at hand is released to the public.

The Prime Minister said promotional campaign of various events should be stepped up to generate enthusiasm among sports lovers in the largest sporting event the country has held in many years.

''The eyes of the world are on the country as we conduct this prestigious event,'' he added.

He further said the Commonwealth Games was an occasion not only to celebrate sporting excellence but also the spirit of kinship and camaraderie among the Commonwealth fraternity.

India will have an opportunity to ''present its culture, its achievements, its warm hospitality and its organisational capabilities to the world,'' Dr Singh stated.

He emphasised the importance of country's citizens working together to give ''our honoured guests a warm welcome and a memorable experience of all that our nation has to offer''.

''Our athletes and sportsmen are training hard and need full support and encouragement of their fellow Indians,'' Dr Singh stressed.

He urged all concerned to work single-mindedly so that the Games could be held in a manner the nation could be justifiably proud of.