Minto Bridge project to miss deadline

Lack of coordination between implementing agencies; blame game continues

The plan to add two more tracks to the historic Minto Bridge in order to widen the heritage structure and enhance inter-State connectivity before the Commonwealth Games here will now miss its deadline.

The reason being lack of coordination between the implementing agencies as well practical difficulties in execution of the project given the existing traffic chaos around Connaught Place.

The decision to widen the bridge was taken in 2003 by Northern Railway to maintain uniformity as the road width below this bridge is narrow compared to the road width on either side. According to Northern Railway, the project was to be implemented jointly by Northern Railway, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and New Delhi Municipal Council as one side of the area falls under the MCD and the other in New Delhi Municipal Council jurisdiction.

A Northern Railway official said: “As per normal procedure, the proportionate cost of widening of the bridge is required to be shared by the MCD, the Railways and the NDMC. A sum of Rs.400 lakh was released during 2003-04 on the basic demand of the Railway authorities for the project.”

However, the MCD claims that although most part of the project remains on paper, the civic agency has already completed most work under its jurisdiction.

An MCD official said: “The MCD was supposed to construct a retaining wall on one side to widen the road falling under its jurisdiction. While the retaining wall has been constructed, we are currently shifting a pump to avoid rainwater stagnation under the bridge. The road will be widened after the pump is shifted.”

However, Northern Railway and NDMC have not carried out any work under their jurisdiction so far. The reason, according to Northern Railway, is delay in getting requisite permissions.

“If the work was to be carried out all vehicular traffic in the area would have been restricted for six months. The Delhi Police Commissioner refused to grant us permission to divert traffic saying that because of the ongoing work related to Connaught Place redevelopment and construction of subways in the area there was already enough traffic chaos,” a Northern Railway official said.

Commonwealth Games - Kalmadi fires officer appointed by PMO

Commonwealth Games (CWG) organizing committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi has terminated the services of a financial expert appointed by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The move, according to a person familiar with the developments but who did not want to be identified, came after the officer, an appointment approved by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, declined to clear certain financial transactions which he believed were irregular.

Sanjeev Mittal, a 1984 Indian Defence Accounts Service official, was served the letter of termination by the CWG organizing committee on 19 February and will return to his parent cadre in the defence ministry.

The development comes at a time when serious concerns have been expressed about the ability of the government to meet the deadline for the successful conduct of the CWG from 3-14 October.

Mittal, along with two other officers, was appointed by the cabinet secretariat in November to help expedite and oversee the process to ensure the Games are held on schedule.

Mittal confirmed that he had received a letter from Kalmadi suggesting that he should return to his parent department. “I have no idea why this has happened,” Mittal told Mint.

Kalmadi did not respond to calls made to his cellphone.

The same unnamed person added that Kalmadi wrote to the defence secretary saying that Mittal’s services were “no longer required” by the committee and that he was “repatriated”. The person added that this was prompted after Mittal declined to approve certain financial transactions.

Mittal, however, said: “I have never refused (to approve anything) but I made some observations before approving certain decisions, because the system should be proper.”

The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the issue.

Mittal was expected to head the financial department of the CWG organizing committee. He had been appointed along with two other serving bureaucrats—Jiji Thomson, from the agriculture ministry, and Sudhir Mittal, who was the Punjab government’s resident commissioner in New Delhi.

According to the same person, Mittal had been part of major committees that have handled high-profile defence purchases and was, hence, competent to take a call on the transactions in question.

Mint on 5 November reported the Prime Minister’s decision to get involved in the effort to get the Capital ready for the Games, seeking to avert potential embarrassment on account of shoddy preparations for the country’s biggest sporting event in 27 years.

The appointment of the officials as well as CWG organizing committee chief executive Jarnail Singh took place after the Prime Minister’s intervention.

India Will Step Up Security at Commonwealth Games

India’s plans for the 2010 Commonwealth Games include roof-top snipers, food tasters for the athletes and their families, and the closing of schools and courts to cut traffic, officials said Monday.

“We’re quite determined to provide a safe and secure games,” Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said at a press conference in New Delhi.

A bomb blast that killed 15 people in Pune this month has heightened concerns about security in India, which is scheduled to host several international sporting events, including the Commonwealth Games in October, in the coming months.

Mr. Pillai dismissed recent reports that the Commonwealth Games were being targeted particularly by terrorists. “We are aware” of these alleged threats, Mr. Pillai said, adding that they were “not credible.”

New Delhi is scheduled to host the field hockey World Cup, which will start Sunday, and an Indian Premier League cricket tournament in mid-March.

But it is the Commonwealth Games that are the greatest source of anxiety. The games will be by far the largest international sporting event ever in India, and officials want to prove that the country is capable of putting on a world-class show. About 100,000 spectators and thousands of athletes from 52 countries are expected.

The Commonwealth Games bring together teams in countries from Britain’s once-sprawling empire. So far, the run-up to the 2010 games has been marked by controversy, discord and missed construction deadlines.

On Monday, Mr. Pillai and several officials from the Home Ministry, the Ministry of Sports and Delhi’s police department detailed the stepped up security that they have planned for the Commonwealth Games. New Delhi’s plans include a 4.3-meter, or 14-foot, fence and grill around the main stadium, closed-circuit camera surveillance and a heavy presence of armed guards. In addition to a food taster, athletes and their families will protected by helicopter surveillance and snipers.

Officials have made “elaborate plans for the entire city,” the Delhi police commissioner, Y.S. Dadwal, said Monday, and they include vehicle checkpoints and stepped-up patrolling by the police.

Indian officials are working with security and intelligence experts from Australia, Britain and Canada to track terror threats ahead of the sporting events. The biggest challenge, Mr. Pillai said, is the “real lone wolf,” an unknown terrorist who acts without the support of a group.

India to receive up to 5.5 mn tourists in 2010

Hoteliers rue missed chance of marketing Commonwealth Games.

India hopes to receive up to 5.5 million tourists in 2010, the highest number in any single year. However, tour operators and hoteliers are ruing the missed chance of marketing the first Commonwealth Games in India. They complained that this number could have been higher, with the Games coming up in October.

“How often does a country get to host an event of this scale? Commonwealth Games have not been publicised well abroad. Beijing had started the publicity of the 2008 Olympics Games in 2001. We have started marketing the event only now,” said Vijay Thakur, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators.

Foreign tourist arrivals rose to 491,000 in January, compared to 422,000 in the year-ago period, and part of this growth is because of a recovery in global economy. Last year, tourist arrivals in India were pretty badly hurt because of the global slowdown.

Industry officials expect no significant spurt due to the Games. Year-on-year growth in arrivals has been much higher in earlier years. In 2004, for example, foreign tourist arrivals were up by over 700,000 to touch 3.46 million.

This year, the arrivals are likely to increase by just about 200,000, based on conservative estimates, and 400,000 based on optimistic projections.

“This year should be much better than the last two years. The positive thing is that conversions (inquires to actual bookings) have improved and people are booking six months in advance, which is a new trend,” added Thakur.

INFRASTRUCTURE GAP
Hoteliers are fearing a larger influx, given the limited inventory of rooms in Delhi, and in the country. “We should have about 5.5 million foreign tourist arrivals this year due the Games. If the figure was to run into 6 million, then we don’t have the infrastructure to match that kind of demand,” said president of the Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India, Rajinder Kumar.

The typical peak tourist season in the country is from October to March. With the Commonwealth Games slated in the first half of October, there could be a clash with the peak season. The tourism ministry is expecting over 100,000 foreign tourists during the Games.

In fact, hotels at major tourist spots have started reporting a higher occupancy rate. “The challenge now is to increase seat capacity and rooms on offer,” Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said recently.

India promises games security

India's top interior security official on Monday promised tight security for October's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, but warned that militants could target other parts of the country.

The assurance came from Home Secretary GK Pillai just a week after a bomb in the western city of Pune underscored the challenge of securing all of the sprawling country of 1.2 billion people.

That attack, which killed 15 people and is suspected to have been carried out by home-grown Islamists, was the first major militant strike since the 2008 attacks on Mumbai.

"I can't say that somebody will not sneak in," Pillai said, "... but in Delhi he will find it extremely difficult".

Pillai's comments come after reports that Islamist militants had threatened to disrupt the Games, prompting some participating nations to question security.

Pillai ruled out any "credible threats".

Nuisance value

"They can have some nuisance value like doing something like the Pune blast... to try and scare away people. That's the primary purpose of their objective."

Pillai said the biggest danger came from a possible lone attacker rather than a co-ordinated assault by a group of militants.

"The real challenge is the lone wolf... somebody who is not known," he said.

New Delhi is also hosting the 12-team hockey World Cup from February 28 to March 13 and then gearing up for a popular Indian cricket tournament beginning the same month.

Securing these sporting events is seen as a key challenge for the Indian government amid reports that some cricketers want the tournament moved to South Africa.

No duty on sports goods imported for Commonwealth Games

The government has removed duty on all sports goods and equipment, including fitness items, to be imported by the organising committee of the Commonwealth Games 2010 and national sports federations.

The exemption from import duty has also been extended to arms and ammunition for shooting events, broadcasting equipment by Prasar Bharti and doping control equipment, the department of revenue said in a notification.

The Commonwealth Games starts in the national capital in October.