PM to promise action against corrupt games

After Ms Sonia Gandhi goaded the government leadership to step forward and insulate Congress from attack over corruption in the Commonwealth Games preparations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to promise Parliament firm action against the guilty.

The Congress core committee, which discussed the Commonwealth sleaze at its last meeting, was clear that the government should be seen to be acting against those swindling public funds. The prime minister, who is expected to carry out Congress’ directive, will tell Parliament, probably on Monday, that a thorough probe will be held into the Games deals after its conclusion.

Despite a series of media expose, highlighting corruption in the games preparations, the government leadership had remained a passive observer. Sports minister M S Gill went to the extent of making a ridiculous suggestion that those who have complaints against the Games organisers should use RTI.

Many in Congress feel that much of the embarrassment could have been averted had there been timely intervention by the government leadership. The government also did precious little to ensure coordination among various agencies involved in the Games execution. It also allowed Mr Suresh Kalmadi to have a larger role. “A high-level meeting was held only after Ms Gandhi’s prodding and a decision to set up a high-level panel taken,” said a Congress leader.

On Saturday, the prime minister gave overriding powers to a committee headed by the cabinet secretary to oversee functioning of the Organising Committee. GoM was also empowered to take all necessary decisions for the smooth conduct of the sporting event and refer any matter that may require consideration to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee for a final decision.

On Sunday, the GoM met to discuss the details of the opening ceremony. “Primarily the focus was on delivery of the Games and preparation of the various items required for the opening ceremony,” urban development minister and chairman of GoM S Jaipal Reddy told reporters here.

GoM finalises Rahman’s CWG theme song

The Group of Ministers (GoM) on the Commonwealth Games has finalised Oscar winner A R Rahman’s theme song for the mega event and it will be made public in 10 days, the panel’s head said Sunday.

“GoM has finalized the theme song A R Rahman will give final touches and it will be presented before the people in 10 days,” union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy told reporters after the two-hour long GoM meeting in Nirman Bhawan.

“The theme song will be the last song of the opening ceremony,” Reddy told a news agency, answering a specific question.

An official of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee said the song would be previewed at 9.45 a.m. Monday.

“The GoM has finalised the theme song. A preview will be held at 9.45 a.m. tomorrow (Monday) at the banquet hall of the Ashoka Hotel,” the official said.

Reddy chaired the meeting of the GoM after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened to take stock of the much-criticised preparations for the Commonwealth Games.

“The Group of Ministers heard a presentation on the theme song by A R Rahman. We discussed the theme song with Shyam Benegal and Bharat Bala, as well as Rahman, and we approved it in principle,” Reddy said.

“The theme song generates excitement and gives the right message. The theme song will be released for the people of India in 10 day’s time,” he added.

Organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi said: “I like the song.”

To a question if there were any concerns about the Games preparations, Reddy said: “No concerns at all.”

“The old deadlines remain, but we must make up for the delay. We did take stock of various matters in the meeting, but we will not go into detail. Yesterday (Saturday), PM gave guidelines and we are absolutely confident about hosting the Games,” Reddy pointed out.

He added that all matters related to the Games were discussed in the meeting. “We are still sticking to all the deadlines. Preparations for the games will be on track,” he said.

The meeting was also attended by Sports Minister M.S. Gill, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi and senior officials of the Central Public Works Department, the Delhi Development Authority and the Public Works Department.

The prime minister’s intervention came after unending controversies relating to mega sporting event, beginning in 50 days, caused the Congress leadership to look for more sharp monitoring by the government.

The Congress core group discussed the issue Friday at the prime minister’s official residence and decided that the government should step in a way to ensure no loose ends remain.

Observing that there had been slippages in the time schedules of some of the construction works and deficiencies had also been observed, the prime minister directed the concerned ministries to conduct thorough investigations into all the complaints that have been received of procedural and other irregularities.

The GoM has been empowered to take all decisions necessary for the smooth conduct of the Games and the cabinet will be briefed on the state of preparations on a weekly basis.

Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrashekhar has been directed to liaise closely with the GoM to ensure effective coordination among all the authorities concerned.

Games corruption: Sheila talks tough, warns of stern action

Amid allegations of corruption involving Commonwealth Games projects, Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit on Sunday warned that anybody found guilty would face stern action. Under attack for rubbles still piled up across the city in connection with the Games preparations, she apologised to citizens for the "inconvenience".

"Lot of criticism have been there with regard to CWG preparation. If there is corruption we will find out who is responsible and take stern action against them whoever they are -- central government or Delhi government officials or any others...," Dikshit said, after unfurling the tri-colour during the Independence Day Celebrations here. The comments came in the wake of charges of corruption and irregularities in the CWG projects. The Opposition BJP had also alleged that the Delhi government diverted funds meant for welfare of Scheduled Castes to the Games.

"For the last three to four months, Delhiites had suffered due to the construction works undergoing in the city. I apologise to the citizens for this. But if we have to achieve something, then we have to sacrifice..," she said.

The Chief Minister assured that the fortnight-long event from October 3 to 14 will be the finest in the history of the Games despite the controversies surrounding it.

"The event will be finest in the history of the Games. We have to prove that we are not behind anyone. For this the citizens and the government have to work together," she said.

Dikshit has been under attack from various quarters for the delay in completion of key projects worth over Rs 10,000 crore. She had last month set August 31 as deadline for completing all the projects linked to the event.

Various key Games projects, including the Barapullah Nallah elevated road, UP Link road and projects related to street-scaping works, have missed several deadlines and now questions are being raised whether they will be completed before the final deadline of August 31, set by Dikshit.

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.

PM puts Kalmadi on Games leash

Suresh Kalmadi today lost his free hand in running the Commonwealth Games after the Prime Minister stepped in to rescue the showpiece event from the delays and corruption charges that have marked its preparations.

Manmohan Singh put all policy decisions relating to the event’s management “directly” into the hands of the group of ministers (GoM) he had set up for the Games a few months ago, and appointed Pranab Mukherjee the final arbiter in any dispute.

Kalmadi, the Games organising committee chief, has so far functioned independently, refusing any decisive say to the GoM and defying all the ministers involved in the event’s preparations, including sports minister M.S. Gill. The involvement of a heavyweight such as Pranab is bound to have a sobering effect on him.

Singh also decided that the organising committee must work in tandem with a bureaucrats’ panel headed by the cabinet secretary, which will ensure implementation of the policy decisions. The panel will interact daily with the organising committee through a secretary-level official from the cabinet secretariat.

The Union cabinet must be given weekly briefings, and Singh will himself visit select Games venues in the last week of August.

Sources said the government might later draft a few senior officials, or a politician, into the organising committee itself.

Although the Prime Minister did not technically form an apex committee to oversee the preparations, the day’s decisions mean that what has so far been the Suresh Kalmadi show has been unambiguously turned into a government event.

Forming an apex committee, or sacking Kalmadi, are apparently ruled out by the agreement signed between hosts India and the Commonwealth Games Federation in 2003.

This afternoon, Singh heard out the parties involved in the Games preparations and made it clear that he was not satisfied with the organising committee’s functioning. He therefore delegated greater authority to the GoM without explicitly saying that Kalmadi’s wings were being clipped.

The Prime Minister directed the ministries concerned to probe all the complaints about procedural and other irregularities, adding that those found guilty should face severe punishment.

At the end, he 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”.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office after the 90-minute meeting said: “The GoM will refer any matter that may require further consideration to the finance minister for a final decision.”

It also said: “The committee of secretaries, headed by the cabinet secretary, will continue to review implementation and it will have the status of an empowered committee. It will have jurisdiction over matters relating to the organising committee.”

Today’s meeting was attended by Union urban development minister Jaipal Reddy, who heads the GoM, Gill, Delhi lieutenant governor Tejendra Khanna, chief minister Sheila Dikshit and Kalmadi as well as other organising committee officials. Also present were cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar and the principal secretary to the Prime Minister, T.K.A. Nair.

Singh told the meeting that some of the construction projects had slipped behind schedule and suffered from deficiencies, and that the organising committee must take steps to complete all pending preparations.

TV rights: targets, claims vary

Much has been talked about during the past year about bulging revenues, and the Organising Committee (OC) officials continue to claim that they have exceeded targets and expectations as far as television rights for the Commonwealth Games are concerned.

The recent CAG report pointed out a loss of Rs 24.60 crore because of the engagement of Fast Track, a London firm, as the agency for selling broadcast rights even though it had claimed a higher commission than a second agency in the fray.

Excellent record

In defence, both the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) which recommended Fast Track, and the OC, pointed out the excellent track record the British company had and the eventual achievement it could show by procuring record rights fee for the OC.

The CGF said that Fast Track had “surpassed our dreams” and “not only met but exceeded all our targets”.

The OC Secretary-General, Lalit Bhanot, also endorsed that view.

According to the CAG report, Fast Track had finalised deals amounting to 42.87 million dollars and was processing another agreement worth 3.36 million dollars with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for UK/Ireland territory rights. This indeed is a very good amount for a Games that can only get a limited audience world-wide.

The OC stated that the total was almost double the projected target of 30 million dollars. But a look at India's original bid document presented to the CGF meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, in 2003, tells a different story.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) bid projected a revenue of 66.60 million dollars from broadcasting rights.

In fact the CGF Evaluation Commission, headed by Mr. Dick McColgan, notes in its exhaustive report presented to the CGF Executive Board and Commonwealth Games Associations in October, 2003, in respect of the IOA bid: “Television revenues (USD 67m) appear to be overstated compared with past achievements.” (In contrast, the Evaluation Commission termed the figure of 15.59 million dollars given by Hamilton, Canada, as its television rights expectation as “conservative”.)

The IOA also projected 100 million dollars from sponsorships in its bid document. Today, despite claims of having nearly doubled the television rights, the OC is poised to fall well short of its revenue target that has to help it return the “loan” of Rs. 1620 crore taken from the Union Government for the conduct of the Games.

Add another Rs. 678 crore as an additional “loan” under ‘overlays”, then the OC gets into further squeeze.

The OC has also sought another tranche of loan amounting to Rs 720 crores for the conduct of the Games, citing cost escalations and unforeseen additional expenses.

A M Films didn't have director when CWG OC accepted its bid

Until 48 hours before Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OC) chairmanSuresh Kalmadi  directed his subordinate M Jeychandren to release of payments for A M Films UK Limited, the company did not have any director or employees, according to documents with TOI.

The decision of the OC to hire this little-known firm to supply outdoor display units for the October 29, 2009, Queen's Baton Relay inauguration in London without any proper contract and subsequent release of payment is now under investigation.

A key figure emerging in the probe is Ashish Patel — better known as Ash Patel — the only shareholder of A M Films and several other obscure firms. In fact, he has been a director or secretary in seven different companies, but A M Films seems to be the only functional firm.

Documents from the Companies House, the UK government's official registrar of companies, show that A M Films UK Ltd was without any director for a period beginning September 9 to October 22. It had a paid-up capital of £1 and one share held by Ash Patel. In other words, it was pretty much a one-man shop.

Ash Patel doubled up as both company secretary and director. It was on March 14, 2010, a second person appears on the company's documents — Ravilal Naran Bhanderi who is shown as marketing director. Strangely, on the same day, Ash Patel resigned as the director.

On October 22, 2009, just seven days before the QBR London function, Ash Patel joined back the company as its sole director. In the one-month period that the company did not have any employees or director, A M Films was not dormant — it had submitted a bid on October 2 to the OC. The bid was addressed to Sanjay Mohindroo, now suspended OC top official, who appears to have had a familiar relationship with Patel.

On October 23, a day after Patel re-joined A M Films, Mohindroo wrote out a two page note selecting A M Films for the contract. "It is seen that the rates of M/S AM Films are the lowest... It is therefore recommended that the contract may be awarded to M/S A M Films UK Ltd. Approval of chairman OC (Kalmadi) has been solicited," Mohindroo's note said.