Published>Mon, Aug 02 10 03:47 PM
By Bhavna Vij-Aurora
There's a popular Indian word, jugaad. Loosely translated, it means improvisations and band-aid solutions that show native inventiveness born out a culture of scarcity and survival. Scarcity and survival may belong to the past but jugaad is still very much an Indian obsession, as the frantic, embarrassing, shameful last-minute rush to salvage the 2010 Commonwealth Games from disaster gets underway.
With just 70 days to go for the prestigious event to kick off on October 3, Delhi, the host city, meant to welcome 15,000 people, including 11,000 sportspersons and officials from 72 countries, looks like a war zone. Deadlines have long past, schedules are haywire and budgets keep expanding-it has shot up ten-fold from the estimated Rs 1,200 crore given in the Delhi bid document.
The city is under siege from multiple agencies, 21 in total, all working at cross purposes and stepping on each other's toes while the mad scramble to give the Capital a face-lift clashes with the frantic construction to get the stadia and other Games-related venues ready on time. The monsoon downpours have only made matters worse, leading to flooded venues, blocked drainage, leaking ceilings, burst waterpipes and seepage everywhere. Here's a reality check.
1. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which is to host all key events including athletics and weight-lifting, and the opening and closing ceremonies, is struggling to meet its July 31 deadline. Ten days before the scheduled handover to the Organising Committee (OC), the stadium resembles a dustbowl, with open drains and piles of rubble all around and the approach roads still in the early stages of construction. As things stand, only the main arena would be ready by the deadline, with the peripheral work to continue till mid-September, barely two weeks before the opening ceremony.
2. The shooting range at Kadarpur in Gurgaon, an official Games venue, has "collapsed". Inaugurated barely two months ago by Sports Minister M.S. Gill, the range had even hosted a test event for the Games but has now self-destructed after the rains. On July 8, dig and Manager (Sports), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), M.C. Panwar (the Range is built on CRPF land) wrote a desperate letter to top sports ministry officials. "Due to the incessant rains on the night of July 4 and 7, the various embankments on the range have collapsed and extensive damages (sic) have been caused. The grassy expanse of lawn overhead the first box culvert has been washed away along with the side foot-tracks."
3. At the Yamuna Sports Complex, where the table tennis events will be staged, the false ceiling collapsed and the wooden flooring has been badly damaged because of waterlogging. Both will need to be replaced. The new deadline for completion is now first week of September, one month later than the original deadline of August 1.
4. The Siri Fort badminton complex, where World Number 2 Saina Nehwal will be India's biggest medal hope, faces the same problem with the wooden floor having buckled due to seepage. The entire floor will have to be relaid.
5. The "new" Dr S.P. Mukherjee Swimming Complex built at a cost of Rs 377 crore, was inaugurated last week with parts of the complex still to be completed. During the inauguration, a waterpipe malfunction sprayed water on the people present there. The walls are already marked by seepage.
6. The rains have led to flooding the newly constructed Velodrome at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, a fully air-conditioned indoor timber track, built at a cost of Rs 150 crore.
7. The Talkatora Boxing Stadium has major problems with flooding inside because of leakage, while there was more than a foot of water all around outside.
8. The vital timing, scoring, result (TSR) equipment will only be commissioned 10 days before the start of the Games, a ridiculous state of affairs since glitches and settings take time to be tested and ironed out.
9. Every approach road to the venues is dug up, waterlogged, minus pavements and dividers, and the construction debris has entered the drainage system leading to flooding each time it rains, even for a brief spell.
10. The Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, venue for hockey, was inaugurated on January 24, after missing the original deadline by four months. Costing Rs 262 crore, 50 crore more than was budgeted, the peripheral work is still on.
11. The catering contracts for the Games venues was cancelled last week, meaning fresh bids will have to be submitted and approved, leaving no time for the eventual caterers to prepare and set up operations.
12. As if that wasn't enough, some of the world's best athletes, including Olympic and world champion sprinter Usain Bolt, have pulled out of the Games robbing it of much of its lustre and led to an unseemly and very public war of words between Gill and Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi.
In the face of all this, the optimism is eerie and almost surreal. Kalmadi, a politician and businessman, struts around declaring that "this will be the best games ever." Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has hit the panic button but insists that Delhi will be a world-class city. Other officials in charge of various events and organisation run around like headless chickens, hoping that a miracle will happen. It won't.
On July 19, Chairman of Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Michael Fennell sent a frantic email to Kalmadi seeking details of corrective actions taken following reports of monsoon showers damaging the newly built shooting range and the false ceiling at another Games venue. Kalmadi is still waiting for the Sports Ministry to revert about the extent of the damage to the stadia. When he does get the details, it is highly unlikely he would want to share it with the watching world.
The question anyone will ask looking at the chaos and organisational mess is: Does India actually plan to host the mega sporting event in the country? The anticipation has been quickly replaced by cynicism and concern. In fact, within the Government and the Congress party, questions are being raised whether such exorbitant expenditure and effort on the event worth it.
Stadiums: 17 venues, 5 incomplete. 4 damaged. Deadline: July 31.
Overlays: The timing, scoring, result equipment will be in place only by September-end. No time to test.
Flyovers and Roads: 9 major projects. All incomplete. Deadline: August 31.
Accommodation: Games Village and Vasant Kunj flats for officials not ready. Renovation of hotels incomplete.
Catering: No caterer finalised till date
Sponsorship: Rs 342 crore from 10 sponsors. Target: Rs 1,800 crore.
According to the latest estimates from the Sports Ministry, the Games, including the stadia, infrastructure, logistics and security, will cost the country around Rs 12,000 crore.
This does not include the money being spent by the Delhi Government on beautification and infrastructure projects. It also excludes the money spent by civic authorities such as the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the New Delhi Municipal Corporation, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), Airports Authority of India and Ministry of Tourism on upgrade of hotels and accommodation.
An independent study says that by the end of the Games, the country would have spent anywhere between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000 crore. The first budget for the Games, approved by the Cabinet in April 2007 was Rs 3,566 crore. The initial estimates for the event have gone terribly awry and the OC is now scouring for funds and sponsors. The entire proposed expenditure for sports infrastructure was to be Rs 150 crore. An expenditure of at least Rs 4,500 crore has already been incurred on construction and repairs of stadia, and much of it is incomplete.
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Events: Athletics and weightlifting
Deadline: March 2009, revised to December 2009. Now July 31.
Estimated cost: Rs 580 crore
Final cost: Rs 890 crore
The stadia is not the only worry. The Games Village is not ready either. Built at a cost of nearly Rs 1,100 crore, the first deadline was December 2009, later shifted to March 2010 and finally to July 31. The work in the Village slowed down in December 2008 when Emaar MGF claimed that it had no money due to the global meltdown.
The DDA, its PPP partner, had to cough up Rs 766 crore as a bailout package. The eviction of 3,000 students from their hostels indicates that the Village will not be ready and last minute alternate arrangements are being made.
In fact, there is not a single aspect, which the OC or the Sports Ministry can claim has been completed to satisfaction. The OC is still not sure how it will feed the sportspersons, athletes, officials and referees outside the Games Village. With more than 30 lakh meals expected to be cooked during the fortnight of the Games, it's one of the most important functional areas of the event.
Yamuna Sports Complex
Events: Archery and table tennis
Deadline: March 2009, revised to December 2009. Now August 31. Inaugurated Partially in March 2010. Roof caved in, damaging the floor.
Estimated cost: Rs 200 crore
Final cost: Rs 300 crore
An estimated 2,500 meals need to be served every hour. Thanks to the mismanagement and dilly-dallying over finalising the caterers by the OC, most of them are now unwilling to step in as they say that there is too little time, extremely ambitious expectations and meagre returns. The OC has no money left under the catering head since it frittered away its finances on inexplicable cancellation and re-tendering of the contract for the Village.
It is the same story of mismanagement and delays for many of the other crucial aspects related to the conduct of the Games. They have asked the Sports Ministry to provide them with at least Rs 720 crore due to unavoidable cost overruns in various areas. The functional area of communication, image and look has also witnessed a huge overrun of over Rs 105 crore. The budget for ceremonies also shot up from estimated Rs 106 crore to Rs 375 crore, sending the entire OC finances in a tizzy.
The sports minister said that they were considering the proposal for the extra Rs 720 crore. It needed to be cleared by the Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Union Urban Affairs Minister Jaipal Reddy, for the final approval. However, Gill said that the finance minister had made it clear that no more funds would be forthcoming.
Talkatora Stadium
Event: Boxing
Deadline: March 2009, revised to October 2009 Inaugurated on February 2010
Estimated cost: Rs 85 crore
Final cost: Rs 150 crore
In the meantime, the OC is knocking at the doors of the cash-rich Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and NHAI for funds. They have asked the BCCI for Rs 100 crore and the NHAI for sponsorship packages ranging between Rs 10 crore and Rs 100 crore. With the OC struggling to get sponsorships, the Government has asked the PSUs to bail them out as part of corporate social responsibility.
The OC, on its own, got very few sponsors, far below the target of Rs 1,800 crore. It only managed Rs 342 crore from 10 sponsors, of which Indian Railways is shelling out Rs 100 crore. Air India and National Thermal Power Corporation have promised Rs 50 crore each. Central Bank has committed Rs 51 crore.
The only two private sponsors, Hero Honda and Coca-Cola are chipping in with Rs 38 crore and Rs 16 crore, respectively. Unabashed about seeking sponsors, Kalmadi said that he had sent some 500 letters to various agencies and companies for sponsorship.
"We have one big sponsor in Indian Railways, we need another big one," he says. About asking the BCCI for funds, Kalmadi said that it was an opportunity for the Board to do something for sports other than cricket.
One of OC's big blunders has been appointing Australian firm Sports Marketing and Management (SMAM) for arranging sponsorships.
According to the agreement between SMAM and the OC, signed on July 25, 2007, SMAM is the "sole and exclusive negotiator and procurer of sponsorship for licensing contracts."
The company stands to gain a commission of 15 to 20 per cent on each sponsorship that comes for the Games, even if it has nothing to do with it. So, while the PSUs chip in, SMAM cheers. Questions were raised within the OC about the win-win deal in favour of SMAM.
In fact, in an internal memo signed by then Additional Director General (Revenue) V.K. Saksena on February 12, says "SMAM's contribution in major deals signed so far has been zero even though they are entitled to the same commission from these deals as they are from deals which are negotiated by them."
The Sports Ministry is also quite irked by the arbitrary decisions taken by the OC on several matters. In fact, according to sources, the OC was having a free run before Gill took over as the sports minister on April 6, 2008, with no system of checks and balances.
With complaints about financial irregularities and mismanagement, an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) was undertaken in July 2009. Its report pointed out several lacunae and delays in various projects.
A committee of secretaries on finance was also set up to clear demands for funds and also to monitor the OC spending. The GoM under Reddy was set up in 2008 to monitor the progress and clear proposals. Gill proudly claimed that before he came into the scene, hardly any progress had been made in the work on stadia.
"I personally monitored the progress, especially in the venues for swimming, shooting and cycling,'' says the sports minister. Moreover, only after July 31, when all the venues are scheduled to be handed over to the OC, the work on overlays and securing them will start. Security agencies needed at least 45 days to secure the venues, which seems highly unlikely now.
Last October, when the one year countdown for the 19th Commonwealth Games began, Gill compared the event to the great Indian wedding. "We keep preparing till the last minute, then the baraat arrives and everything passes off wonderfully."
Right now, however, the debris that is visible all across the city is fast becoming a metaphor for the possible fate of the Games and the national shame that will follow in its wake if Kalmadi and his cohorts don't wake up to the reality staring them in the face.
Missing in Action
Jessica Ennis, England, Heptathlon champion
Cate Campbell, Australia, Swimmer, Olympic bronze medallist
Veronica Campbell-Brown Jamaica Sprinter, Olympic gold medalist
Usain Bolt, Jamaica Sprinter, World and Olympic champion
Victoria Pendleton, England, Cyclist, Olympic and world champion
Chris Hoy, Scotland, Cyclist, Olympic Gold medalist
Commonwealth Games: The Big Mess
2003: India makes the bid in May and is awarded the Games in November. It had lost two earlier bids for 1990 and 1994 Games. It defeats Hamilton (Canada) by 46 votes to 22.
2005: The Organising Committee, chaired by Indian Olympic Association Chief Suresh Kalmadi was formeda year later than scheduled under the host city contract of the Games.
2006: The closing Ceremony of the Melbourne Games in May sees an 11-minute performance showcasing India as a nation of diverse cultures, landscapes and a rich heritage. The highlight is performances by Aishwarya Rai, Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee. It ends with the message, "Namaste! See you in Delhi 2010! Swagatam!"
2007: The first budget for the Games is approved by the Cabinet at Rs 3,566 crore. After much delay, the DDA finalises Emaar MGF as PPP partner for construction of 1,168 residential flats in Games Village.
2008: M.S. Gill took over as sports minister and got things to move. Till then virtually no progress was made in any of the major staiums. A Group of Ministers was constituted under Union Urban Affairs Minister Jaipal Reddy to coordinate among the plethora of agencies.
2009: Chairman of the Games Federation Michael Fennell visits Delhi to see the progress of Games work. He expresses concern over several issues, including security and delays.
2010: As deadline approaches, work goes on at a frantic pace. Corners are cut and the shoddiness is revealed as roofs of venues fall and water floods them. Deadline for stadiums is July 31, and for roads and civic infrastructure it is August 31. The total expenditure of the Games is now estimated to be Rs 40,000 crore.
Reproduced From India Today. ? 2010. LMIL. All rights reserved.
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