2010 Commonwealth Games: Will India Miss the Opportunity?

A day after India celebrates the 141st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the man who led a non-violent struggle against the British rule, India will showcase her continued nominal ties with the British Empire by hosting the Commonwealth Games (CWG). However, the 2010 CWG have become more an arena of political wrangling and administrative corruption rather than a celebration of Imperial ties or sporting talent. India seems to have greater appetite for sports controversies than actual sports.  

 
Several arguments have been made in support of India’s decision to host the games. The sporting infrastructure, stadiums, equipment and training facilities, developed in the run up to the CWG could be utilized by India’s budding sporting stars in enhancing their competitive edge in international sporting events. Development of Delhi’s infrastructure, metro, flyover, airport terminal, was fast tracked in the wake of the CWG. Delhi-ites could continue to reap the benefits of better infrastructure in future and it will also enhance Delhi’s claim as a world class city. The latter objective has been asserted by Delhi’s Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on several occasions. The CWG allow India to internationally portray its growing economic prowess. Manish Tiwari, spokesperson for the Congress Party, during a discussion on NDTV stated that the CWG were an opportunity to showcase India’s ability to successfully conduct a world-class event. In his words it “is demonstration of national power.”

 
There are many who had and continue to oppose India’s bid to host the CWG. The government says that the Games will cost about $2.5 billion, almost 18 times more than the official estimate when Delhi made the initial bid. Mani Shankar Aiyar, a former sports minister and prominent critic of the event, estimates the total cost, including that of giving Delhi an infrastructure and aesthetic facelift, to be closer to $7.6 billion. Critics of the Games argue that similar financial investments in building training facilities and sponsoring sportspersons would yield more and lasting benefits. Moreover, given the levels of poverty and under-development in the country, expenditure on the CWG appears wasteful. Mani Shankar Aiyar expressed his displeasure in strongest words by stating that he would be unhappy if the games were a success. Success of the CWG, according to Aiyar, would embolden India to bid for Asian Games and Olympics resulting in another round of wasteful expenditure. Finally, Delhi’s bid for the Games was grounded more in idealism than pragmatism. India’s Cabinet Secretary, K.M. Chandrasekhar is of the view that, “Delhi was not in a position to host such an event” at the time of winning the bid. The huge costs of the Games in fact include expenditure on infrastructure and civic facilities which were lacking in the city. 

 
Arguments on both sides sound reasonable but the recent discussions are focussed less on the relative merits and demerits of the Games and more on the very possibility of conducting the Games. Recent media reports have raised three concerns. One, will the Games venues be ready for the various events by October 3, 2010? Second, how serious are the charges of corruption in organizing the Games? Third, is the quality and standard of the venues and services affected by the alleged corruption?

 
According to Mike Hooper, CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation, “The Commonwealth Games Federation has been consistent in saying that there have been delays in preparation of the Games. The completion date kept moving from February to March then to June and now to August. The reality is that the venues are not complete. We can see it with our own eyes.” In Hooper’s analysis not even a single venue is hundred percent complete. While doubts over the completion of venues are mounting there are voices inquiring about backup venues!

 
A report of the Chief Vigilance Commission (CVC) points to corruption at every level in the organization of the games. The CVC report says that almost all organisations executing infrastructure works for Commonwealth Games have flouted rules in tenders and increased their prices. The CVC has asked the CBI to register a corruption case against certain Municipal Corporation of Delhi officials in connection with irregularities in a tender issued for a CWG project worth several crores. The Indian High Commission in London and CWG Organizing Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi are involved in a tug of war over the issue of contracts made to M/s AM Cars and vans during the Queen’s Batton Relay ceremony in London in October 2009. There are also allegations that funds from the SC/ST schemes (for backward classes) were diverted to the CWG. 

 
The truth behind these allegations may never be fully unveiled but the exorbitant cost of some simple items is shocking. A treadmill priced at 7 lakh rupees has been rented for one and half months for 9,75,000 rupees. Only a financial genius like Suresh Kalmadi could allow 25,000 pounds to a UK based firm without a written contract.

 
According to the CVC report concrete used in infrastructure work in various stadiums has failed to meet the requirement of strength. Electrical installations have not been tested in 14 out of the 17 venues before putting it to public use and this increases the chances of electrical mishaps. Lalit Bhanot, Secretary-General of India’s Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee, reacted to a mishap in the proposed table-tennis arena by saying, “Some false ceiling has fallen down, which means nothing…these things happen even at your house.” After the CVC report, Mark Hooper’s concerns have multiplied as he stated that, “earlier, we were worried about security. Now our concern has moved to the safety of the athletes and players who would come here to participate.”
For those who see the CWG as an opportunity to impress the international community there is some bad news. According to Australia’s field hockey coach Ric Charlesworth, the Commonwealth Federation was “naive” to believe assurances of the New Delhi organizers regarding the successful completion of the sporting and lodging venues. “Forget about the venues, we have to live in the village. And my experience says that it won’t be finished,” Charlesworth was quoted as saying. “My concern is that we will get there and have people stuck on the 15th floor with no working lifts, no air conditioning, electricity going on and off, no water in the taps and poor sewerage.” The faint signs of optimism are hardly encouraging for India. Australia’s Commonwealth Games chief Perry Crosswhite said “Some of the finishing will not be of the standard we have normally… but we always knew it would be that way and we have told our athletes to expect that.”

 
Much before the issues of delay and corruption in the CWG became the favourite theme of the India media, disturbing concerns were being raised in other parts of the globe. In February this year the Australian Herald Sun carried a news report on the employment of young children for completing the behind the schedule venues in Delhi. According to the report, parents have been promised bonuses, such as money for bread and milk, on top of their normal pay, if they bring their children and put them to work.

 
The CWG may not turn Delhi into a hub of national sporting activity in the long run but the run-up to the CWG has demonstrated the sporting spirit of the Delhi-ites. It is often said that Mumbaikars, residents of India’s financial capital Mumbai, can come out of any tragedy or turmoil. CWG has proved that Delhi-ites can continue to live with any turmoil. A twenty plus hour trans-Pacific flight from San Francisco to New Delhi is physically less demanding than a one hour commute within the city of Delhi. And the Delhi-ites have endured the turmoil for several months. However, all is not lost yet. I still find hope in Tavleen Singh’s tweet: CWG can still be a success if Lalit Modi is entrusted with organizing the Games! [tweet paraphrased]