Commonwealth Games 2010: Tardy preparation, not terror, threat to Delhi Games: CGF

Determined not to allow terrorism derail the grand sporting event in 2010, the Commonwealth Games threw its weight behind Delhi and said it expected the Indian capital to deliver a fantastic sporting extravaganza.

Scotching rumours that Delhi might lose the 2010 games in the aftermath of the recent Mumbai terror attacks , CGF honorary secretary Louise Martin made it clear that the federation had full trust in Delhi’s organising capability and despite some of the projects running behind schedule, they are looking forward to a grand Commonwealth Games in 2010.

“There are no thoughts of pulling the games; it actually makes you more determined they go ahead as planned. Two weeks ago, at the (CGF) General Assembly in Gambia, we had a report from Delhi, which forecast that the Games will be delivered on time and on budget,” Martin told ‘The Scotsman’.

In fact more than the security threats, Martin was bothered about Delhi struggling to complete the ongoing projects in time for the successful hosting of the event.

“We are aware of the situation and are monitoring it; but the venues are currently either just behind, or on target.

What we have to understand is they have a completely different way of working. They can do things last minute,” she said.

Delhi, however, has been asked to expedite its preparation, she said.

“I think everyone knows what will happen: they will deliver a fantastic games. But Delhi has been told they have to work faster,” she added.

Insisting that India’s hopes of hosting Olympic Games would depend on the successful hosting of the 2010 Games, Martin said, “Jacques Rogge (IOC president) has said that if they have any ambitions to stage an Olympics then they have to deliver an excellent Commonwealth Games.”

Commonwealth Games 2010: No security guidelines

Even though security is being beefed up across all important installations like airports, hotels and government buildings, there are no specific security guidelines for protecting the venues or the international athletes who are expected to participate in the 2010 Commonwealth Games be held in New Delhi .

“There are no formal guidelines for security. The Commonwealth Games Federation, London , oversees the preparations. The idea is to ensure that the games go on smoothly. It should not be a fortress,” says A Vasudevan, additional director general, Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.

New Delhi is scheduled to host the games from October 3 to 14, 2010, and the construction of the Games village is in full swing. But the project developers and the Commonwealth Games organising committee have not been approached for discussing or reviewing any security cover, sources said.

Also, the proposed security budget for the games is only Rs 260 crore (Rs 2.6 billion), against over $200 million spent by the Australian government on security arrangements for the last Commonwealth Games held in Sydney. Overall, the budgetary projections for the games are estimated to be over Rs 5,500 crore (Rs 55 billion), but there is no specific allocation for security measures.

According to the rules, the responsibility of providing the security cover to the games venue, athletes and other officials of the participating teams lies with the host country. And these measures are deployed and reviewed normally 6 to 8 months before the date of the event, officials in the sports ministry said.

However, at the upcoming residential property being developed for the hundreds of participating athletes by Emaar MGF, there is no major security equipment being installed so far.

“The project belongs to the Delhi Development Authority, who have issued no specific guidelines for security. We are just developers. We are treating this as just another residential project”, a senior executive at Emaar MGF said.

A senior official in the youth affairs and sports ministry said: “There will be an enhanced budgetary allocation for security, now that a coordination committee is overlooking all aspects of the games.” This committee has been asked to brief the Union Cabinet on a weekly basis, sources said.