The Commonwealth Games 2010 will leave one legacy for sure, that when it comes to loot of public money no one in the world can match the Indians. The Games are less than two months away but its managers are already muddied. If cash guzzler Indian Premium League for twenty20 uncovered a corruption czar in the form of Lalit Modi, the Commonwealth Games is heading towards getting the fame of mother of all scam, with Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi as its head. However, it's interesting to note that Delhi chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, continues to dock the kind of attack that Kalmadi is getting. This is to do with perception. The media honchos think that it's Kalmadi's Games, little knowing that more than Rs 20,000 crore out of the total budget (actual) of Rs 35,000 crores have been spent by her. Kalmadi needs to learn few lessons from Dikshit how to escape the censure.
As Lalit Modi managed IPL as his private limited firm, so did Kalmadi, with the same modus operandi. The two belong to the same class. They do not reveal anything new, except for confirming that given an opportunity Indians, particularly politicians, have to loot the public exchequer. What lies behind the loot in the spending of more than Rs 20,000 crores by Dikshit led Delhi government presents a new trend in corruption, which is the nexus of the government agencies and private contractors to collude right from the stage of conceptualisation of a project till its execution.
Once the limelight fades away from Kalmadi, the focus will surely shift to Dikshit. The beginning has already been made with the CBI reportedly registering cases in the procurement of low-floor buses at an inflated costs. The CAG in its report, which was tabled last year in the Delhi Assembly, had already rapped Dikshit led Delhi government for procuring low-floor buses at an inflated costs. This particular deal is part of the preparations of the Commonwealth Games also, as Delhi government had been working on a plan of complete phase out of blueline buses before the sporting events. However, even this effort has remained shoddy and the rogue blueline buses ram through the length and breadth of the capital with imputy, given their ownership pattern, which again shows a nexus of politician- police to hijack the transport system.
The CAG in its next report will surely dig out facts of omission and corruption in the execution of road and flyover projects. Their pathetic quality, with little rains leaving big holes on important roads, make even a layman to suspect if Dikshit led government has just gifted away tax payers' money.
It's to be noted here that the biggest spending in the name of Commonwealth Games has been done by Delhi government, followed by DDA and Sports Authority of India. However, it's also a fact that no one will be able to hound Dikshit the way Kalmadi is facing. The reason being that she will easily shift the blame to engineers and department heads and secondly for the reason being that the Congress will not dump its electorally highly successful chief minister due to the allegations of corruption, as that will have a high political cost which the grand old party can never bear.
The Games will take place and it will be the worst, that too by giving too many pains to the people. All estimates of the organisers are already disappearing in thin air. They could not get worthwhile sponsorships. For the estimated footfall of about two lakh tourists, not more than 10,000 are expected to come to Delhi for the Games. There is no credible revenue model. All the much touted infrastructure legacy will also come to a farce, as the work has been short-sighted and amounts to a colossal waste of public money. The Games will leave just one legacy and that will be unbridled corruption.
Those who talk of hosting the Asian Games and Olympics must be raided by the income tax and CBI officials, so that the systemic cancer can be weeded out.
No comments:
Post a Comment