Manmohan briefed on allegations against Games Village status

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was on Tuesday briefed by Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrashekhar about the slew of allegations being levelled by foreign participants about lack of proper facilities at the Commonwealth Games Village and the decisions taken to rectify the situation.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Chandrashekhar, who heads the Committee of Bureaucrats that has been reviewing the preparations for the Games, attended a high-level meeting at the Games Village. Besides him, Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna, Prime Minister's Principal Secretary T.K.A. Nair, Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta, Delhi Development Authority Vice-Chairman A.K. Nigam and Mayor of Games Village Dalbir Singh participated in the meeting, where several decisions on addressing the concerns raised by the participants were taken.

The meeting took place in the backdrop of a strongly worded letter that Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennel wrote to Mr. Chandrashekar about lack of proper facilities at the Village. He had said that he was “expecting some serious action in the next 24 hours.”

In his letter, Mr. Fennel stated: “We have been waiting for the Village to be ready before the athletes arrive but we have not seen any action so far. Many nations that have already sent their advanced parties to set up within the village made it abundantly clear that, as of the afternoon of September 20, the Commonwealth Games village is seriously compromised.”

The status of preparedness at the Commonwealth Games Village was reviewed at the meeting. It was noted that while the international zone and the dining area were completely ready and were acceptable to all the Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs), their concerns primarily pertained to the residential zone.

“Certain deficiencies in the residential zone particularly pertaining to cleanliness and minor rectifications had been pointed out by some delegates of CGAs, which have been promptly attended to,” the Lieutenant-Governor's Office said. It also stated that manpower available for cleaning and housekeeping have also been upgraded and increased and professionals in the field have been inducted.

To ensure that every residential block was properly looked after and there was proper coordination with relation to maintenance and cleaning, officers from the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Civil Service cadre have been given charge of one tower each.

Maintenance

It was also decided that the developer, Emaar MGF, will ensure that all maintenance and repair work, as may be required in each tower, will be carried out promptly and on round-the-clock basis.