New Delhi, August 14: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday called a meeting with the concerned ministers to review the preparations for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
The Sports minister M S Gill, Urban Development minister Jaipal Reddy, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and others were present in the meeting.
Manmohan Singh said that there have been slippages in the time schedules of some of the construction works and deficiencies have been observed in some of the works.
Prime Minister also directed officials to complete all pending works related to the Commonwealth Games expeditiously in a time-bound manner.
According to a statement issued in the meeting, the prime minister directed the ministries concerned, the government of the national capital and the Organizing Committee to complete all pending works expeditiously through time-bound action plans and carry out a quality audit of the completed facilities.
“All the facilities must meet international standards,” the release said after a high-level meet convened by the prime minister.
The Group of Ministers was directed to meet immediately and frequently thereafter, the PMO statement said.
The Organising Committee is asked to take appropriate steps urgently to conclude all pending preparations. The Senior Management Committee is ordered to meet daily and be chaired by the CEO in the absence of the Chairman or Vice-Chairman, Organising Committee.
Singh directed the Ministries concerned to conduct “thorough investigations into all the complaints that have been received of procedural and other irregularities.”
The public has a right to know the facts and the GoM will ensure that timely and authentic information on the status of preparations and in particular on the remaining tasks at hand is released to the public.
The promotional campaign of the various events should be stepped up to generate enthusiasm among sports-lovers in the largest sporting event the country has held in many years.
The meeting was called a day after the congress core committee met on Friday to discuss the controversy that hit the CWG.
During the discussions in Parliament on the Games this week, there were suggestions that the Government appoint a high-level committee on the lines of the one formed during the 1982 Asian Games which was headed by late Rajiv Gandhi with the then Sports Minister Buta Singh working under him along other officials.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has also demanded Prime Minister’s statement on the issue.
he opposition parties have been mounting pressure on the government to take action against Kalmadi for his alleged involvement in corruption in the organizing committee.
While the Left parties have demanded Kalmadi’s removal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sought action against him. Some quarters of the Congress party too have been demanding his removal.
—Agencies