Corruption scandal threatens October's Commonwealth Games

NEW DELHI (AP):

The dire build-up to the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi has deteriorated further, with the organising committee urged to fire two senior officials amid a brewing corruption scandal just two months before the opening ceremonies.

Commonwealth Games organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi had already ordered an emergency executive board meeting for this week when local media reported he had been asked by India's sports ministry to remove his director general, T.S. Darbari, and deputy director general Sanjay Mohindroo.

In a letter to Kalmadi, Sports Secretary Sindhushree Khullar asked Kalmadi to take action after the names of the two high-ranking organising committee members figured in the investigations into "alleged irregularities" related to the Queen's Baton Relay in London, the Press Trust of India reported yesterday.

Games' image tarnished

"Matters such as the UK payments and alleged customs inquiry against Darbari raise questions of probity and integrity," Khullar wrote in the letter Sunday, according to PTI. "They tarnish the image of the Games and adversely affect its credibility ... I would strongly advise you that the two officers should be immediately relieved of all their duties."

The organisers have been under pressure for more than a year since it became apparent that delays in construction meant none of the games venues would be finished before deadline. With infrastructure projects around the city also well behind schedule, the Indian capital is involved in a race against time to be ready to host the October 3-14 Commonwealth Games - the biggest sporting event here since the 1982 Asian Games.

India's Central Vigilance Commission has issued a report highlighting concerns regarding building practices and potential problems surrounding the certi-fying of the work.

PTI reported that the sports ministry had asked for Darbari's removal from the committee's revenue and marketing units in February due to a customs matter, but Kalmadi had rejected the request.

On Saturday, Kalmadi faced a news conference to reject allegations of wrongdoing in the organising committee's payments to a small London-based company for services including car hire, portable toilets and road barriers during the launch of the Games' torch relay in London last October.

Defamation

"I am deeply pained by totally unfounded and baseless allegations," Kalmadi said, adding that he planned to start defamation action against a TV channel.

Kalmadi has reportedly called an emergency meeting for Thursday to discuss the corruption allegations at the behest of leading officials, including Indian Olympic Association secretary general Randhir Singh, who described the situation as "grave".

The Commonwealth Games Federation has asked for clari-fication following the release of the negative report, and signs that some venues are already showing signs of construction faults.

"We are concerned about the implication of the CVC report indeed. We have written to the organising committee following the release of the report, basically saying that we need assurances from the venue owners ... that all venues are fully compliant with Government of India laws," CGF chief executive Mike Hooper was quoted as saying. "Certainly, it is of concern, and if there are immediate works that need to be done ... they must do it in the next 60 days."

AP