CPWD Gives Up says can’t finish 6 Games projects in time

CAG says the first 3 projects were critical to Games and would impact traffic management during the event

1 Shastri Park tunnel corridor connecting east Delhi to north and northeast
2 Elevated east-west corridor from east Delhi to CP
3 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg flyover linking IG stadium
4 Masoodpur corridor upgrade & Mahipalpur tunnel
5 SP Mukherjee Marg corridor for easing Old Delhi rly station traffic
6 Signal-free right turn at JB Tito Marg-Siri Fort Road

13 OUT OF 19

sports venues evaluated at high risk of failing deadline as work shortfall is between 25% and 50%

9 OUT OF 16

major ongoing city infrastructure projects at high risk of failing deadline with work shortfall of 55% to 97%. All 16 running late

Government didn’t follow 7-year global norm

The lack of concern on part of the government and organizers in meeting deadlines reflect in the way planning has been done. While the organizing committee submitted its budget for the Games in November 2005, this was approved by the Centre only in April 2007 a full one-and-a-half year later.

The organization plan was finalized in August 2007, project and risk management experts appointed in March 2008 and the Games masterplan finalized in November 2008 for seeking the approval of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Among the infrastructure projects shelved due to horrible delays, CAG says the east-west corridor, BSZ Marg flyover and the Shastri Park tunnel were critical for the Games on account of their location and that the decision to delink them would have adverse traffic management implications.

There was hardly any method in the way the Games were approached by the planners, says CAG. The organizers were supposed to follow the seven-year project cycle as practiced internationally — two years for planning and approvals, four years for execution, construction and development, and the last year for test events and trial runs.

After the event was awarded to New Delhi in 2003, the government instead adopted a four-phase approach. In the first phase, the entire plan for the Games was to be laid out. Two years were allocated for this purpose (January 2004 to May 2006). The second phase was for creation of infrastructure, between May 2006 and May 2008. The delivery of the completed projects was to be made between May 2008 to December 2010.

CAG observed that there was no evidence of the four phase approach being translated into action from 2004 to 2006 (phase one), nor during a major part of phase two. In fact, in its response to CAG observations, the organizing committee said that till the appointment of technical and HR consultants in 2006, it had little or no experience in organizing an event of this magnitude.