Nine months after it was started and then hurriedly ended following severe opposition from some ministers, chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday revived the model of ministerial supervision of Games projects irrespective of the ministers’ departments.
In a meeting with her entire cabinet, Dikshit has asked ministers to go on rounds of venues near their places of residence to identify what more needs to be done. Ministers have been made in charge of various sectors like roads, streetscaping, heritage monuments etc. A formal notification may be issued in this regard but sources say a detailed list as had been issued in September last year in the wake of Michael Fennell’s scathing letter to the prime minister on his dissatisfaction with Games preparations may not be forthcoming.
Said a source: ‘‘I am not sure whether there will be a formal notification but it has been made clear to all ministers what their responsibilities are. Kiran Walia has been asked to inspect all projects being done by MCD and call them and inform them about any shortcomings. East Delhi projects will be handled by A K Walia and Arvinder Singh. NDMC areas will be supervised by the CM herself, while Haroon Yusuf has been asked to take care of the Walled City area and work being done on various historical monuments.’’
Yusuf has also been asked to look at streetscaping while roads are to be monitored by finance minister A K Walia.
Said a minister: ‘‘As far as stadia are concerned, the anxiety is now less about the work inside than the beautification and lighting outside. That is something that we have been asked to pay special attention to and also see that amenities like public toilets, drinking water etc are sufficient.’’
The monitoring model which is similar to the one adopted last time, sources say, may raise the same concerns and lead to allegations of interference as before but the fact that the Games are now less than 100 days away may wash away all protests. Bulks of the CWG projects are being implemented by PWD.
In a meeting with her entire cabinet, Dikshit has asked ministers to go on rounds of venues near their places of residence to identify what more needs to be done. Ministers have been made in charge of various sectors like roads, streetscaping, heritage monuments etc. A formal notification may be issued in this regard but sources say a detailed list as had been issued in September last year in the wake of Michael Fennell’s scathing letter to the prime minister on his dissatisfaction with Games preparations may not be forthcoming.
Said a source: ‘‘I am not sure whether there will be a formal notification but it has been made clear to all ministers what their responsibilities are. Kiran Walia has been asked to inspect all projects being done by MCD and call them and inform them about any shortcomings. East Delhi projects will be handled by A K Walia and Arvinder Singh. NDMC areas will be supervised by the CM herself, while Haroon Yusuf has been asked to take care of the Walled City area and work being done on various historical monuments.’’
Yusuf has also been asked to look at streetscaping while roads are to be monitored by finance minister A K Walia.
Said a minister: ‘‘As far as stadia are concerned, the anxiety is now less about the work inside than the beautification and lighting outside. That is something that we have been asked to pay special attention to and also see that amenities like public toilets, drinking water etc are sufficient.’’
The monitoring model which is similar to the one adopted last time, sources say, may raise the same concerns and lead to allegations of interference as before but the fact that the Games are now less than 100 days away may wash away all protests. Bulks of the CWG projects are being implemented by PWD.
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Rahman's composition approved as CWG 2010 theme song
AMIDST IRREGULARITIES, allegations of corruption in the upcoming Commonwealth Games, here comes a morale booster. The empowered group of ministers (GoM) has approved ace composer and Oscar winner A.R.Rahman's composition as the official theme song for the CWG. The decision was taken after a meeting that took place on Sunday evening. The song titled as “Swagatham” is tentatively slated to be released in the next 10 days.
The event which is nearly seven weeks away, its implementation and contours were discussed for nearly three hours on Sunday. Amidst speculations, Union Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy made it clear that there will not be any changes in schedule, neither should there be delays in meeting the specified deadlines in the completion and readiness of the stadias in order to host the event that spans for 11 days.
On the composition, he asserted that the theme song was discussed between the GoM, Rahman, Film Director Shyam Benegal and Producer Bharat Bala. The song was approved in principle and will be presented before the public in another 10 days.
With just 48 days for the games to begin and personal request from the Mozart of Madras to portray the games in a positive light, sources say that the idea behind choosing Rahman's composition is to make it a cult song like 'Jai Ho' from Slumdog Millionaire and FIFA's very own anthem, 'Waka Waka'.
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