FE Editorial : A national embarrassment

Sun, Oct 18 09:37 AM

Last week, Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit said the 2010 Commonwealth Games delegation had "gone back happy" after having its "doubts cleared". Last month, Union urban development minister Jaipal Reddy assured us all that everything was "on course" for the prestigious sporting event. Sports minister MS Gill has repeatedly assured that all preparations would be completed on time and that the Games "will be a successful event". But the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) is refusing to play ball. Its president has demanded an independent technical review panel to step up monitoring of the preparations. That's made the chairman of the Indian organising committee mad. Suresh Kalmadi is demanding that CGF chief executive Mike Hooper be immediately repatriated from India. He has also rejected the call for an independent monitoring panel. Yet, wonder of wonders, most Indians—read: Delhiites and the media—haven't put their weight behind the home team. The reason is simple. It doesn't need 20/20 vision to recognise the import of all the "work in progress" signs dotting the capital. When the CAG recently reported that 13 of the 19 main sports venues were badly behind schedule, even that was no shocker to anyone who simply walks around Delhi. Far from building a competitor to Beijing's Bird's Nest, we are recycling the 1982 Asiad host as the main Games stadium. From roof to floor, everything is a mess, even at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium.

The only thing, on balance, is that the Commonwealth Games are simply a reflection of India's overall infrastructure muddle. It's actually not a question of money, but of governance. Report after report, incidence after incidence, we have seen projects fail to deliver on schedule. Citizens' protests—some conservationists speaking up for the Yamuna's floodplains and some others for an historical monument adjoining an underground rail link merely being two obvious examples—are oft-cited red herrings. Again, like the CAG report on the Commonwealth Games progress, just look at government data—the statistics and programme implementation ministry has recently estimated that nearly half of government projects are behind schedule. When our policymakers know well—they can quote the Chinese example at the drop of a hat—that infrastructure projects are key to boosting growth, their lackadaisical approach to demanding results is inexcusable. As is Kalmadi's refusal to accept that Hooper has cause to complain. When our house is in complete disorder, when everything from special stadium overhauls to ordinary road upkeep is severely stunted, how can one sit on a high horse? If fingers need pointing, how can one just direct them outwards? Hooper is only stating the obvious. Delhiites know this, and Kalmadi can't rabble-rouse us to pretend otherwise. Kalmadi is a Congressman and the Congress is in power. Therefore, the Congress has the main political responsibility for saving India's face. Will the Congress do something, please?

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