It also charged the Opposition with putting forth incorrect figures on the expenditure incurred for the mega event.

Ever since the 19th Commonwealth games was announced to be held at Delhi, there have been doubts about whether the event will be a success. Now, with about a few weeks to go till the games are officially opened, fresh allegations are being thrown at the government by the entire opposition. The Lok Sabha turned chaotic when the Opposition started accusing the government of allowing large scale corruption in the CWG projects. The Left also urged the need for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to inquire into the chargers.

S Jaipal Reddy, the Union Minister for Urban development, leads the group of ministers organizing the games. Reddy was present at the session when the accusations were made but was not allowed to comment on the matter. The opposition wanted a reply only after a debate was done on the concerned matter. Reddy later commented that in his 42 year career as an MP or an MLA, never before has a minister been stopped from commenting when he wanted to. He said that he was not directly concerned with the Games but wanted to reply to the allegations since he was the chairman of the CWG organizing committee. He said that the actual expenditure of the CWG is about Rs.11, 500 crore and that the opposition’s calculation of figures of Rs.50, 000 crore and Rs. one lakh crore were totally incorrect.

Reddy said that there was a possibility of the government agencies committing irregularities with the finances, and that the entire matter will be thoroughly investigated. He added that even the CBI will be called to look into it. He said that these government agencies should not be confused with the organizing committee which is an independent organization like the BCCI. Later, he also commented on the delay of the projects related to the games saying that the reason for it was due to the shortage of labour in Delhi and that the success of the Centre’s flagship employment guarantee programme (MGNREGA) contributed to the shortage of man power. When the opposition questioned about the decision of holding the games in the national capital, the minister replied that it was decided in 2003 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and that the UPA did not want to change the plan because of a moral and political responsibility. Whether there is any truth about the allegations or not, we can hope that the government deals with the matter soon and that the Games’ flame is lit on time.

According to her, smooth transportation of sportspersons to various sporting venues or stadia will be the most important aspect of the traffic plan for the Commonwealth Games, to be held in Delhi in October 2010.

The Chief Minister told reporters on the sidelines of a symposium on public transport, held in New Delhi, that a traffic plan for the Commonwealth Games is being worked out by the Delhi police. Since Delhi has the advantage of being round, there are a number of alternative routes available, she said.

According to R K Verma, Transport Commissioner of Delhi, the transport system is being bettered gradually. Before the Commonwealth Games, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will run 10,000 buses. There will be more Metro lines, R K Verma said, adding that the government hopes that more people will shift from using cars to using public transport. The focus of the traffic improvement will be on the effective use of the existing space and its potential.

In another important development regarding improving the traffic system for the Commonwealth Games 2010, Delhi police are likely to introduce soon the “e-payment’ of traffic challans. This means that a traffic violator can punch his credit card or debit card number on the website www.delhitrafficpolice.nic.in

The system – named ‘e-challaning’ – is said to be based on the method adopted by the traffic police of Bangalore. In Bangalore, a traffic violator can pay online to a notice, by just typing in the notice number, the registration number of the vehicle and give his email address, along with the details of his credit card or debit card.

Ajay Chadha, Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Delhi, said that, in the e-challaning method, notices will be linked to the central system.

Besides, it has been proposed to provide police officers on beat duty on Delhi roads with Blackberry mobile phones, which will help them keep a tab on habitual traffic offenders.

The Delhi traffic police have already begun the process of selecting the company best suited for implementing the e-challaning system.

Ajay Chadha said that, in order to familiarise the public with the traffic circulation system for the Commonwealth Games, the traffic police will barricade and restrict movement of traffic on certain roads. The trial runs, which are likely to start in the middle of February 2010, will continue till the Commonwealth Games starts.

The first trial is expected to be held on the route that the athletes will take from the Indira Gandhi International Airport to reach the Games Village, located in East Delhi.

According to sources, the Delhi traffic police could conduct the trials during the hockey World Cup – to be held from February 28, 2010, to March 13, 2010 – on the route that the hockey teams will take to reach Dhyan Chand Stadium, near India Gate, from Le Meridian Hotel. This plan be will be later implemented in the stretch between the Games Village and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which is the venue for the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, as well as other sporting venues.

The Tourism Department of Haryana is readying to provide the best services possible to the foreigners visiting India for the Commonwealth Games 2010, to be held in New Delhi, according to Kumari Selja, Union Minister for Tourism, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.

She told reporters in Ambala in Haryana that as many as 6,000 rooms are being constructed “on a war-footing” by the various hotel-owners in Haryana. All these rooms will be completed within the stipulated time, she added.

The Minister said that vehicle drivers will be given “behavioural training” on how to “behave decently” with the foreign tourists and others coming to New Delhi for the Commonwealth Games.

The road tax of different states will be collected at one point in order to make it easy for the tourists who would be visiting other states. Later, the road tax so collected will be distributed among the states concerned, Kumari Selja said.

A special campaign is at present under way to promote tourism in the Ambala parliamentary constituency. Holistic schemes, the Minister said, will be drawn up after examining the tourism potential in Ambala, Yamunnagar, and Panchkula.

The Common Wealth Games 2010, according to Kumari Selja, is expected to boost India’s tourism sector considerably. This will be the biggest sports event to be held in India so far.

The Haryana government has already announced that, for the Common Wealth Games 2010, a “bed-and-breakfast scheme” will be implemented in Gurgaon. According to this scheme, house-owners can rent out their premises to tourists.

Rajender Kataria, Deputy Commissioner of Gurgaon, said that since it takes a long time to construct a hotel, the Central Government has approved about 25 houses in Gurgaon which could be converted into guesthouses. The registration and other legal process related to these guesthouses have been simplified, and adequate security will be provided to the buildings where the tourists stay.

Because the hotel industry is suffering from a financial crunch and the real estate sector from the downturn, the bed-and-breakfast scheme appears to be the only viable alternative, according to Rajender Kataria. Efforts are being made to make available other services such as conference rooms and restaurants.

Under the bed-and-breakfast scheme, house-owners are allowed to rent out a maximum of 5 rooms, along with complimentary services such as power backup, airconditioning, Wi-Fi, as well as 24X7 security.

The Haryana government will market the bed-and-breakfast facility online.

With the funding, Doordarshan will be able to upgrade its infrastructure in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai to telecast the Commonwealth Games in HDTV format.

indiatelevision.com has reported that the requisite equipment will have to be imported at a cost of around Rs 1.6 billion. The remaining Rs 50 million has been earmarked for recurring expenditure for project implementation and spectrum charges.

Reports say that the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry has shortlisted five broadcasters, namely, Tokyo Broadcasting, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, USA’s International Sports Broadcasting and International Games Broadcast Services.

As of now Prasar Bharati’s transmitters are largely on analog mode. The HDTV format will enable Prasar Bharati to provide superior picture and sound quality to viewers. Though, viewers will need HDTV-enabled TVs or a set-top box to view the programming in HDTV.

Meanwhile, in other news about the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Supreme Court of India overturned a Delhi High Court ruling that required the setting up of a committee to monitor the construction at the Commonwealth Games Village (CGV) in Delhi.

As per the Supreme Court judgment, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) can now continue to build the CGV.

“Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and other authorities are free to proceed with the work at the CWG village site,” the Supreme Court said.

The High Court ruling had come after a petition was made that the construction of the CGV would have an adverse effect on the ecology of the Yamuna river bed that would lead to the changing of the river’s course causing flooding.

The High Court then gave the directive that a committe should be set up to ascertain whether the CGV site complex was, in fact, being built on the Yamuna riverbed or flood plain.

The DDA appealed to the Supreme Court against the ruling saying that the project had received environmental clearances including that from National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).

The DDA also pointed out that that the Akshardham Temple was built 1.7 km away from the Yamuna river bed and that the CGV site was situated 1.2 kms away from the river bed.

It also said that the stalling of the project just some time away from the 2010 Commonwealth games would jeopardize its sovereign guarantee for holding the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. The government has already pumped in Rs 2,000 into the project, and is already behind schedule.

The Supreme Court accepted this and said the construction site of the CGV site was adjacent to that of the Akshardham Temple complex, and therefore the same considerations should be applied to the building of the CGV.

The Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices P. Sathasivam and B.S. Chauhan upheld the appeal and said the observation and conclusion of the High Court was unsustainable.

“The decision of the expert and autonomous body, NEERI, supported by materials placed by other bodies such as Central Water Power Research Station and the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF), the same cannot be lightly interfered with by the court without adequate contra material,” Justice Sathasivam, the author of the judgment, said.

The bench also held that the High Court had not taken into consideration of experts and scientific organisations that have categorically maintained that the CGV site is not located on a riverbed or a flood plain.

The Supreme Court also said that the High Court should not have entertained the PIL since it was file in 2007, eight years after the land was alloted in 1999.

The apex court also set aside the committee that was put together by the High Court to examine the construction of the CGV from an ecological vantage point.

Meanwhile, a special commissioner of police was appointed by the government, for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, on July 28, 2009.

The new commissioner of police, Ajay Chadha, was transferred from Arunachal Pradesh where he was Director General of Police.