[Reader-list] CWG Expenditure Report

A. Mani a.mani.cms at gmail.com
Fri Sep 24 18:10:27 IST 2010


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Main findings from the report `Whose wealth? Whose commons?' published
by the Housing and Land Rights Network in May 2010.

http://www.hic-net.org/document.php?pid=3487

Main Findings
1. India’s Bid for the 2010 Games:
Bidding for Glory? Bidding for
Shame?

n India’s decision to bid for the Commonwealth Games
2010 was neither transparent nor democratic. It was
not discussed in Parliament; neither was there any
public debate, consultation or opinion poll among
the residents of Delhi.

n The Comptroller and Auditor General of India in a
2009 report observed that India’s decision to bid was
approved by the Cabinet ex-post facto in September
2003.

n Indian officials made a last-minute offer of US $7.2
million (Rs. 32.4 crore) during the bidding process,
which allegedly clinched the deal in India’s favour.
This was an offer to train athletes of all member
countries of the Commonwealth (US $100,000
to each of the 72 members). The Commonwealth
Games Federation (CGF) reportedly agreed to review
its rules following this monetary buy out.

n India’s bid also included an offer of a travel grant of US
$10.5 million (Rs. 48 crore) for an estimated number
of 5,200 athletes and 1,800 officials. According to
the Evaluation Commission of the Commonwealth
Games, this was more than the minimum CGF
requirement for travel.

n Other gratis offers made by India include: luxury
accommodation for the “CGF family” in Delhi;
chauffeur driven luxury cars for the duration of the
Games; and a free trip to the Taj Mahal.

n The entire bidding process cost India around Rs. 89
crore. With the travel grant, the total amounts to
Rs. 137 crore. This does not include the cost of free
sightseeing trips, luxury transport, and other offers.

n The Games Village, being built by Emaar MGF, is
expected to cost US $230.7 million (Rs. 1,038 crore).
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) offered a
Rs. 700 crore bailout in May 2009 to the company
to meet the costs of construction. This is probably
the first ever government bailout for a private realty
company in India.

n A decision to underwrite costs and budget shortfall
of the Games was taken, despite the fact that the
Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure,
Government of India, cautioned against it in 2003.

The Promise of the 2010 Games:
True Claims? False Hopes?

n The organisers of the 2010 Commonwealth Games
have claimed several benefits for Delhi, all of which
are questionable.

n The entire proposed expenditure for sports
infrastructure, as initially submitted by the Indian
Olympic Association in its Bid Document, was Rs.
150 crore. Already, an expenditure of at least Rs.
3,390 crore has been incurred on stadiums, most of
which are likely to remain unused after the Games, as
experience from the 1982 Asian Games has shown.
The increase in expenditure on stadiums is already
2,160% of the initial projected budget.

n The total expenditure on infrastructure for the
CWG is still unknown. In March 2006, Delhi
Finance Minister declared that the amount spent on
infrastructure development by different agencies in
the run-up to the CWG, was Rs. 26,808 crore. In
March 2010, Chief Secretary, Government of Delhi,
stated that the total amount spent on infrastructure
in Delhi in the last three years was Rs. 13,350 crore.

n The much publicised infrastructure development in
Delhi has, however, been hurried, expensive, poorly
planned, environmentally unsound, exploitative
of workers, slum dwellers and “beggars,” and in
violation of norms and planning processes, including
the Master Plan for Delhi 2021.
While the total budget for “beautification” projects in
Delhi is undisclosed, the amount already spent by the
government is hundreds of crores. The streetscaping
of just one street, Lodi Road, is estimated to cost Rs.
18.55 crore.

n Authoritative international research studies have
proven that hosting mega sports events is not an
effective way of achieving a sustained increase in
participation in sports, as claimed by the government.
If India is truly committed to building an improved
sports culture, it should follow the recommendations
of the report on “Promotion of Sports in India,”
presented by the Parliamentary Standing Committee
on Human Resource Development to the Rajya
Sabha in November 2006.

n The claim that the CWG will help create a “clean,
beautiful, vibrant, world class” Delhi has already
been proven wrong with grave human costs in the
form of slum demolitions, arrests of homeless citizens
and beggars, destruction of livelihoods of the urban
poor, and environmental degradation.

The Economics of the Games:
Necessary Expenditure? Wasteful
Extravagance?

n The budget for the CWG has undergone several
revisions since India won the bid for the Games in
2003. From an initial projection of Rs. 1,899 crore,
estimates of the total cost of the Games now range
from an official figure of Rs. 10,000 crore to estimates,
by independent experts, of at least Rs. 30,000 crore.

n The budgetary commitment to the Games was
apparently made without any detailed cost-benefit
analysis and social and environmental impact
assessment.

n The allocation for the Commonwealth Games in the
Union Budget (Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports)
grew from Rs. 45.5 crore in 2005-06 to Rs. 2,883
crore in 2009-10, a whopping 6,235% increase. For
the same period, the Union Budget for education rose
by just 60% while the increase in health expenditure
was 160%.

n The allocation for CWG projects in 2010-11 is Rs.
2,069.52 crore in the Union Budget and Rs. 2,105
crore in the Delhi Budget, of which, Rs. 1,000 crore
is from the Centre as additional assistance.

n India’s targeted goal for net revenue from the Games
is Rs. 1,780 crore, which is ambitious, as affirmed by
the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in July
2009.

n India’s expenses for the CWG are likely to create a
negative financial legacy for the nation, the effects of
which are already visible in the form of higher cost of
living and taxes for Delhi residents. In March 2010,
the Government of Delhi declared it has no funds for
new projects for the next fiscal year.

n In order to meet the budgetary shortfall for the Games,
funds marked for essential social sector spending
have also been used. For instance, funds from the
Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (Special Component
Plan) have been reallocated to cover CWG related
expenditures in Delhi in 2009-10. This reflects not
just a violation of the government’s commitments
but also the existence of unethical decision making
processes.

4. The Social Legacy of the Games:
Who Gains? Who Loses?

n Delhi has witnessed evictions and demolitions of
informal settlements and slums in the run-up to the
CWG. Most evictions are generally carried out to
construct roads, bridges, stadiums, and parking lots,
or under the guise of city “beautification,” ostensibly
to create a “world class” city.

n Authorities are clearing street vendors, rickshaw
pullers, and other informal sector workers off the
roads, and destroying livelihoods of the urban poor.

n “Beggars” and homeless citizens are being rounded up,
arrested and arbitrarily detained under the Bombay
Prevention of Beggary Act 1959. The Department of
Social Welfare has announced “no-tolerance zones”
in Delhi and a harsh crackdown against “beggars,”
including plans to send them back to their states of
origin.

n There is rampant exploitation of workers at CWG
construction sites. This includes low pay, unsafe
working conditions, lack of housing, use of child
labour, non-registration of workers, and denial
of social security benefits. More than a hundred
deaths have been reported from the CWG sites. No
compensation has been offered to family members of
the workers who lost their lives.

n Civil liberties in Delhi are being curtailed, and as the
Games draw near, the city is likely to witness increased
surveillance and restrictions against residents.

Recommendations
While detailed recommendations related to the CWG
process in India have been made in a separate section, a
summary of the key general recommendations include:

n A full and detailed inquiry should be conducted into
the decision-making and bidding process that led
to India hosting the Games as well as on the total
expenditure of the CWG.

n There must be full public disclosure of all finances
related to the CWG.

n Immediate measures need to be taken to prevent
further violations of human rights in the run-up
to the Games. The government must comply with
India’s national and international human rights and
legal commitments.

n The Indian government should have a legacy plan for
the Games based on principles of human rights and
environmental sustainability.

n The Delhi government should ensure that:
l Forced evictions and slum demolitions are halted.
l “Beggars” and homeless citizens are not
discriminated against, relocated, or arbitrarily
arrested and detained.
l Workers’ rights are upheld and protected.
l Livelihoods of the urban poor are not destroyed.

n The National Human Rights Commission should
conduct an investigation into the human rights
violations related to the CWG.

n The Government of India should commission an
independent study on the social, environmental and
economic impacts of the Games on the country.

n The Comptroller and Auditor General of India
(CAG) should conduct a post-games audit to assess
the legacy of the CWG.

n Officials who have consistently overstated benefits
from the Games, withheld critical information, and
misappropriated funds should be investigated, and if
proven guilty, prosecuted.

n A comprehensive environmental and social impact
assessment with a detailed cost-benefit analysis must
be conducted prior to the decision to host any mega
event.

n Given India’s stark socio-economic reality and the
negative social and economic costs already evident
in the lead up to the CWG, India should under no
circumstances, bid for the Olympic Games or any
other mega events.

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-- 
A. Mani
ASL, CLC,  AMS, CMS
http://www.logicamani.co.cc


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