New Delhi:
The opposition on Wednesday attacked the government in the Rajya Sabha over the state of preparedness for the Commonwealth Games.
An attention motion regarding the preparation for the Games scheduled in Delhi from October 3 to 14 was tabled by Kalraj Mishra, Mahendra Mohan and OT Lepcha, following which the BJP and Samajwadi Party MPs slammed the government for the lack of planning for the costliest games ever.
Samajwadi MP Jaya Bachchan said the organisers are making a laughing stock of the games and the country.
"We are here to laugh at ourselves...to make a mockery of the whole show. It is going to be the most humiliating experience for the country," Bachchan said.
She said in a lighter vein that she would congratulate Gill for his sportsmanship.
"You have a baby on your lap, but you have no nurse and maid," she said, asking the Minister to accept the ground reality regarding the status of preparedness for the Commonwealth Games.
Congress MP Rajeev Shukla said all parties need to work together.
"We neeed help from all the parties to tackle this problem and finish the wrok properly. All the deadlines of finishing the work have already been given," Shukla said.
N K Singh (JD-U) said there were "too many cooks in the kitchen" and wondered whether there was any "principal chef" who could coordinate.
Singh wanted to know whether the Minister was man-incharge of the mega event.
Rajniti Prasad (RJD) asked Sports Minister MS Gill "will you also put up some tent in the Ramlila Maidan (to house the players who would be coming for the event)".
Responding to Prasad's repartee, the Minister said with a smile "we are also thinking of tambu (tent), if required. Laluji (RJD chief) also used to do the same".
On a serious note, however, Gill spoke in detail about the preparations and assured the House members the infrastructure and stadia for the event will be ready on time.
"The stadia will be completed in time. The Government is investing substantial amounts for upgradation of various stadia to be used for the games. These stadia will become state-of-the-of international standard venues art," Gill said.
Noting that the security during the games is a matter of utmost importance, Gill said the Home Ministry and Delhi Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna are closely monitoring all arrangements for the event in which around 8,000 sportspersons from 71 nations would participate in 17 sports disciplines.
"An Empowered Security Committee headed by the Home Secretary regularly reviews the security schemes and arrangements for the games," he said.
A comprehensive security plan has been drawn up which would include Venue Emergency Management Plan, Disaster Recovery Plan, Transport Security Plan, Airspace Surveillance and Protection Plan, he said.
"A fully integrated Venue Surveillance Scheme is being developed along with a Secure Security Communications System," Gill said adding that government is taking all necessary steps to ensure that the games are "completely incident-free and are conducted in a safe and secure environment."
Gill said in order to improve the performance of 1,064 core athletes in the country, government for the first time has approved a Rs 678 crore scheme for their comprehensive training and coaching.
"In the overall scheme for the preparation for the Commonwealth Games, the sports infrastructure is to be developed by government agencies, and funded directly by the Government," Gill said.
"The responsibility for the Conduct and Delivery of the Games is of the Organising Committee. For this purpose, the OC is funded upfront by the Government as a loan, to be recouped on the basis of revenue neutrality. The development, upgradation and improvement of the city infrastructure, are to be done by the Government of Delhi, with support of the Government of India," he added.
"The estimated cost of the Competition and Training venues is around Rs. 4,100 crores. Financial sanctions for all the stadia have been accorded and work is progressing at a rapid pace," he insisted.
(With PTI inputs)