The 19th commonwealth games is going to be the most expensive one ($ 1.6 billion) compared to the earlier events in Manchester ( $ 420 million) and Melbourne $ 1.1. billion. With more than 8000 athletes and one lakh international visitors expected for the Commonwealth Games, it will be the largest ever multi-sport event the country has ever hosted.

India should not cut a sorry figure by its slackness in preparation. Some feel that instead of a poor show, it is better to pull out now when it is not too late. After all, it is the prestige of the country which is at stake. But things are not rosy, according to the Commonwealth Games Federation President Michael Fennell, who has expressed serious concern about New Delhi 's under- preparedness. So alarmed is Fennel that he has requested a meeting with the Prime Minister to sort out things. He is doubtful whether India will match the standards set by Manchester in 2002 and Melbourne in 2006. In his recent letter to the local organizing committee, Fennel observed that if New Delhi is not ready by next October, it would embarrass the organizers, the host nation ( India ) and also the Federation. Indian authorities will have to come with satisfactory explanations to the Federation chief.

Fennel's letter has not come as a surprise. It is known that nothing was going according to schedule. In fact, the wakeup call was given by a parliamentary standing committee headed by CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury as early as February 2009 that India was drastically under prepared for the event. It blamed the lackadaisical attitude and poor coordination of the various stake holders.

Why this state of affairs? If one goes by the assessment of Fennel, it is the lack of coordination in the local organizing committee which is the main reason for the current state of affairs. 'Our concerns are such that unless there is significant change in the management culture and operation of the organizing committee these Games will fail from an operational perspective,' he stated in his letter.

For those living in Delhi , it does not need a Fennel to express concern. The city is in a complete mess as almost every major road is dug up either for the metro or a flyover. It is not as if there was not enough time for preparation. The various agencies involved continue to fight with each other. The Sports ministry does not see eye to with the Indian Olympic Association. The Delhi government has a running battle with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. IOC chief Suresh Kalmadi has serious differences with the Sports minister M.S. Gill and his predecessors earlier. So how could they agree on anything? Added to that is the red tape of the bureaucracy and corruption. A whopping Rs. 80,000 crores would be spent to build new roads, flyovers, and a new state of the art airport terminal. Almost half of the 30,000 extra hotel rooms and most of the sporting venues have fallen behind their schedule. His second concern is about the security. This has become more so after the Mumbai terror attack last year. The third is coordination among the various stake holders.

As if all this was not enough, even the sports complex and the stadia are not ready. Going by the recent CAG report, work on 14 of the 19 sports venues and nine transport projects is slow. Almost 13 of the 19 venues are between 30 to 50 per cent behind and they simply cannot be rushed through. Nine transport projects were at 'high risk' of not being completed in time. Only 42 per cent of the aquatic complex, which should have been near completion by now, has been completed. The airport terminal is still under construction. Delhi metro, the second longest network in the world with more than 420 kms is also not ready.

And what about the sportsmen and women who are to bring laurels to the country? The Parliamentary committee has put it in a nutshell saying, “The committee is surprised to know that funds have projected or allocated for every other activity such as construction of Games Village, stadia, roads, transport etc, but not for the training of our sportspersons for the Games.” All top officials are so engrossed in other things no one is keeping track of how the athletes are shaping up. A total of 424 athletes will represent India . But in each sport, around three times more than the number required have been selected for training. The expectation is that India may win between 96 to 127 medals from the 18 disciplines in the Games. India is pinning its hopes on the shooters to clinch 30 to 35 medals. India had won 50 medals - comprising 22 gold and 17 silver - in Melbourne . India had finished fourth at both the 2002 Manchester Games (69 medals) and in 2006 (50 medals) while Australia topped the medal tally at both the games.

The stakes are high because it is not just the Commonwealth games but also the future bid for hosting 2020 Olympics is at stake. Unless the event goes on without any problem, the Olympics dream will remain a dream. The Prime Minister should step in to ensure smooth implementation of the delayed projects. Otherwise like his father Rajiv Gandhi took charge of the 1982 Asiad,, Rahul Gandhi should take some interest. There should be an all-round efforts to make the Games a success. (IPA)