Common stealth at Commonwealth Games

The other day, a wit said that the CWG is an acronym for Common, Wealth and Greed. He is not far off the mark going by the shenanigans involving the top sports administrators.

The wretched scandal that has sullied our country’s image as a sporting destination only highlights a system reeking in corruption and where the officials are wolves in sheep’s garb.

Back in 2003, Suresh Kalmadi and his merry band of self-proclaimed do-gooders doled out unprecedented and unheard of goodies in the form of $ 100,000 in cash besides air tickets and such freebies to win the bid for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Nobody quite heard the alarm bells then.

Kalmadi, flush with success and behaving like a latter day Nero, which in a way he is, announced grandiose plans to say that the Delhi CWG will be the best ever. It was as if the Indian Olympic Association possessed bottomless pockets.

The reality was that it took about five years before the project got off the bureaucrat’s table and the seeds of today’s nightmare were sown.

The government, having cleared the Games, committed itself to a massive spend and  naturally, the vast sums attracted the predators like in the salmon season.

It is a fact that saints (if there are any left) are at a premium among Indian sports administrators. An event such as the CWG presents an irresistible opportunity to amass wealth by fair means or foul. After all, any estimate presented to a prospective sponsor or the government, in this instance, contains a 15 to 20 per cent margin. This is an accepted business practice.

In the case of the CWG scandal, it is quite likely that the unscrupulous officials and vendors have allegedly siphoned off a fortune, a matter that the investigating agencies are seized of. There is also talk about a money laundering operation being run on the side.

I suspect Kalmadi has over-reached himself. If the charges of fraudulent email are proved correct, then the proverbial hangman’s noose is not far behind. It is one thing to stonewall allegations and quite another to base the denials on “doctored” evidence.

Quite the most shocking part of the episode is a tacit admission that the CWG organisers have no viable revenue streams. It is most disgraceful that an “august” body like the IOA is passing the hat around, seeking Rs 100 crore from the Board of Control for Cricket in India and other wealthy organisations. Unless of course, such “requests” were part of the revenue generation plans!

The situation, as it stands, has the organising committee officials at pains to project themselves as innocent victims of politics and “false allegations”. There is no corruption or a scam, it is claimed, despite evidence to the contrary, especially the quality of construction of various stadia and such other projects.

If anything, the Indian sports officials are known to be past masters at the survival game, regardless of the scale of scams and seriousness of allegations. They will provide you “facts and figures” and plausible answers to every query. The organising committee has even questioned the findings of Central Vigilance Committee.

In the present instance, it will take a due diligence and a fine tooth comb to get to the  truth. If a scam is perpetrated, then it is made up of a complex web of cash flows and paper trails that only an experienced eye can follow.

Add to this mix the involvement of political parties who need no second invitation. They have given the scam a political hue. These politicians will not only stir up the muddied waters but also deflect attention to non-issues.

The cynical amongst us believe that ultimately, the storm, like many before it, will pass and the sun will shine again on our exalted sports administrators who put to shame even the hardened politician. If anyone is caught and sent to sin-bin, then it will be a welcome surprise for sure.

The scam notwithstanding, it is too late in the day to even contemplate cancelling the event. The other night, former World billiards champion Michael Ferreira urged in a chat show that the focus should be on running the event successfully if only to save India’s face and investigate the allegations after the Games, and I agree with him.

With just over eight weeks left for the start of the Games, the event is embroiled in scandals of epic proportions. Former union sports minister Mani Shanker Aiyer pinned the estimated expenditure at Rs 30,000 Crores. If there is truth in this figure, then a mere one per cent “take” amounts to Rs 300 Crores. So, there is plenty for everyone. Thank you, we can all retire for life!

(The writer is a noted sports journalist who has been covering Indian sports for the past three decades)