C'Wealth Games projects: Sheila Dikshit says some agencies were over ambitious

Scrambling to complete unfinished Commonwealth Games projects, chief minister Sheila Dikshit has admitted that some of the agencies were "over ambitious" in trying to improve infrastructure and beautify the city ahead of the mega sporting event.

Blaming the incessant rains for delays in completion of projects, the chief minister, however, sounded confident of delivering a "good Games" and said she was not hoping for a postponement of the event.

"Some of the agencies were very ambitious, over ambitious. On top of that we have rains which has never happened like this in Delhi. That has slowed down work," Dikshit told Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN's Devil's Advocate programme.

She was replying to a question about the city's overall preparation, the unfinished projects, especially the dug-up lanes in Connaught Place and huge mounds of rubble and construction waste still strewn across the national capital.

Dikshit, under mounting pressure to complete the unfinished projects, had yesterday refused to spell any deadline for their completion and only said all works will be over before commencement of the event on October 3.

"We are working round-the-clock. The moment rain stops, they (the workers) start working. I myself go to inspect the work... I would not hope for a postponement. I am confident we will give you good Games," Dikshit said.

Asked whether works will not be over if the rain does not stop, Dikshit did not give a direct reply but said "If it does not stop, then I can only pray and request the whole city and the country to pray."

"I would not take it so pessimistically. We will do it." With just 35 days left for the mega event, the city government is yet to complete several key infrastructure projects including the key Barapullah Nallah elevated road project which will link the Games Village with the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Asked about the perennial problem of water-logging and traffic jams after a good spell of rains and tendency of the agencies concerned to shift responsibility to each other, she blamed it on multiplicity of authorities.

"That's true. There is a terrible problem of multiplicity of authorities and in coordinating them," she said, adding till it continues to rain, the problem of water-logging will remain in some areas of the city. "But there are miles and miles of roads which are functioning properly."