All good things come to an end. So, even as the heat and dust of successfully hosting the XIXth Commonwealth Games is yet to settle, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ordered an inquiry into the charges of corruption and irregularities that began swirling in the run-up to the Games.

The investigation ordered by the PM will be headed by the former Comptroller and Auditor General of India, V.K. Shunglu, who will lead a high-level committee. While the terms of reference of the Shunglu panel are expected to be announced in a couple of days, it is learnt that it will be looking into both the organising and conduct of the Games.
The heat is being turned on against those involved in the organisation of the Games by other probe agencies too. The CAG, which had to temporarily shelve the audit it had begun on the Games while they were at the preparation stage, has also resumed its probe and will examine if there were any cost overruns and whether the spending was in keeping with the outcome. A CAG team is learnt to have visited one of the Games venues, the S.P. Mukherjee Stadium, on Friday.
A special team from the CVC also visited J.N. Stadium on Friday to inspect the wrestling arena located within its premises. The arena had not only seen a ceiling collapse but also water-logging a few days before the Games commenced. The team also inspected the site of the foot over-bridge near the stadium which came crashing down just a few days before the Games were to begin.
The CVC had begun looking into the bidding documents of approximately 14 projects undertaken for the Games while preparations for it were on. The JLN stadium is likely to be visited by a team of CAG officials very soon. Significantly, the CAG had given an evaluation report to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in August last year expressing concern about the slow progress of work on various projects related to the Games.
In further embarrassment for the government, the newly appointed chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, P.L. Punia, on Friday expressed concern over reports that nearly `740 crores meant for SC welfare schemes was diverted by the Delhi government for spending on Games projects. Mr Punia also demanded that the government replenish this money meant for dalit welfare.
And if this isn’t all, an ugly war of trying to take credit for the successful hosting of the Games has already broken out between Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and Lt. Gov. Tejendra Khanna.
The probe ordered by the PM is not entirely unexpected given the range of corruption charges that had begun piling up against the Games organisers in the run-up to the mega event. Apart from being a face-saving measure from a government put to considerable embarrassment in the weeks preceding the Games as growing instances of irregularities surfaced, it is also expected to help convey the message that the guilty will not be spared.
What had exacerbated the government’s discomfiture was the fact that Games Organising Committee (OC) chairman Suresh Kalmadi belongs to the Congress and is a Rajya Sabha member. Mr Kalmadi drew considerable flak for his role as the head of the OC.
An indication of the government’s unhappiness with Mr Kalmadi came during Friday’s felicitation of India’s medal winners at the Games by the PM at his 7, Race Course Road residence. Mr Kalmadi was not invited, neither were any of the other OC members.
Earlier on Friday, external affairs minister S.M. Krishna had indicated that the corruption charges associated with the Games would be probed. “The government would probe allegations of corruption.”