GoM,Sports Ministry let Kalmadi,OC have a free run from the start: Shunglu

The first meeting of the GoM,chaired by the Prime Minister,was held on October 25,2004. Following that,13 meetings were held. “Unfortunately,no meeting took place between January 2006 and November 2006,or between April 9,2008,and July 2,2009,” the report stated.

On the GoM’s role,the Shunglu Committee noted that it was not supplied crucial information,and was used as a rubber stamping authority in several instances. When it decided that the services of ceremonies manager Mark Fisher was not required,the OC ignored it.

Right from the beginning,the GoM were just being informed about the decisions taken by Suresh Kalmadi and his Organising Committee.

The report gives a few examples. In the fourth meeting of the GoM held on March 17,2005,Kalmadi informed that “the OC had been registered,and provided it with the OC’s memorandum. The document heavily weighed in favour of the chairman and the OC but,unfortunately,no discussion took place in the GoM.”

The report also highlights the fact that the Sports Authority of India (SAI) played a silent role all along — even when the OC “encroached” on its role. The plan and design of the stadiums had to be finalised in consultation with the OC and not the SAI.

“The SAI is unfazed by its diminished role. Even in the matter of project execution,the SAI did not play any noticeable role,” the report noted.