More Q’s than A’s

But when The Indian Express contacted the heads of the 23 all-important sub-committees appointed to plan and manage the Games — they’re the lifeblood of the event,in charge of basic issues such as accommodation,transport,volunteers,training and doping — some did not even know about their appointment while a majority of them conceded that there was little interaction with the members of their committees,and none with the heads of other committees.

“I have no idea whether I am on a sub-committee or not,” said Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit,the chairman of the City Services & Coordination committee,while JP Aggarwal,head of the Delhi Congress party,who is chairman of the Volunteer committee,said: “I had received a letter from the Organising Committee a few months back informing me that I’ve been appointed as the head of a sub-committee…I do not yet know my role.”

The vice-chairman of the Organising Committee Randhir Singh had warned this week that the Games could be in jeopardy if heads of these sub-committees did not meet more often,fearing a scenario where the “right hand did not know what the left was doing”. Kalmadi,however,said the committees were working smoothly and efficiently. “They meet at least once a month,and there is enough interaction and co-ordination between them,” he said.

Committee: City Services & Co-ordination

Chairman: Sandeep Dikshit,MP

What it does: Co-ordinates between the government and the organising committee

What he said: Son of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit,he won the recent Lok Sabha election from East Delhi by a huge margin. However,he was not aware of the fact that he is heading one of the important sub-committees of the games. “I have no idea whether I am on a sub-committee or not,” he said.

Committee: Legal and Risk Management

Chairperson: Kiran Chaudhary,Tourism and Sports Minister of Haryana

What it does: Handles legal problems that may potentially arise around the Games

What she said: Chaudhary is running for the upcoming Haryana assembly elections,and therefore,she said,the Commonwealth Games was the last thing on her mind. She could not even remember the name of the sub-committee she is heading.

“Yes I am on some sub-committee,but right now I am busy with my elections and I will only think about that after October

13. I haven’t had any meeting with other sub-committees,” Chaudhary said.

Committee: Reception

Chairman: V K Malhotra,Leader of opposition,Delhi Assembly

What it does: Takes care of the protocol procedures for delegates coming from the 71 participating nations

What he said: “There is no interaction with other sub-committees. Till now there has been only one meeting of the executive board,but not all sub-committees’ heads are on the board. I have spoken to chairman Suresh Kalmadi about this and he has promised to take care of the issue soon.”

Committee: Volunteer

Chairman: J P Aggarwal,MP and head of Delhi Congress

What it does: Handles all workforce related issues

What he said: Aggarwal heads the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee and though,unlike Dikshit,he knew about his appointment he had no idea about his role. According to estimates,the Commonwealth Games will require 30,000 volunteers. “I had received a letter from the Organising Committee a few months back informing me that I have been appointed as head of a sub-committee. I do not yet know my role — they have to tell me what to do before I begin work. I have spoken to Suresh Kalmadi and I am still awaiting a response,” Aggarwal said.

Committee: Games Village

Chairman: SS Dhindsa,Akali Dal politician and former Sports Minister of India

What it does: Provides housing facilities for athletes and other team officials

What he said: The man who made public the match-fixing report in 2000,said he had stopped conducting meetings with his committee because they were of no use. “There is no power given to sub-committees,and we have to run to the Organising Committee for every little thing. It makes the whole exercise futile,but I hope this will change as the Games come closer. The need of the hour is de-centralisation.”

Committee: Medical and Health Services

Chairperson: Kiran Walia,Health Minister of Delhi

What it does: Ensures proper health services are available for athletes and spectators

What she said:Walia,like many other sub-committee heads,did not know who was heading the other sub-committees she had to deal with. “My committee has started working,but I think I’ve met with other committees only once,when they were formed,” she said.

Committee: Publicity and Media

Chairman: Tarlochan Singh,MP

What it does: Promotes the event and deals with the media

What he said: Singh has had an illustrious career as public relations officer,and he headed Delhi Tourism when they developed Dilli Haat and the Hauz Khas Tourist Complex.

“Our committee has met a few times to discuss our programme. But I’m not aware of other committees,” Singh said.

Committee: Transport

Chairman: Harish Sharma,Secretary of the Basketball Federation of India

What it does: To ensure efficient and punctual transport services

What he said: Sharma admitted he hadn’t had meetings with the chairpersons of other sub-committees. “Within our committee,we have met many times. The last meeting was about 10 days ago,and we discussed a proposal to procure air-conditioned buses for the athletes. This will be sent for ratification to the Organising Committee and the government.”

Committee: Logistics and Procurement

Chairman: PVK Mohan,Chairman of the National Shipping Board and president of the Billiards & Snooker Federation of India

What it does: Procures goods and services for the Games,facilitates delivery of materials

What he said: Mohan said his committee met every two months. “In our last meeting,we finalised names of the officials to be designated to carry out various responsibilities. I think it’s too early to meet heads of other committees. This will happen when each sub-committee has identified its specific areas.”

Committee: Accommodation and hospitality

Chairperson: Sangeeta Singh Deo,BJP politician

What it does: Provides adequate lodging facilities outside the Village to stakeholder groups,including spectators and tourists

What she said: She said she had met with the convener of her sub-committee last month to discuss the availability of boarding and lodging at non-five-star hotels. “We have to work in tandem with other sub-committees. If there is a need,we sit together and thrash out plans.”

Committee: Protocol & Accreditation

Chairman: Aslam Khan,secretary general of Hockey India and vice-president of IOA

What it does: Ensures protocol,as defined by the CGF,is observed across all functions and events

What he said: “My sub-committee has to deal a lot with the Accommodation and Transport committees,” Aslam,the secretary general of Hockey India,said. But he admitted that he had not met with the heads of the Accommodation (Sangeeta Singh Deo) or Transport (Harish Sharma) committees. “Just to tell you,I was chief of protocol during the 1982 Asian Games and we adopted a similar approach. It worked perfectly then and it should work now,” he said.

Committee: Dope Control

Chairman: Manmohan Singh,Chairman of the Medical and Anti-Doping Commission of IOA

What it does: Makes sure dope control measures are in place,including testing facilities and a trained workforce

What he said: “We haven’t had a sub-committee meeting with the entire panel,” he said. “Once in a month I have meetings with different officials in my committee,depending on the agenda. In the last meeting,about five weeks ago,we tried to identify the workforce we would need.” Manmohan said meeting with other committee heads hadn’t taken place because they were “a busy lot — politicians,ministers and businessmen,so they are hard-pressed for time”.

Committee: CGA Relations

Chairman: Randhir Singh,secretary general of IOA

What it does: Acts as an interface between the 71 Commonwealth nations and the Organising Committee

What he said: Randhir,who was the first to admit this week that the committees were so far inactive,said: “We meet regularly,but ours is one of the few committees that is proactive. There is a need to come together more often,and most important is for different committees to interact with each other.”

Committee: Sports-Games Technical Conduct

Chairman: KP Singh Deo,Congress politician and former union minister

What it does: Provides centralised planning and operational support,including sport entries and scheduling of events. Also provides equipment and training facilities

What he said: “There have been 10 meetings so far and the last one was on Tuesday. We made a presentation on planning of international test events between January and June 2010. I’m on the infrastructure committee as well,so I have to interact with heads of other committees,” he said.

Committee: Security

Chairman: YS Dadwal,Delhi’s chief of Police

What it does: Handles security for the event

What he said: Initially,Dadwal said that he was not part of any sub-committee,but later he confirmed that he was head of the security committee by virtue of being Delhi’s Police chief. “Since the security of the city is my responsibility,I am the de-facto chairman. I haven’t attended any meetings,but I have a joint commissioner who is looking after the CWG.”

Committee: Marketing,Revenue and Corporate Communications

Chairman: Vikram Kaul,Head of Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Trust

What it does: Looks for sponsors and markets the Games

What he said: “Chairman of a sub-committee is an honorary position with no executive authority. The last meeting of my committee was a few weeks ago. There is no need for any inter-committee meet as they all have different roles,and their circles do not overlap.”