Blaming Suresh Kalmadi for much of the Commonwealth Games mess,the Shunglu Committee,in its fifth and final report,has said that the former chairman ran the Organising Committee like a club and tried to block the work of four officers nominated by the Prime Ministers Office. All decision-making powers were vested in Kalmadi and there was also no accountability framework for him,the report stated. It appears there was no internal accountability framework for the OC chairman,as he could not be called to question in any governance forum in the OC,like the Executive Board or the General Body,which were not independent enough to play this role since these institutions were effectively controlled by the chairman, the report stated. Kalmadi had the powers to recruit workers,hire vendors,alter the executive board and invite people for OC membership. At many times,the report said,the OC seemed to function as a club where the criteria for recruitment and promotion seemed to have been who knows who rather than merit. The chairman himself brought in individuals as employees and consultants from his constituency in Pune,overlooking equivalent or better talent available elsewhere,the report stated. Though Kalmadi maintained that all his decisions had the approval of the executive board,the committee report underlined: The EB had a subservient position to the chairman. For example,in case of an emergency,it was provided that the chairman shall take a decision in the interest of the society and inform the EB in its next meeting and which shall be ratified by the EB. The report raised doubts over the impartiality of the executive board decisions. According to OC rules,of the 15 board members,even three were enough to complete the quorum. Of the 15,only four were nominated by the Centre two members from the Indian Olympic Association and four from other sports federations were nominated by Kalmadi. The report also hinted at a bid to block four PMO-nominated officers from work. Jarnail Singh,who joined as CEO on 16/10/2009,was formally given the responsibility only on 06 That too only for Administration,Finance & Accounts,and Security,with responsibility for coordination with the government, the report stated.
