Amid allegations of costly purchases, hiring and jacked up contracts in connection with the Commonwealth Games-2010, the revenue intelligence agencies have now begun probing how the Organising Committee’s (OC) own budget for conducting the Games went up from Rs 737 crores in 2005-06 to cross the Rs 2,000 crore-mark, an increase of about 300 per cent.
The International Sports Division (ISD) of the Union ministry of youth affairs and sports is also monitoring the developments. Senior officials of the ISD have also started scrutinising documents related to the expenses of the OC in organising games, sources said.
Both, the ISD as well as revenue agencies are likely to share investigation details with each other, sources said. Sources in the agencies said that the OC, in its individual budget (its own budget estimates for conducting the Games, separate from the budgets of other agencies) had showed the total expense in organising the Games would come to around Rs 737 crores in 2005-06. Even this proposed amount was reduced to Rs 650 crores following objections from the union ministry of youth affairs and sports. The amount later shot up to an astronomical Rs. 2000 crores.
“However, despite objections from the ministry, the OC continued increasing the expenses and now it has crossed the Rs 2000 crores-mark. It needs to be examined how the limit was crossed and what are the areas where the OC has proposed more expenses,” sources said.
The Central revenue agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate, have reportedly decided to collect all relevant documents in this regard, sources said.
The ED is already probing international monetary transactions pertaining to the contracts awarded to a London-based firm for the Queen Baton’s Relay as well as contract awarded to an Australian firm for the opening and closing ceremony worth several crores of rupees.