National Games also saw fund misuse, botched tenders

The allegations of botched tenders and misappropriation of funds stalking the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Delhi, seem to have seen a trailer last year at the aborted National Games. The 34th National Games, originally scheduled for November 2007 in Ranchi, has been postponed as many as five times, given the political instability that has rocked Jharkhand in the last three years.

A special audit of records and accounts prepared by the principal accountant general (audit) of Jharkhand has pulled up the organising committee of the National Games for gross violations, and implicated both its president RK Anand, and its secretary-general SM Hashmi. Anand, who was involved in the BMW case in Delhi, is incidentally also the chairman of the dispute commission of the Indian Olympic Association, while Hashmi is the secretary-general of the Jharkhand Olympic Association. Suresh Kalmadi is the president of the Indian Olympic Association, under which all these bodies are situated.

From purchase of sports equipment to awarding contract for catering and ambulance service, there is misappropriation of funds, as the special audit report finds that in almost all cases the L1 bidder was ignored, despite it complying with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) purchase norms. Based on the inspection report the state vigilance commission has ordred an inquiry but nothing has moved since then.

To favour companies, the organising committee included qualifying marks that superseded technical criteria. Companies were rated on how well they made power point presentations, a clear way to get around financial bids.

The damning inspection report, available with FE says: ? audit scrutiny, however, revealed that sports equipment for different games were purchased in violation of the general financial rules, and the statement recorded by the organising secretary II (infrastructure) cum secretary arts, culture, sports & youth affairs was false.? The way the organising committee went about the tenders are quite similar to the problems surfacing at the Commonwealth Games now.

The special audit found the National Games Organising Committee (NGOC) to buy aquatics and swimming equipment from the L2 bidder at a much higher price than that quoted by the L1 bidder, though the L1 bidder, the audit observed, submitted bids for branded items ?the same as was recommended by the IOA.?? ?The prices were on the lower side,? the audit report pointed out.?

The organising committee paid a higher price for importing items of badminton, weightlifting, athletics, basket ball wrestling, Sanshou (also purchased domestically besides imports), tennis and taolu, while all of them could be purchased at a price quoted by the LI bidders since they were all IOA complaint.

Things didn?t end here. The scrutiny of files revealed that 10% of contract amount required to be deposited through bank guarantees as security deposits by the agency for safeguarding the interest of NGOC and public funds, were not renewed in time and in five cases the bank guarantee became invalid, the audit observed.

Even in case of awarding contract for catering services, even management, ambulance services and providing accommodation, house keeping and other allied services, the bids were manipulated and the award for transport services was given on a single tender basis.

There were irregular allotment of work orders, payment of mobilisation advance without proper bank guarantee, giving undue advantage to the contractors and loss of interest, for which the government lost huge money.? Even tender forms were sold without issuing money receipts.

?In course of verification of different files and total financial management details, maintained by the National Games Organising Committee, Jharkhand, it was seen that Rs 98, 000 was received from the sale of tender form by the committee. But money receipt was not issued against this amount. Thus in the absence of money receipt, it could not be ascertained whether Rs 98,000 was the only amount received (from ) sale of tenders forms or otherwise,? the audit report pointed out.

However, the audit committee was not satisfied with the reply the NGOC gave against all the charges and for all the irregularities found it has recommended probe. But Kalmadi and his team has got their way to organise the forth coming Commonwealth Games and things are going in the same order as it happened in the National Games.