Chidambaram willing to give inputs for CWG probes

NEW DELHI - Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said his Ministry was ready to give inputs to the appropriate authorities looking into allegations of corruption relating to the XIX Commonwealth Games.

Talking to reporters here, Chidambaram said: “If we are asked about what went wrong in the Games by the appropriate inquiring authorities, certainly Delhi Police and the MHA will provide inputs.”

On Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed a high-level committee headed by former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) V K Shunglu to go into allegations of corruption related to the mega sporting event.

According to a spokesperson of the Prime Minister office, the committee will submit its report to the Prime Minister within three months.

The probe announced by PMO is also expected to take into account the lapses on the part of Delhi government and some Central agencies with initial CVC reports pointing to lack of procedures and use of substandard material in construction.

Projects led by PWD and DDA fall in this category and include venues like the Games Village and civil works for stadiums and flyovers.

In addition to the Shunglu’s panel, government sources have also confirmed that an official investigation is about to begin to investigation of alleged corruption among the organisers of the Games.

There will be two aspects of the probe - the financial misappropriation, mainly by the Games Organising Committee and the administrative lapses by the other ministries.

The CAG will look into the financial misappropriation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will look into routing of funds and the CBI will examine the tenders.

The development comes a day after the Commonwealth Games concluded in New Delhi with the Opposition stepping up its demand for a thorough probe into the allegations of corruption in the CWG related projects. (ANI)