New Delhi, October 20
Coming down heavily on Emaar-MGF after “irregularities” and “deficiencies” were found in the Commonwealth Games Village constructed by it, the Urban Development Ministry on Wednesday directed the Delhi Development Authority to confiscate Rs 183-crore bank guarantee furnished by the real estate developer.

The ministry, headed by Jaipal Reddy, also asked the DDA to initiate legal action against Emaar-MGF — the Dubai-based developer. The decision came a day after the DDA submitted an interim report to the ministry in which “various deficiencies and irregularities” were reported in construction of the Village. It also said that the builder had exceeded the permissible limits of construction.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate summoned some top Organising Committee officials, including its Secretary General Lalit Bhanot, for questioning in connection with a case registered under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

Bhanot is a close aide of OC chief Suresh Kalmadi and it could be a matter of time before Kalmadi is also summoned. Official sources said they would also be questioning OC’s Director General VK Verma and Additional Director General Anil Saxena among others.

The case against the OC officials, who have not been named in the FIR, is that they violated financial rules in releasing money to a couple of London-based firms contracted for Queen Baton Relay. They did not float any tender nor did they follow standard practice to shell out the money to the firms.

The moot question is, however, whether and when the high-profile president of the OC, Suresh Kalmadi, who is also a Congress MP, would be questioned. Kalmadi’s questioning would be natural extension of probe as he headed the organisation under the scanner. A senior official said Kalmadi would be questioned but only after the probing team gathered adequate information on ‘shady deals’ which would warrant his questioning.

The multi-pronged probe into the alleged financial bungling in the CWG projects has intensified with the CBI and I-T Department scrutinising the files they seized in their raids yesterday.

A team of CAG officials has also seized files pertaining to works carried out by different government departments. The involvement of a number of agencies, which reported to different government departments, has made the task of the investigators more arduous.

The DDA, in its report on Tuesday, said that EMMAR-MGF failed to achieve the milestones in time and make payments to various statutory bodies and agencies like Delhi Jal Board and BSES for their services.

A large number of defects were noticed in the construction and have not been attended to by the project developer. Defects pertain to basement, lift pits, non-installation of required number of hydro-pneumatic pumps, water proofing of terrace, fixing for balconies, inadequate power connection, choking of pipes, incomplete landscaping.

The report came after Reddy shot off a letter to the DDA on October 7 - when the Games were underway - directing the agency to give details on the alleged irregularities committed by the developer.

Besides the ongoing war of words between Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikhsit and OC chief Suresh Kalmadi about who is responsible for the Games mess, there is also a blame game going on between Reddy and Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejinder Khanna over Village scam. DDA, incidentally comes under the Delhi L-G, who barely two weeks back gave a positive review of the same village. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Khanna reportedly said: “Great appreciation has been given for facilities and the overall pleasant ambience” of the Village. He also said that criticism of the Village was “highly exaggerated”.

Meanwhile, EMAAR-MGF has dismissed all charges levelled against it by the government saying that all quality standards were met. A statement issued by the company said its Rs 183-crore deposit to the government had neither been confiscated nor frozen by the government as penalty, instead the bank guarantee was extended till December 31, 2010 at the behest of the DDA.

Insisting that the Games Village “has been built to the highest standard of quality and design,” it said “the Village received rave reviews from all participants who stayed there.