New Delhi, October 21
Buck passing on the issue of shortcomings in the residential towers of the Games Village goes on between the private developer and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

A day after the government decided to take legal action against Emaar-MGF, the private firm which built the Games Village, for failing to complete work on time, the company has come out with a letter written by them to the DDA, accusing the staff of the India Tourism Development Corporation, DDA and Municipal Corporation of Delhi damaging the facilities inside the complex.

The letter written by Emaar-MGF to the DDA, which is dated September 3, 2010, complained about how DDA's employees and support staff were damaging towers inside the Village.

According to the letter, the callous and negligent behaviour of ITDC staff caused several damages to the towers.

"We handed over the CWG Village, including 34 residential towers, in a perfect and clean condition. However, multiple agencies have been working on the site to carry out works on behalf of the DDA. We have no control over these agencies," stated the letter.

It said that the staff damaged lifts while carrying furniture and criticised the housekeeping staff of the Games organising committee.

"The ITDC men have been working in most callous and negligent manner, resulting in damages, theft of electrical fittings, sanitary ware, toughened glass panes, flooring of wooden and marble, locks, kitchen fittings, lifts etc. The staff was apparently inexperienced and included rowdy elements, who urinated in clean bathrooms, thereby creating filthy conditions," said the letter.

It also accused labourers of littering the housing area and stealing equipment.

On the Centre's decision to confiscate Rs 183 crore bank guarantee of Emaar-MGF for failing to complete the Games Village on time, the company said it had not received any notification on the matter.

"The bank guarantee was extended till December 31 at the behest of the DDA. It is being incorrectly reported in the media that the guarantee had been confiscated. We have not received any notice for encashment of the bank guarantee," said the company officials. They said that no dues were outstanding to any government agencies, including the DJB and BSES.

Meanwhile, the DDA has also released a clarification, saying purchase of flats by it was the only viable option and that it has not incurred any loss in the deal and has instead gained in the process.

New Delhi, October 21
Chief secretary Rakesh Mehta today directed all departments concerned to separate CWG files from other projects and cooperate with the investigating agencies probing the Games' corruption case.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) are investigating the matter.

The meeting was called after the CVC asked the Delhi government to produce the details of accounts about CWG spending. The departments concerned have their records ready and are willing to cooperate with the agencies probing the allegations, sources said.

According to sources, the Delhi government has spent over Rs 16,000 crore in preparing the Games' projects.

A senior official of the CAG said that Shunglu was a retired CAG officer. His report cannot be said that of the CAG, until it is conferred by it. The CAG does not investigate within a given time. It audits all government departments. The report will be tabled in Parliament during the budget session. The officer added that once the Games were over, all records should be transferred to the government. Extension of service of its officials may delay the probe.

Sources said the CVC teams would study the records of spending by all departments, including PWD, urban development, transport, environment, power and tourism.

Earlier, an analysis by the chief technical examination wing of the CVC had found financial and administrative irregularities in 16 construction and procurement projects.

Meanwhile, director of information and publicity, Keshav Chandra, has been appointed as coordinator for all CWG probes, sources said. A team of CAG today visited Millenium Park DTC Depot and talked to officials there. The DTC had spent Rs 900 crore in the construction of the depot. However, the CAG team was not satisfied with the details given by the officers. 

New Delhi, October 21
The hotel industry might be still smarting from the almost marginal arrival of tourists to Delhi for the Commonwealth Games, but Union tourism minister Kumari Selja today expressed hope that the new venues and world-class facilities would be a boost tourists' arrival in coming years.

Speaking at the inauguration of an international hospitality fair, Selja said that the Capital was more prepared than ever to host the international sporting and entertainment event and the infrastructure would be draw foreign tourists in future.

She said that Delhi had been an important destination for international conventions, and now the world-class facilities that have been added would help the city appeal to a new set of event organisers.

"The range of events that can be organised in Delhi has moved beyond traditional meetings and conventions to sporting and entertainment extravaganzas," she said.

People connected with the tourism industry in the Capital. However, she said the city has a long way to go and having a few international standard stadia would not be of great help. 

Gurgaon, October 21
The Congress MP from Gurgaon, Rao Inderjeet Singh, has demanded construction of flyovers at Hero Honda Chowk, IMT (Manesar), Naurangpur, Dharuhera and other busy traffic intersections on National Highway 8 to make commuting smooth and hassle-free.

Addressing a news conference here today, Singh maintained that the flyovers were a must on NH-8, which provides an important link between Delhi and southern Haryana.

"As of now, the commuters have to struggle through heavy traffic jams on the crossings," the MP said and added that the Metro rail be extended up to IMT, Manesar by 2015.

He also reiterated the need of forming a Gurgaon Development Authority in addition to the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon.

Replying to a question, the MP said, "We are not afraid of municipal elections, but some new villages have been included in the limits of the MCG, due to which the elections had been delayed."

Earlier, presiding over a meeting of the district-level vigilance and monitoring committee, Singh expressed his concern over depleting groundwater in Gurgaon. He asked the officials to take measures for recharging the water table.

He directed the block development and panchayat officers (BDPOs) concerned should identify the areas where water got accumulated during the rains and prepare proposals for its disposal.

The MP directed the officials concerned to lodge FIRs against the crusher owners who damaged the roads by letting water out on the roads.

He also laid the foundation stone of strengthening and widening of Basai road, which would be completed at a cost of Rs 6.72 crore.

Chairperson of Gurgaon zila parishad Kavita Yadav, deputy commissioner Rajender Kataria, ADC VS Hooda and ACUT Sumit Kumar were also present.

New Delhi, October 21
Right To Information (RTI) activist Dev Ashish Bhattacharya, recently adjudged the 'best citizen' by a media group, has been accused of domestic violence by his wife and teenaged daughter.

In a complaint filed before a metropolitan magistrate, Meenakshi Bhattacharya and Swati, the wife and daughter of Bhattacharya, respectively, have alleged that he used to beat and abuse them regularly.

Meenakshi alleged that her husband, who claims to be an RTI activist and has been awarded the best citizen award, behaved like a demon with her and their daughter.

Meenakshi, a government servant, accused the activist of not vacating her official residence despite giving a written assurance in the presence of the local police.

"My husband has filed a court case against my daughter's school and often used to trouble the school administrators. I think he has lost mental balance and enjoys abusing and hitting us," Meenakshi's complaint said.

Meenakshi has also accused Dev of misusing law by filing false complaints against officials, sources say.

Meenakshi said she married Dev without the consent of her parents in 1990. But a few months after the marriage, he started abusing her.

When contacted over phone, Bhattacharya refused to comment on the issue, saying the matter was sub-judice.

New Delhi, October 21
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a hardcore Kashmiri secessionist leader, was heckled and had shoes thrown at him by a group of Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) at a seminar here today.

A number of separatists and their sympathisers, including some pro-Khalistan radicals and naxal ideologues, were attending the seminar, "Azadi, the only way", which was reportedly organised by a group sympathetic to Kashmir separatism. Noted author Arundhaty Roy, who has in past sided with separatists, was also one of the invitees.

Some speakers raised the pitch for Kashmir's azadi in their speeches, but Kashmir Pandits, numbering between 50 and 100, barged into the auditorium before Geelani's, who stands for Kashmir's merger with Pakistan, turn for speech came. They raised nationalistic slogans and objected to Geelani espousing his cause in Delhi.

Many Kashmiri Pandits were from the Pannun Kashmir, a rightwing KP body, which has often heckled separatist leaders of all hues in the past.

It was only after the arrival of police that things were calmed down as cops led the hecklers out of the venue. 

Gurgaon, October 21
A function was organised to mark the Indian Police Force Martyrs' Day at Police Lines here today. Police officials who laid down their lives while discharging duties of maintaining law and order were remembered.

Haryana ADGP-cum-Gurgaon police commissioner S.S. Deswal led the police officials in paying tributes to the martyrs.

The police jawans put their weapons upside down to salute the martyrs. A two-minute silence was also observed.

Deswal read out the names of the 790 police officials who sacrificed their lives for maintaining law and order at various places in the country. He pointed out that the day was being observed as the Indian Police Force Martyrs Day since 1962, when a police patrolling party attained martyrdom during the Indo-China war.

Besides, a blood donation camp was organised by the legal advisors' association on police lines premises. Deswal and deputy commissioner of police (HQ) Kulwinder Singh were the first to donate blood.

Joint commissioner of police Alok Mittal, DCP (west) Maheswar Dayal, DCP (east) Vikas Arora, DCP (traffic) Bharti Arora, DCP (south) Palaram, DCP (crime) Anil Dhawan, all ACPs and retired police officials of the district were also present.