Commonwealth Games hurt the commons

By Gaurav Sharma
17 May 2010

The madness of government and sports officials to ‘prepare’ New Delhi for hosting Common Wealth Games (CWG) in October 2010 has once again come under severe criticism from social workers, civil society and intellectuals. The latest charge is that to create a glittery image of Delhi for CWG, poor and marginalized sections of the society are deprived of their basic human rights. The authorities are putting in the war like efforts for beautification of Indian capital for CWG. But instead of delivering benefits to the masses, holding of such mega events, which will cost Rs 30,000 crore to India, have done a great damage to the economic and social fabric of New Delhi.

A comprehensive report “The 2010 Commonwealth Games: Whose Wealth?” prepared by Housing and Land Right Network and released recently in New Delhi raises many disconcerting questions related to the big sporting event.

“When one in three Indians lives below the poverty line and 40 per cent of the world’s hungry live in India, when 46 per cent of India’s children and 55 per cent of its women are malnourished, does spending thousands of crores of rupees on a 12-day sports event build ‘national pride’ or is it a matter of national shame”, asks the report.

Forced eviction, diversion of funds, cost escalations, bypassing of democratic institutional framework and rampant exploitation of workers at CWG construction sites will have negative socio-economic impact on the city, points out the report.

“There are serious issues about the socio-economic impact which the forthcoming CWG will have on Delhi”, said Former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice M P Shah while releasing the report.

“In the name of beautifying Delhi, the government can not throw street vendors, beggars, rickshaw pullers, and poor out of the city. These people play a pivotal role in the city by providing their services to common man”, remarked Justice Shah.

Ridiculing the Delhi government’s anti-beggar drive, Justice Shah said “The state government has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court to deport beggars to their states of origin. Fraudsters, thieves and corrupt politicians can stay in the city, but not beggars!”

The report highlights that beggars and homeless citizens are being arrested and arbitrarily detained under the Bombay Prevention of Beggary Act, 1959. The Department of Social Welfare had also announced “no-tolerance” zones in Delhi and there are plans to send the beggars back to their States of origin.

Dr Ambitabh Kundu, Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, described the Commonwealth games as very powerful tool to exclude the marginalised section of the society.

Shedding light on the ambiguity of slogans coined in run up to the Games like ‘slum-free city’ and ‘affordable housing’, Professor Kundu said “These slogans mislead people as poor think ‘slum-free city’ means better housing facilities for them whereas elite think that slum-dwellers will be thrown out.”

“The question is not the benefit of holding Commonwealth games but the beneficiaries who are politicians, private players, and elite class,” added Prof Kundu.

Director of Hazards Centre, a professional support group and resource outfit, Dunu Roy alleged that decision making process in planning Games was undemocratic in nature.

Mr Roy charged, “Much of the planning has not been done within the democratic institutional framework”.

Expressing dismay at the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement during Copenhagen Summit that Common Wealth Games will be green and add carbon credit to India, Roy said that such statements represent either poor information or ‘deliberate’ and ‘wilful ignorance’.

According to the report, the budget for the CWG has risen from an initial projection of Rs 1,889 crore to an official figure of Rs 10,000 crore. Independent experts have pegged the budget at Rs 30,000 crore.

In contrast to the report’s findings Roy said that if we include several related infrastructure projects, total budget estimate would reach Rs 80,000 crore.

The report also highlights that “While the total budget for ‘beautification’ projects on Delhi is undisclosed, the amount already spent by the government is hundreds of crores. The streetscaping of just one street, Lodhi Road, is estimated to cost Rs 1855 crore.”

The experts believe that CW Games are unlikely to improve level of sports in India since investment is concentrated on stadiums, which lie largely unused after the event, as in the case of the 1982 Asian games.

The report demands a detailed inquiry into the decision-making and bidding process as well as the total expenditure on the Games. It states that the government should have a long-term legacy plan based on human rights and environmental sustainability.

There is also a need to investigate officials who had overstated the benefits of the Games, withheld critical information and misappropriated funds and also to investigate allegations of human rights violations related to the Games.

“A post-Games audit and detailed social and environmental impact assessment are also required,” the report said.