By IANS,
New Delhi : Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi Tuesday wrote a letter to Congress MP and said he was open to scrutiny even as allegations of corruption in preparations for the Games continued to rock parliament.
Kalmadi said he was “open to scrutiny by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) or any judicial enquiry”.
He once again denied any financial irregularities in the conduct of the Queen’s Baton Relay and said that the expenditure for the baton launching ceremony was also reduced for cost-cutting.
“CWG executive board had approved Rs.13.13 crore for the Baton launching ceremony, the OC (organising committee) incurred an expense of Rs.5.75 crore only,” he wrote in the letter to Congress MPs.
“We had planned an elaborate function, but with a view to cut costs we scaled down the size of the function and decided to engage only local artists rather than fly them from India. We floated a global tender for the programme and appointed M/s Jack Morton Worldwide as event managers for the launch,” he wrote.
Clearing the air on the installation of video screens at the launch venue of the baton relay in London, the Congress MP said it was done on the insistence of the city police.
“After a meeting in London with the metro council on October 23, 2009, (suspended deputy director general) Mr. Sanjay Mohindroo reported that London police insisted that the video screens be installed or else the launch may not take place,” the letter said.
“When I reached London on October 24, he gave me a hand-written note, in which he mentioned that video screens were required and a payment of approximately Rs.1.2 crore needed to be cleared immediately. I asked him if it was budgeted and approved for. He said it was cleared and within budget. Then I made a noting on the handwritten note ‘So late. We have no choice’,” Kalmadi explained.
“Payment was released after due processing, and by all concerned, including the certificate from a chartered accountant through a bank transfer. This was within clearance from RBI (Reserve Bank of India) for payments in foreign exchange,” he added.
A six-page note giving details of the expenditure for the Oct 3-14 sporting event was also circulated by Kalmadi.
The note circulated by him also sought “co-operation and best wishes in making the Games a success”.