CWG: merchandising contract awarded without signing agreement?

A cheque of Rs one crore submitted by the company, Premiere Brands Limited (PBL), to the Organising Committee (OC) was "returned" by the bank, an RTI reply reveals.

The OC said it has filed a criminal complaint with the Connaught Place Police station against M/s PBL in the cheque bounce case and also proceeded legally in relevant courts.

The Committee, in the RTI reply, said, "Despite repeated reminders through phone and email, M/s PBL did not sign the Long Form Agreement (LFA)."

The official merchandising and licensing partner of the Delhi Games, Premier Brands, had pulled out of the mega event in August citing delay in start of the process but later came back citing "national interest".

The committee now hopes to recover the losses through litigation.

"The decision to select the PBL was taken with the approval of the Competent Authority.

However, the loss suffered by the OC is recoverable through litigation," it said in reply to an RTI query from activist S C Agrawal.

The launch of the merchandising project was originally scheduled for June 24 when the Queen's Baton Relay entered India through the Wagah border.

The project included various initiatives like having a website for merchandising products, opening outlets across the Games venues and stores across shopping malls, metro stations and the airport.

Merchandising is an integral part of big-ticket sports events around the world and is usually one of the primary techniques to earn back the money that has been invested in infrastructure and the conduct of the event.