Sheila cautions Games contractors

Action against those guilty of delays

''We cannot afford to let down our nation. We are committed to making Commonwealth Games 2010 a grand success. The government will not listen to any excuses for delay in the completion of projects, and the contractors responsible for delays would be blacklisted apart from other contractual actions (being taken) against them,'' Dikshit said.

She was addressing an officers’ meet at the Delhi Secretariat to mark the completion of the 11th year of her government.

On Sunday, Dikshit herself had admitted feeling “nervous” at the pace of infrastructural development, while Sports Minister MS Gill conceded that the organisers of the October 3-14 Games were doing a “catching-up” job. Their remarks came after Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennell expressed his concern over the slow progress of certain venues.

Fennell specifically referred to the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium and the SP Mukherjee swimming complex, saying the inordinate delay in the completion of the two projects was particularly disappointing.

“We have continuously received assurances on the delivery timelines for these projects, and to now hear that there are further delays is distressing,” Fennell had said during his visit to the national capital on Saturday.

The inability of the organising committee to meet the deadlines for construction of infrastructure has raised Fennell’s hackles more than one in the last several months.