The Suresh Kalmadi-led Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games sought approval for a budget of Rs 400 crore for just the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games. This is around 15 per cent of the entire sports budget for the year. The Group of Ministers (GoM ),headed by Minister for Urban Affairs Jaipal Reddy,shot down the proposal and reduced the allocation by half. But even Rs 200 crore seems a trifle excessive for just two ceremonies. The total budget for the Games still remains a closely guarded secret,though it is clear that the tax-payers would end up paying several thousand crores.
Record breaking ages
Swami flies out,at last
The once high-flying Chandraswami,who was grounded for over 15 years,has finally managed to fly out of India. The swamis passport was impounded for many years because of a series of cases slapped against him. The charges against Chandraswami ranged from alleged involvement in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination,to cheating businessman Lakhubhai Pathak and violating FERA regulations. His lawyer argued that the swamis name in the assassination conspiracy was a frame-up by powerful political forces gunning for the god man in order to embarrass his high profile political disciples,including the late Narasimha Rao. Even after he managed to get out of jail on bail,the Swami had to wait long before his travel plans could fructify.
First the trial court ordered his passport to be returned. Then the Delhi High Court gave him permission to leave the country. But each time there was a hitch at the eleventh hour. Last May,the Supreme Court finally ruled that the swamis passport should be given back to him,after it was first renewed. The government took its own time to produce a fresh travel document,even though the swami had deposited Rs 10 lakh for each of the cases which is still pending against him.
Avoid the home front
A part of the annual drill for budget preparation is for each ministry to interact with the Planning Commission,which,in turn,makes its own assessment of its demand for grants. Since some of the proposed budget figures for the Home Ministry were pared down,the ministry wants the commission to reconsider. The usual procedure in such cases is for the home secretary to write to the Planning Commission. But the home secretary G K Pillai,perhaps,felt that a formal letter from him to his counterpart in the Planning Commission,Sudha Pillai,might look a trifle odd for she happens to be his wife. So Pillai simply decided to upgrade the communication from the secretary level to the ministerial level.
