New Delhi

On August 1, the agencies constructing Commonwealth Games venues are supposed to hand over the finished stadia, Games Village and other sites to the Organizing Committee, which will then start crucial overlay work to ready these sites for the event. But come August 1 and what the OC will actually get is not just unfinished competition venues like the main stadium but also uncompleted accompanying projects like landscaping, approach roads and clearing of debris.

In short, the handover will be mostly technical, with agencies like CPWD and DDA continuing to frantically work after August 1 even as the OC begins overlay work in tandem, officials admit. How the two agencies will plan their work without getting in each other’s way and whether there will be time left for trials is anybody’s guess.

A senior DDA official admitted, “The finishing touches like landscaping and other work is going to continue after August 1.” Apart from finishing construction, most venues need to tackle the mounds of debris remaining on the premises. While OC spokesperson Lalit Bhanot declined comment, sources say the fact that most of the remaining construction work is for approach roads as well as landscaping is worrying.

Many venues — including Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, Yamuna Sports Complex, Talkatora, Siri Fort — are still not complete and are likely to miss deadline. This means overlay work, including work on cabling, signage, media rooms, communications centre and volunteer rooms is expected to get delayed. This could cause huge embarrassment.

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