Their Common Wealth-28/09/2010

28/09/2010

Their Common Wealth

New Delhi: Father and daughter, uncle and nephew, twin siblings, mother and son, sister and brother, father and daughter and daughter-in-law — the list of employees of the Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games, chaired by Suresh Kalmadi, includes at least 38 of the top brass who are related to each other, an investigation by The Indian Express has revealed.



A view of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium constructed for the 2010 Commonwealth Games is pictured during its inauguration ceremony in New Delhi

For the record, these men and women were hired after they responded to ads in newspapers, sent applications and were then interviewed by a committee.

The man who heads the committee, N P Singh, Joint Director, General Administration and Workforce, says it is a "coincidence that so many of them are inter-related." Asked if this raised questions of propriety and favouritism, Singh said: "What is more important is their competence, not the relationships. This is just a coincidence."



Indian policemen chat inside the R. K. Khanna Tennis Stadium in New Delhi

This is what Singh calls "just a coincidence":

1. Four nephews of OC vice chairman Randhir Singh have been hired. Three work in the Commonwealth Games Association Relations (dealing with Commonwealth associations of 71 countries), directly under Singh.

Amar Singh Wazir and Yadu Raj Singh are Directors; Tejinder Singh is Project Officer while the fourth nephew is with the OC's Spectator Services wing as Assistant Project Officer. A Director is paid an average salary of Rs 79,000 a month (see box).

When asked if his uncle helped, Yadu Raj Singh said: "I have a strong background in sports and communication. I have previously worked for a marketing firm which works for several golf tournaments in India. In 2006, I was asked if I wanted to be part of Commonwealth Games. After this, I was selected through interview and was sent to Melbourne for two months of training. I am handling some of the biggest Commonwealth Games contingents."

Said Amar Singh Wazir: "If my uncle was responsible for my job, then he would have straightaway appointed me at a senior post of a Deputy Director General. I joined OC as Project Officer and was promoted (to Director) on the basis of appreciation letters."

Asked to explain the presence of three relatives in the OC, Randhir Singh said that in a "royal family like mine," several people are inter-related. "If my own children were employed here, then it would make sense. Not some distant far-off relations. They applied and they are all smart, sensible boys," Singh said.



A general view of badminton courts inside Siri Fort Sports Complex is pictured in New Delhi

2. Bharati Singh Rao, daughter of Rao Inderjit Singh, Congress MP from Gurgaon, is Director, Image and Look. She was hired a year ago. She declined to comment but her father, when contacted, said: "She is a graphic designer. She has a degree from Fine Arts college in Delhi. She has been working in her personal capacity and has nothing to do with me."

3. Sangeeta Welinkar is Additional Director General (Image and Look) and her son Udhav Waman Welinkar quit the OC last month as Administrative Assistant (Volunteer programme). Sangeeta Welinkar is in the core committee of OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi and worked with him during the Pune Youth Games as well. She draws a salary of Rs 1.31 lakh per month. Her son Udhav's salary was Rs 33,500 per month. Welinkar refused to comment on the issue. "I have nothing to say. You should talk to the Secretary General. And my son quit a long time back," she said.

4. Vivek Raja, son of P K Murlidharan Raja, Secretary General of the Boxing Federation, is working with the OC as Director, Workforce, which is also partly responsible for hiring staff. "My father did not even know when I was applying in this organisation. I have been hired based on my experience and not because of my connection. My previous experience includes working in Barclays and Kelly Services which handled several corporate clients like Siemens and J P Morgan," Raja said.



A paramilitary soldier stands guard in front of the giant aerostat inside the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, in New Delhi

5. Raj Singh is OC's Competition Manager, his daughter Manisha Sharma is Administrative Assistant (Ticketing) and his daughter-in-law Shelkha Sharma is a receptionist in Kalmadi's office. Raj Singh is also Vice President of the Wrestling Federation. "Manisha and Shelkha are working in their own capacity. I was not even in town when they filled in the applications. They are highly qualified, they don't even need the job, they are working to get experience," Singh said.

6. Shikha Verma is Director, Creative Cultural Events, and her twin sister Shipra Verma is Director (Protocol ). Many in the OC confuse one with the other. "I am basically a model, I came to work here for experience. My sister is a basketball player and a lecturer in DU. She had left the OC to go back to college but now, for the last few months, she is back," said Shikha Verma.

7. Jamal Raazi is Director (Technology) and his wife Sana Raazi is Project Officer (Technology). Both were promoted two months ago. "I work in the technical side, while she is more into operations. We both joined together. We have applied and have gone through the entire process of interview before being selected," said Jamal Raazi.



New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is seen illuminated during preparations for the 2010 Commonwealth Games

8. Syed Yasar Ibrahim is Assistant Project Officer (Venue Development & Overlays) and his wife Umama Ibrahim is APO (Venue Development and Overlays). "I had joined the Organising Committee in 2007 after I completed MBA in sports management. My wife completed her engineering from Amity College in Lucknow. They needed engineers, so she applied and joined in 2009," said Syed Yassar Ibrahim.

9. Siddarth Mall is Assistant Project Officer (Sponsorship and Sales) and wife Deepali Kapoor is APO of the Volunteer Programme. "I have been a state-level cricket player and I also have a background in marketing, I worked earlier for J K Tyres and Eicher. I joined the Organising Committee a year back. My wife was working here for the last three years. She was working earlier for a government body, I do not remember the name," Mall said.

10. Capt N L Khan is Director (Administration) and his wife Geeta Khan is APO (Spectator Services). When contacted, Khan said: "Whether my wife works here or not is not a newspaper's business."



Apartments for the team Wales are pictured at the Commonwealth Games athletes village in New Delhi

11. C S Rathi is Assistant Project Officer (Sports) and his son Ajay Rathi is APO, (Lawn Bowl). "I am an ex-Navy personnel," said C S Rathi, "I have myself participated in the walking marathon in 1990 at the Beijing Asian Games, my record was not broken for 10 years. I joined OC in 2006 after applying through an advertisement." He said that as soon as his son graduated in physical education, he applied for the job. "My son is also an athelete," he said.

12. Col Surinder Kumar is Project Officer (Office Administration) and his son Shashwat is APO (Sports). "It is coincidental that we have joined together. We have nothing to hide. My son told the interviewers that his father is working here. My four generations have been working in the Army. We do not have any godfather in the OC who gave us this job," said Kumar.

13. Savita Thakur is Assistant Project Officer (Ticketing) and her sister Babita Thakur is Administrative Assistant (Transport). "I was registered with naukri.com and that is how I got this job. I was earlier working for an airline in their ticketing department. When I joined, I saw there were several vacancies, so I told my sister who was working in an insurance firm to apply and she was selected," Savita Thakur said.



A man sweeps in front of the main entrance of athletes village in New Delhi

14. Aparna Ghosh is Director (Venue Operations) and her niece Aneesha Mitra is Administrative Assistant (Ceremonies). "I am coach of basketball and I have been working with the OC for three years. Aneesha is my niece and there was an opportunity so she joined."
15. Anita Guliani is Administrative Assistant (Administration) and her daughter Mansi Guliani is Administrative Assistant (Ceremonies). "My mother was working with Athletics Federation of India and she joined the Organising Committee soon after its formation. I came to know there were vacancies, so I gave my resume," said Mansi Guliani.

16. Avny Lavasa is Project Officer (Queen's Baton Relay) and her brother Abir Lavasa is APO (Venue Operations). "My sister has been working for the OC since February 2008, she has done a course in sports management from Melbourne. I am a Ranji-level cricket player. We were interviewed before being given this job," said Abir Lavasa.



Australian athletes pose with Indian folk dancers at the Commonwealth Games athletes village in New Delhi

17. Jeet Ram is Stenographer (Ceremonies) and his son Neeraj is Administrative Assistant (Technology). "Both my son and I have joined the OC using fair means. I have been working here since 2006 while my son is here for the last one year. He has done his diploma in computer hardware, so the Technology unit hired him," said Jeet Ram.

18. D Anand Kumar is Project Officer (Sports) and his wife D Rama Devi is APO (Accounts). "We both got appointment letters together and we have been with the OC since November 2005. My husband had earlier worked in Afro-Asian Games, so he had experience," said Rama Devi.

19. Pratap Bhosale is Project Officer (Logistics) and his daughter Priyanka P Bhosale is Administrative Assistant (Cleaning and Waste Management). "I have done en