A report by Hazards Centre, a Delhi based NGO, has put the total budget of Commonwealth Games 2010 at over Rs 1,00,000 crore. This includes Rs 55, 398 crore which has been directly invested as per of the Games related infrastructure and Rs 46, 000 crore under the category of non- Games expenditure.

The figure is pegged much higher than the Rs 11, 494 crore that the government has been maintainng as having spent.

While Rs 334 crore is the budget of constructing stadia, Rs 146 crore is the cost of arranging for the accommodation for athletes and visitors.

According to the 53 page report titled ‘Heritage Games- cleaning up the debris’, the maximum amount is being spent on power availability to the city, followed by the investment in the Metro, air transport, roads and flyovers. Stadia renewal comes fifth in the order of priorities.

“Land has become a commodity from which the city administration earns revenue and the price of land then begins to determine how the city will spread and who will live and work here. The Commonwealth Games 2010 conforms to urban transformation with an ad- hoc violation of planning processes and without public disclosure of and debate on all decisions related to the Games,” said Dunu Roy, director, Hazards Centre.

About the social and environmental impact of the Games, the report says that in the name of building, cleaning, and beautifying the city for the big event, the working poor are evicted from their homes and work places. “The massive cleaning up operation is all done in the name of national honour but are essentially urban renewal programmes that benefit the rich and the powerful.”

The report is in six parts throwing light on the financial costs, social and environmental costs and cleaning up after the Games.