Cabinet secretary-headed bureaucrats’ panel given sweeping power to oversee Commonwealth Games

IN AN unprecedented move, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decided to give overriding power to a committee of secretaries headed by cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar which will have jurisdiction over matters relating to the Organising Committee of the upcoming Commonwealth Games. In other words, Chandrasekhar's team will have power to question Kalmadi and Co in the run-up to the Games which has mired by controversies and allegations of corruption. 

The cabinet secretary was also directed to liaise closely with the Group of Ministers headed by urban development secretary Jaipal Reddy to ensure effective coordination among all the concerned authorities. “The committee of secretaries headed by the cabinet secretary will continue to review implementation and it will have the status of an Empowered Committee. It will have jurisdiction over matters relating to the Organising Committee and a secretary level officer of the Cabinet Secretariat will liaise with the Organising Committee on a daily basis,” a PMO release said.

The senior management committee of the Organising Committee would meet daily and be chaired by the CEO, himself a former IAS Jarnail Singh, in the absence of the chairman or vice-chairman, Organising Committee. Additional senior and experienced officers from the Government of India would be deputed as required, the PMO release said.

(In Picture: Cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar with home secretary GKPillai)