CWG scam: OC did not open bid by rival Spanish firm

NEW DELHI: The ruling clique in the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee ignored a split 2:2 opinion of a technical evaluation panel to reject a bid by Spanish firm MSL for the event`s timing and scoring system and did not open the tender document.

The unopened bid helped the CBI book Lalit Bhanot and V K Verma, close aides of former OC chief Suresh Kalmadi, for criminal conspiracy and cheating. The two, in collusion with others, are believed to have ensured MSL`s disqualification.

According to OC sources, the officials were so determined to ensure that Swiss Timing Limited got the contract -- finally priced at Rs 107 crore -- that a second technical evaluation conducted by outside experts was used to rule out the Spanish competitor. Thereafter, inquiries by the government`s vigilance watchdog were also brushed aside.

Swiss Timing Ltd was paid nearly 90% of its dues before the Games. So if investigations now prove that costs were inflated, there are no dues to the firm that the OC can dock.

While Kalmadi and his aides face allegations of manipulating tender conditions or simply delaying the bidding process so that the field got restricted and only certain firms were eligible, even chief executive officer Jarnail Singh, appointed by the Prime Minister`s Office, did not find anything amiss in the timing, scoring and results contract.

The fingerprints of Verma and Bhanot are believed to be clearly discernible in changes in tender terms and Bhanot pitching for Swiss Timing-Omega as the best qualified firm. Other competitors from Japan and US were actively discouraged from bidding for the contract and when MSL persevered, it was disqualified in controversial fashion.

Eligibility norms were changed after it was found that MSL could well be better qualified than Swiss Timing Ltd as it produced a track record of its involvement in three previous Olympics. The sports ministry was convinced the OC`s ruling faction was bent on ensuring that the Swiss firm got the contract but, as with other contracts, the time for its execution was running out.