Accompanied by a large number of party workers campaigning for her from New Delhi constituency, she said she had always been available to address the people's grievances.

"I am not making promises but committed to resolve any problem," she added.

Highlighting the achievements of her government in the last ten years, she said, "The city under the Congress rule has grown leaps and bounds in every sphere whether transport or education".

A recent study by the Central Pollution Control Board for Delhi reveals that despite the CNG conversion of commercial transport vehicles in the city, Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) -- the major air pollutants -- have gone up. The study echoes another one, just released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which warns that "cities from Beijing to New Delhi are getting darker".

"Man-made atmospheric brown clouds (is) being formed over 13 megacities in the world," the UN study reiterates.

And at least part of the problem in Delhi is particles raised by constructions, say experts from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee. "SPM and RSPM are particles less than the size of 10 microns suspended in air. These are often ingested in human trachea (or windpipe)," a pollution control board members says.

WARNING: DARK DAZE AHEAD RSPM IN DELHI AIR

2006. 155 miligram per metre cube
      
2007. 169 miligram per metre cube
      
2008. 192 miligram per metre cube
      

`BROWN CLOUD' HOTPOTS
Bangkok, Beijing, Cairo, Dhaka, Karachi, Kolkata, Lagos, Mumbai, NEW DELHI, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tehran

Soot levels found at 10% of total mass of all human-made particles in these megacities

An environmental report on the affects construction of the athletes village will have on the Yamuna River is now before the courts.

Hooper, who is in India, says although the courts are involved, construction actually hasn't been halted.

However he says with 2 years until the games take place in October 2010, any attempt to alter plans now would seriously jepordise the games.... and they have taken the issue up with the Indian government.....

The four-yearly Games featuring 71 teams from the Commonwealth countries are due to be held in the Indian capital of New Delhi from October 3-14, 2010.

Indian labourers at work at a stadium in New Delhi

The Delhi High Court has asked an environmental expert to probe if the village that is to house 8,500 athletes and officials should be built on the site.

Austin Sealy, the chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation co-ordination committee, said after a routine inspection of the venues that he was concerned by the ongoing dispute.

"Any change, at this late stage, to the Games village arrangements would seriously jeopardise India's hosting of the Games," Sealy said in a statement.

After its fourth review meeting with the 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OCCG) and various Government agencies, the Commission said, except for the velodrome, it was satisfied with the progress of the construction work at different venues.

"The overall impression is positive and the Commission is satisfied that quality venues can be ready for the Games. However, one venue, cycling, does give a cause for concern as no work has commenced as yet on the velodrome," said Austin Sealy, Chairman of the Commission and Honorary Treasurer of the CGF, while addressing mediamen here.

But the OCCG President, Suresh Kalmadi, was confident that the velodrome would be ready before the Games. "The Sports Ministry has said that the velodrome will be ready in time.

Games village

The other point of concern for the Commission was the Games village, the construction of which has been challenged in the Delhi High Court on the ground of environmental issues.

"The CGF is aware of an issue affecting the village, presently before the courts and therefore the Federation considers it inappropriate to comment on the matter other than to note that any change at this late stage to the Games village would seriously jeopardise India's hosting the Games in 2010. The OCCG has been urged to have the matter resolved urgently," Sealy said. Sealy apprehended that if the village issue prevented India from hosting the 2010 Games, then it would be cancelled as there would not be enough time left to choose an alternative venue.

The construction of the two courts was first objected to by advocate M L Lahoty who had filed a petition alleging that a large number of trees were cut to clear the area. He was supported by amicus curiae Harish Salve, who told the forest Bench that as many as 836 trees were felled.

In a vindication of the lawyer's objection, ASI has stated that its staff posted at the Siri Fort Wall, a centrally protected monument, had informed the contractor/DDA officials present at the site regarding unauthorized construction near the monument and requested them to shift it 100 metres away from the wall, but "there is no response from the DDA".

Earlier, Salve had filed an application seeking relocation of the venue for badminton and squash courts as well as action against officials who were responsible for the mindless cutting down of trees.

Salve in his application, filed through another amicus curiae ADN Rao, had said that 836 trees, each over 100 years old, had already been cut to make way for the 30,000 sq metre concrete courts for the games. To complete the project, it would require cutting of 100-odd more trees from the forest area, he had said.

"DDA has callously destroyed the green cover, the only lung space of the area, by felling 836 trees, which were more than 100 years old, despite strong local resistance. Before felling the trees, viable alternatives were not considered neither explored. No cost-benefit analysis and the impact on the felling of trees on the environment were undertaken," Salve had said accusing the DDA officials of blindly carrying out the decision of the organising committee.

But questions like how much of that change will last and how it will affect those living in this metropolis continue to surround Delhi's redevelopment.

A hundred and fifty lakh people live and work in Delhi. And they are now seeing what could be the world's biggest city rebuilding project ever undertaken -- with a world-class airport, brand new flyovers and transport corridors, and ultra-modern stadiums.

Over Rs 65,000 crore is being spent to redefine the image of the Capital, and make it a city fit to host the Commonwealth Games.

In Mahipalpur -- an area near Delhi --25,000 people are working day and night to build the world's second largest airport terminal in record time.

By October 2010, landing at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport will be an experience in itself.

"All the services are below the ground so passengers will not see any services. The lighting system, air conditioning are automatically monitored for energy consumption," CEO, Airport Development, I P Rao says.

Monday's order also said the court has set up a five-member expert panel led by Nobel laureate and environmentalist R K Pachauri to monitor construction work on the riverbed.

The judgment is addressed to the Centre, Delhi government, Delhi Metro, DDA, and any private party with stakes in the project.

"We were told that construction at a massive scale was being carried out. We have made it amply clear that those raising constructions and creating third party interests despite the pendency of the writ petitions (in High Court), were doing so at their own peril," a Division Bench of Justices A K Sikri and Rekha Sharma said.

In her separate judgment, Justice Sharma did not mince words in criticising the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the DDA and NEERI for hastily supporting construction activity with little attention to ecological balance of the river.

"Their hands appeared to be tainted," she observed.

A special bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Rekha Sharma had reserved the order on February 19 after hearing Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan and Tapas, the petitioner NGOs, DDA (which is overseeing the construction) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (which is constructing a station near the Games Village).

The environmentalists contended that the Yamuna riverbed ought to be protected at any cost to prevent an ecological disaster.

Even the High Court-appointed convener of Yamuna (removal of encroachments) Committee, S.M. Aggarwal, had firmly opposed any construction on the riverbed.

Terming it a "pure case of commercial exploitation", Aggarwal said the DDA planned to sell off all the buildings at exorbitant rates on the lines of what had happened in Asiad Village.

The government and DDA, however, argued that permanent buildings were coming up on only three hectares of the total 83 hectares where construction would be carried out, and "temporary buildings would be demolished after the Games." The judges Sikri and Sharma visited the Commonwealth Games site on January 3 this year to assess the ground situation first-hand and verify the claims of various parties. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute has already given a green signal to the project, saying it is not a threat to the environment.

Terming the 2010 Games as a "prestige issue" Mrs. Dikshit said it is important to organise the games as it will showcase India's culture. Commonwealth Games has come under scanner due to many factors, specially the escalating cost to hold such events. Infact one of the Delhi-based NGO has gone on to say that the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth games preparation will act as a catalyst for the speedy destruction of the capital if proper mechanisms were not placed.

According to the report filed by the NGO leaving the Los Angeles Olympics no other sports meet has been successful but the chief minister has given her unflinching support to the Games and said, "money is not an issue to organize 2010 Commonwealth Games as it is a matter of national pride and prestige. We will go whole hog to prepare for the Games and will leave no stone unturned."

When asked about what the Delhi governments is planning to increase the medal prospect for the country, the CM was quick to point out that the only thing in there is to provide good facilities rest it depends on the athletes to make use of it.

"We are going to provide them with world class facilities and we are working on it but translating those into medals is the work of athletes," Mrs. Dikshit said.

Many critics have pointed out that given Delhi's reputation of being an unsafe city for its citizens in general and its women folks in particular it will be a herculean task for the Delhi government to provide security to the visiting delegation and athletes.

But the chief minister was not going to be bogged down with the criticism and when it was pointed to her, she said, the main reason for the lawlessness is Delhi's porous borders with the other states - Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, - because of which many anti-social elements took refuge in those places after committing the crime in the capital and get away."

While air medical evacuation is already done in most super specialty hospitals in the Capital, having a helipad on the hospital roof is the next big thing. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences applied for permission from the Civil Aviation Ministry last year. Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals is also hoping for permission from authorities before the Games begin. According to sources, with Apollo in line for a helipad, competitors like Escorts, Max and Fortis are not to be left behind.

Max is also looking at helipads for its newer projects, said Dr Parvez Ahmed, Executive Director, Max Healthcare. They are already into end-to-end emergency service. Recently, an Italian was brought in from Chandigarh, treated and the hospital staff accompanied her back home to Milan. "No concrete decisions have been take yet but we are looking at this opportunity for our newer projects," said Dr Ahmed.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued guidelines for planning, infrastructure, markings and safety regulations for construction of roof-top helipads. "Both hospitals, AIIMS and Apollo, have some internal issues that have to be solved first before they are given permission," said J S Rawat, Joint Secretary, DGCA. Apollo Hospitals had applied for a helipad on the hospital premises five years ago.

"Despite timely air rescues, helipads are the need of the hour as getting to hospital from the airport takes a lot of time, given the traffic snarls in the Capital," said Dr Anupam Sibal, Medical Director, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. "Medical care in Delhi is cutting edge and has improved to such a degree that we get many requests for airlifts. The next logical step is to come straight to hospital as in Western countries. This is how emergency care is given the world over and we should look at how we can get to that level," said Dr Sibal. Indraprastha Apollo Hospital has not been given permission yet because it falls in the Delhi air corridor.

`Presently there are about 11,000 rooms under all categories of approved hotels in the National Capital Region (NCR). The tourism ministry has estimated a requirement of an additional 30,000 rooms under all categories for CWG 2010,' Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

`Further, in order to augment hotel rooms for 2010 CWG, new hotel projects in the NCR are under implementation. The tourism ministry has informed that the task force set up for this purpose has assessed that 14,264 rooms are going to be added for the CWG 2010,' Reddy said.

`It is further expected that additional rooms will be available under the Bed and Breakfast Scheme launched recently by the Delhi government and due to liberalization of guest house norms,' Reddy added.

`The recent amendment to the Master Plan for Delhi (MPD 2021) liberalizing the development control norms for hotels is also expected to facilitate creation of additional rooms,' Reddy noted.

All the projects will be completed before the 12-day sporting extravaganza which begins on October 03, 2010, Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken informed the Rajya Sabha today.

The flyovers include bridge at Neela Hauz, Shastri Nagar, Azadpur, Mangolpuri, Apsara Border and Akshardham Bund flyover.

In reply to another question, Maken said the Central Secretariat Badarpur corridor is directly connected to the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, the main venue of the Commonwealth Games, and Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range at Tuglaqabad.

The commonwealth Youth Games began in Pune on October 13, amid much hoopla. Before you sink further in the euphoria of the games, here is something that you need to know as a tax-payer. The huge expenditure on these games and its organisation is being done out of taxpayers' money for the benefit of a handful entities, without the public knowledge. This apart, while Puneites would be happy that CYG is being conducted in Pune, it is interesting to know that Pune was never a part of the games in its planning stage.

India had won the right to host the Commonwealth Games by defeating Canada 46 votes to 22 at the CGF General Assembly held in Montego Bay in November, 2003, which happened after a bidding process from both the countries. The Indian Olympic Committee (IOA) put India's bid forward and the Indian government had agreed to support the bid. In the bid document, the IOA led by Pune MP, Suresh Kalmadi, also the head of the organising committee of the games, had proposed Delhi as the venue for both Youth Games-2008 and the main games to be held in 2010. However, the organising committee thrust the games on Pune because civic infrastructure in Delhi needed time to be built to international standards. The reason for choosing Pune as the alternate venue was that the Congress was ruling in the Pune Municipal Corporation and was controlled by Kalmadi.

According to the bid document, the Indian government, through the IOA, is spending more than $430 million (Rs 2000 crore) on the events, a fact which has been left undisclosed by the organising committee. A quick look at the bid document reveals that apart from the details of the games India is willing to host, the bid document also contains the details of the money, which the Indian Government is spending. According to the document India has paid $ 1,20,00,000 (Rs 50 crore) to the CGF as a licensing fee to host the games. It has donated $1,00,000 to each of the 71 participating countries to support training and preparation of their athletes.

It has spent another $4,90,00,000 (Rs 205 crore) to pay for the accommodation and travel of the participants. The games administration will cost $18,00,00,000, (Rs 756 crore) while capital expenditure like renovation and construction of stadia (in Delhi) will cost $21,00,00,000, (Rs 882 crore) totaling a sizeable $ 42,10,00,000 (Rs 1768, crore). However, after the shift of venue from Delhi to Pune the capital expenditure cost has gone up by another $ 6,00,00,000 (Rs 252 crore), apart from the $ 66,60,000 (Rs 28 crore) that will be spent on the CYG, according to the document.

The document also says that that sponsorships, broadcasting rights, ticket sales, etc will bring in $ 18,00,00,000 (Rs 756 crore). The evaluation commission of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), the body that governs the games, has found inconsistencies in the revenue figures stated by the IOA, which it has said to be 'potentially overstated'. However, it has chose to ignore those, because the government of India has given an undertaking that it will pitch in to fill any kind of revenue shortfall that the organising committee may encounter.

If this is not enough, the organising committee and the Indian government clarified to the CGF that they have provision for upto 30% increase in this expenditure, which has been drafted according to cost prevailing in 2003.

`The construction work at the Nehru Stadium is on schedule. The fabrication work is going on and the whole stadium will have bucket seats with numbers,' Gill told reporters.

`Not only the Nehru Stadium but also other venues will be ready by late 2009 or January 2010 for the Commonwealth Games. Due to the construction work the athletes are facing problems of finding training facilities but we have wonderful facilities across the country. SAI will help them by organising camps,' he said.