CAG questions 5% revenue share to IOA

From a projected surplus of more than Rs 200 crore, when India won in 2003, the Commonwealth Games 2010 is unlikely to earn any surpluses. What’s more, the revenues earned might not be enough to even take care of the operating expenses of the Organising Committee (OC).

From a projected surplus of more than Rs 200 crore, when India won the bid in 2003, the Commonwealth Games 2010 is unlikely to earn any surpluses. What’s more, the revenues earned might not be enough to even take care of the operating expenses of the Organising Committee (OC).

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The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in an evaluation report filed to the Prime Minister last year, warned that there were not enough avenues to ensure that the Games will earn any surplus revenue.

Most revenue contracts were not finalised till July last year.

However, not much seems to have changed in the mean time. The CAG has also raised serious objections to the OC’s commitment to offer five per cent of revenues,not surplus, earned from CWG 2010 to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

“Payment of five per cent of sponsorship revenue to IOA should be considered only out of the cash revenue surplus of the Games, if any," CAG said.

The estimated revenue generation, pegged at Rs 900 crore in August 2007, has nearly doubled within a year.

"The available documentation, however, could not satisfy us of the soundness of the increased estimate of revenue," CAG said in its report.

CAG's calculations, based on these numbers, pegged figures of targeted revenue from Rs. 1330 to 1366 crore. The OC had indicated that most of the sponsorship revenue would be "value in kind," which would be used to set off expenses.