NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top auditing body has slammed the country’s hosting of last year’s Commonwealth Games as deeply flawed, riddled with favoritism and vastly more expensive than planned.
India had hoped the games would buff its image as a rising superpower. Instead it was deeply embarrassed by construction delays, cost overruns and corruption allegations. The head of the organizing committee is in jail on corruption charges.
Friday’s report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said there were serious irregularities with bidding and contracts.
It said the games cost $4.1 billion instead of the $270 million initially estimated. Revenue that was supposed to pay for the event amounted to only $38 million.
