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| Sir Richard Stagg |
UK joined Australia in complaining about delayed payments for the CWG with the V K Shunglu committee probing irregularities in the Games writing to information and broadcasting ministry recommending a "stop payment". It said there was evidence of wrong doings and "startling" facts in the Rs 246 crore contract had come to the committee's notice.
Sources confirmed the Shunglu committee's advice and said Prasar Bharati is likely to accept the Shunglu's committee's recommendation. The role of Prasar Bharati under its suspended CEO B S Lalli in negotiating the contract was questioned by I&B ministry. SIS Live was quizzed about subcontracting its telecast to an Indian entity.
In a statement, Stagg said it was "not right that the company should be penalised in this way". He said SIS Live was "a leading British broadcaster with over 70 years' experience of covering major international sporting events. SIS Live's coverage of the Delhi Commonwealth Games was widely praised as first-class".
He said SIS Live "fulfilled its contractual obligations, against which all payments should have been made by now. The company is owed Rs 96 crore." Looking for early resolution, he said, "we are pursuing this matter with extreme urgency".
Prasar Bharati did run into trouble with SIS Live just before the Games when the telecaster said it wanted a large part of its payment in advance. It could not be blamed for delays in installing equipment as studios and venues were not ready. With telecast of the Games in jeopardy, the I&B ministry reluctantly agreed to a letter of credit allowing automatic withdrawals.
I&B minister Ambika Soni's insistence that the final payments be released only on Prasar Bharati's certification that the contract was fulfilled ensured that there was a pending amount.
