The Indian government intends to penalize Emaar-MGF for alleged deficiencies in the construction of the Commonwealth Games Village, escalating the blame game that has marred the controversial project since its opening last month.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) said Friday it would seek to collect at least a portion of the Dh152 million (US$41.38m) Emaar-MGF put down as a deposit before building the 34 apartment towers.
The DDA cited construction defects and missed deadlines for pursuing a financial judgement.
""There was a penalty clause for not adhering to timeline and we have written to
[the Indian federal urban development] ministry that we are going to penalize
[Emaar-MGF] for that,"" a spokeswoman said.
Emaar-MGF is a joint venture between Dubai's Emaar Properties and India's MGF Development. The company has steadfastly maintained that it met all deadlines and corrected any deficiencies that were pointed out.
The 1,100-plus flats in the village housed athletes from 71 countries but opened after the wettest monsoon in 30 years. Athletes complained of filthy living conditions, shoddy plumbing, broken elevators and flooded basements.
On October 16, two days after the games ended, the DDA sent a letter to Emaar-MGF alleging as many as 13 defects in the village, said a senior official from the office of Tejendra Khanna, Delhi's lieutenant governor who is also the chairman of the DDA.
The Commonwealth Games, which began with a $450m budget, ended up with a bloated $6.6b price tag for the government and it is eater to deflect the blame. (Source: The National/Reuters)
Photo: Problems plagued India’s preparation for the Commonwealth Games, including unsanitary quarters and construction delays. (Photo: Manish Swarup/AP)