Ranchi, Jan. 14: Plans to hold grand opening and closing ceremonies for the jinxed 34th National Games are on the brink of collapse with the chosen event management firm flexing muscles over fine print of a financial agreement it is yet to sign with organisers.

With the Games scheduled to begin from February 12, the state government seemed to be negotiating with Wizcraft International with its back to the wall, even though the same company, known for its Bollywood connections, was assigned the job in 2008. After negotiations on January 6, the National Games Organising Committee (NGOC) chose Wizcraft once again to handle the opening and closing ceremonies.

This time, Wizcraft quoted Rs 12.78 crore — compared to Rs 8.65 crore it asked in 2008. However, the NGOC board managed to negotiate at the old rate with an additional Rs 1.3 crore for power back-up, thus finalising a deal at Rs 9.95 crore. Now before signing the final agreement, the company has put forth a fresh condition, asking the state government to write off Rs 1.73 crore paid to it as mobilisation advance since 2008.

Such last-minute hiccups don’t auger well for chief minister Arjun Munda — he was in Delhi today and invited President Pratibha Patil for the Games — who has put the might of his administration behind the organisers to ensure that the Games, postponed as many as six times since 2007, wasn’t delayed any further.

But Wizcraft wants NGOC to issue a “no dues” certificate before it signs on the dotted line.

The company, that has proposed a mega show with Bollywood stars like Vivek Oberoi and Neha Dhupia for the opening and closing ceremonies, was also supposed hold other programmes showcasing various states.

A Wizcraft representative is scheduled to meet NGOC office-bearers tomorrow.

Special secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni said Wizcraft had been told that it was for the state government to decide how to settle the old dispute.

“Since we negotiated in response to a fresh tender, the company should not tag the old dispute with it. In fact, the company had not raised the issue when we met its officials on January 6. It was an afterthought,” he said.

Kulkarni warned Wizcraft, saying the government would be constrained to initiate action to prosecute the firm if it did not stick to the “agreement” reached on January 6.

Wizcraft’s vice-president (business development), Simon Caszo, who has been negotiating with the NGOC so far, refused to comment.

Scheduled for two-and-a-half hours, the opening ceremony will also include a presentation by an Army band, a flower shower by IAF choppers, introduction of a National Games anthem, march past by state outfits and a documentary on tribal icon Birsa Munda’s life and struggle.

The two-hour closing ceremony will see drills by children, folk dances, celebrity performances, laser shows and fireworks.

Wizcraft had been picked for the job in 2008, but it got embroiled in a controversy after principal accountant-general objected to its selection since it wasn’t the lowest bidder. The public funds monitor had also objected to payment of a mobilisation advance without a proper bank guarantee.

The NGOC paid Rs 2.59 crore as mobilisation advance to Wizcraft on December 23, 2008 against post-dated cheques of similar amount towards bank guarantee.

On June 30, 2009, Wizcraft requested NGOC to renegotiate the deal to Rs 8.65 crore since the Games was rescheduled. Since NGOC did not respond, the company informed it on September 22, 2009 that the mobilisation advance received by it would not be returned.

Ultimately, NGOC cancelled the agreement and began invoking the bank guarantee. But, by then many of the post-dated cheques had expired and NGOC could not recover Rs 173.03 lakh.

Another hitch is a PIL that has been filed in the high court challenging the selection of Wizcraft citing the 2008 objections of principal accountant- general and the vigilance bureau.

A senior sports department official said that Wizcraft and another Mumbai-based firm, Carving Dreams, were the only two companies that that responded to the tenders floated last month.

“The latter did not qualify on technical grounds. So, we had no option but to go for Wizcraft,” he pointed out.