A jawan stands guard near a bus for athletes outside the Games Village in New Delhi on Thursday. (AP)

New Delhi, Sept. 23: Union home minister P. Chidambaram today told the Commonwealth Games organising committee it would have to complete all unfinished work in 48 hours if it wanted security for the event.

Several little things remain pending. Shivaji Stadium, a Games venue, for instance, is “not functional”, a home ministry source said. Nor is the SRCC College training venue, the source added.

Training venues at Ramjas College and the Polo Ground are also incomplete. The deadline set by Chidambaram for the two venues is 24 hours, meaning the organising committee will have to have them ready by tomorrow afternoon.

The issue was discussed at a meeting attended by the home secretary, secretary (sports), Delhi police commissioner Y.S. Dadwal and representatives of the organising committee. “Very firm time lines, hour lines have been fixed for the organising committee. We have told them that unless they finish the job on time, we cannot provide security,” said a top home ministry source.

Chidambaram is believed to have told Suresh Kalmadi’s Games panel that it had been “lying” on the deadlines.

Three hundred athletes are due to arrive on Saturday and several hundred over the next two days.

Dadwal told Chidambaram that once the venues were handed over to the police, full security would be provided and there need not be any concern on that front.

Pressure from the New Zealand squad has sent the organising committee scurrying to increase the height of barricades in the balconies of the residential quarters from the 2.5ft at present.

The Kiwis had complained not only about the “unsafe” balconies but also the absence of hot water warnings. “They wanted warnings in the bath rooms saying there would be hot water flowing from the geysers, so we will put those,” an official said, half-mocking.

The Games Village has 32 blocks built for 8,000 participants. Since only 6,000 participants are arriving, about a dozen blocks will not be used. Even among those that are to be used, many are poorly finished.

The unfinished jobs at the venues have also raised questions about the supervision by the Prime Minister’s Office and cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrashekhar’s office. More than a month and a half ago, the services of 50 joint secretaries were offered to the cabinet secretary to supervise the early completion of the construction.

The focus, however, remains on Kalmadi’s flock. The organising committee is over-staffed, with many not given any work to do. “There is a complete lack of cohesion in the committee and that has resulted in bad management,” said a home ministry source.

The government is keeping its fingers crossed and has even posted officials at the Games Village and the venues to supervise such work as plumbing and carpentry.