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Chauhan’s bonanza to boost sports in Madhya Pradesh

All for sports: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan

BHOPAL: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Wednesday announced a bonanza for promotion of sports in Madhya Pradesh.

The Chief Minister announced that Rs. 4.13 crore would be provided by the State Government for building stadiums and other facilities that were lying incomplete in the absence of Central grants.

He said Rs. 1 crore would be allotted this year for developing a sports village at Satgarhi near Bhopal and went on to announce a special scholarship for village girls winning medals in national and international sporting events.

He also announced that the current box office hit “Chak de India” starring Shah Rukh Khan, a tribute to women’s hockey, would be exempted from entertainment tax in the State.

The Chief Minister was addressing a “sports panchayat” at his residence on the occasion of National Sports Day. This was the first sports panchayat organised by the State Government.Mr. Chauhan said Madhya Pradesh would not lag behind in sports and the Government would do everything possible to ensure that players from the State prove their mark at national and international levels.

The Chief Minister said the Union Government had earlier approved in principle 22 projects but the State Government was not receiving any Central grant for these projects.

Hence Rs. 4.13 crore would be provided by the State Government to complete these stadiums, he added.

It was announced that the State Government had sanctioned Rs. 25 lakh for awarding cash prizes of Rs. 5,000, 4,000 and 3,000 to the gold, silver and bronze medal winners in individual national level sporting events for accredited games.

Similarly there would be cash prizes of Rs. 3,000, 2,000 and 1,000 for team events. A total of Rs. 60 lakh would be spent on developing several feeder training centres in the State.

Sports instructors would be appointed on an ad hoc Rs. 3,000 per month to fill the posts of district sports instructors that were lying vacant in the Sports and Youth Welfare Department.

The lifetime honorarium of Rs. 5,000 being given to internationally acclaimed sportspersons would now be raised to Rs. 10,000 and a new astro-turf has been approved for Bhopal’s Aish Bag Stadium. Member of Parliament and former State Minister for Sports, Yashodhararaje Scindia said that within a period of 14 months the present BJP-led State Government had increased the budget of the Sports Department from Rs. 1.5 crore to Rs. 25 crore.

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