India’s sport budget for 2006-07 has been sought to be portrayed, vis-a-vis the 2010 C'wealth Games, but sports continues to remain a neglected subject.
IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi says he will take up the issue with Prime Minister
NEW DELHI: India’s sport budget for 2006-07 has been sought to be portrayed — vis-a-vis the 2010 Commonwealth Games — as a visionary plan but, alas, sports continues to remain a neglected subject.
There is a huge difference between the impression tried to be conveyed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram and the real situation. The total budget for the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports in 2006-07 was 669 crore (Rs 69 cr was non-plan expenditure). For the year 2007-08, Rs 780 crores has been proposed as the total allocation (Rs 80 as non-plan expenditure) for the Ministry. There has been an increase of just Rs 111.
While the budget statement claims that the allocation for sports has been increased to Rs 500 crores, the figure that will be actually spent around the year will be much less. Out of the allocation, Rs 150 crores, which is a huge chunk, will be dispensed by the Sport Ministry towards the 2010 Commonwealth Games infrastructure. Thus, actually the sports budget for 2007-08 will be just Rs 350 crores.
In 2006-07, the actual allocation for sports was Rs 274.66 crores with the Sports Ministry receiving an additional Rs 150 crore for the 2010 CWG. The 2005-06 budget was Rs. 279.10 crore while it was Rs. 252 crore for 2004-05.
Also, remember that a large chunk of the sports budget is spent on paying the salaries of the government officials working with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the maintenance of the stadiums.
Sports administrators are not happy with the allocation. Suresh Kalmadi, who is the president of the Indian Olympic Association said he will take up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Chidambaram.
“There is no question of being happy with this budget. All that we have been given is a budget allocation for creating infrastructures for Commonwealth Games in Delhi. What about the budget for training of our sportspersons, the cost of expert coaching, sending teams abroad for competitions.
At the end of the Commonwealth Games, we need to show medals, not infrastructure. I am definitely taking up the issue with the PM and the FM,” Kalmadi said.
Kalmadi, who is also the chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, had apparently sent a proposal to the Sports Ministry that they should, at least, spend Rs 1500 crores on training sportspersons for winning medals in the 2010 Games.
He said: “We had 1500 medal winners at the Guwahati National Games. Our next job is to train these people to win medals in 2010. How is that possible?”
Lalit Bhanot, secretary-general of the 2010 CWG and secretary-general of Athletic Federation of India, said the 2007 budget was meagre for training athletes for 2008 Olympics.
“Just see how much they have put on the table and then, we start expecting an Olympic medal,” said Bhanot. The budget has proposed Rs 54.49 crore as financial assistance to recognised national sports federations for sending teams abroad for training and participation in international events.
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