Excelsior Sports Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Nov 28: High Court directed the Secretary, Department of Youth Services and Sports to file an affidavit detailing therein facilities which are available for training of coaches, the details of trained coaches available in all sports disciplines and an action plan regarding training of coaches in all sports in both the UTs of J&K, Ladakh.
“Such affidavit shall be filed within a period of three weeks from today failing which the Secretary, Department of Youth Services and Sports shall remain personally present in Court”, Division Bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Sanjeev Kumar directed.
Court said an important sporting facility being the Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium has been lying in a dilapidated condition for several years and the Government has made no reference about it. The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association through its Chief Executive Officer concerned with this facility has been impleaded as party-respondent in the matter and notice has been issued to him without process fee.
Court said the notice shall indicate that an affidavit setting out the status of the said Cricket Stadium and the steps for its completion and maintenance is placed on record within two weeks from the receipt of the notice. “The Government of the UT of J&K shall also file an affidavit disclosing the status of this stadium”, Court said.
Court directed the Secretary to also compile the information for Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh regarding the details of medals which have been earned by sports persons from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh in the last one year at national and international levels and place it before us.
During the proceedings of the case court recorded that there is no representation for the UT of Ladakh in this case and asked the Registry to issue court notice without process fee for the service of the Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor, Union Territory of Ladakh.
A direction has also been issued to all the Secretaries of the District Legal Services Authorities of J&K to ascertain as to the availability of sporting facilities in their respective districts; verify any sporting infra projects which are underway and the status thereof. “It shall also be ascertained as to whether adequate number of coaches in sports disciplines are available. This information shall be submitted by the Secretaries to MK Sharma, Member Secretary, JKSLSA within one week from today. The Member Secretary will compile the same and send it to the court in a tabulated format before the next date of hearing”, Court directed.
Court has been informed that the proposals for upgradation and creation of sports infrastructure received from J&K and other States/UTs are examined by the Department of Sports for release of funds as per the provisions inherent in the Khelo India Scheme. The total approved outlay of the said scheme for the three years since October 2017 is Rs 1756 crore out of which Rs 525 crores are earmarked for infrastructure.
It has further been disclosed that a sum of Rs 14.30 crore has been released to Technical Education and Youth Services and Sports Department of the J&K vide sanction order dated 16th July 2018 for conducting sporting activities/sports competitions and a special package being the Prime Minister Development Package (PMDP) has been sanctioned for enhancement of sports infrastructure facilities in J&K which inter alia included a Rs 200 crore package for sports infrastructure facilities of coaches/trainers /furniture/competition/incentives/prize money.
It is stated that Jammu and Kashmir has thus received from the Central Government 17.20 percent of the total funds released in the entire country towards development of sports infrastructure and organizing sports competitions in the States and UTs. It would therefore appear that so far as the allocation of funds is being done, the Jammu and Kashmir has received extensive attention at the hands of the Central Government.
“It is a shocking state of affairs that Government of the UT is completely silent about the important matter of deficiency of trained coaches as well as training for coaches. We have been repeatedly calling upon the official respondents to place an action plan before us”, Court recorded.
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