Haryana taking adequate measure to promote sports,claims minister

Kataria said that the state was conferring the Bhim Awards on six outstanding athletes from the state every year. Compared to the Rs 7.94 crore cash award given to 3,979 sportspeople from 1999 to 2005,the present government has given cash awards of Rs 37. 41 crore to 7,677 athletes,he added. In this period,13,837 school and college students have been given sports scholarship of Rs 1.68 crore. Nearly Rs 10 crore is being spent on 5,000 SPAT qualifiers every year.

Kataria said that the state has two state-level stadiums,21 District Sports Complexes,13 Sub-divisional stadiums,226 village-level mini stadiums,nine swimming pools,five multipurpose halls,five astro-turfs and 3 synthetic athletic tracks. The present government has sanctioned 222 Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Khel Parisars at block-level with 134 of them having been taken over by the respective district sports councils.

Under the Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan,PYKKA Centers are being opened in 10 per cent of villages and blocks every year since 2009. The school or panchayat playgrounds are being upgraded at a cost of Rs one lakh while Rs five lakh was being spent on block level playgrounds,Kataria said.

Krida Shris were being appointed at an honorarium of Rs 500 per month. At this rate,the plan is to cover all villages and blocks under the scheme in 10 years. The scheme had started in the year 2009. There are 15 on-going projects in the state. Thirty infrastructure projects are under process.