Govt to initiate Rs 2b new sports uplift schemes

ISLAMABAD: The government has indicated initiating Rs 2 billion new sports development schemes after initial fears of carrying out only exciting one for the next financial year.

Director Federations Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Azam Dar has confirmed that in latest verbal communique, the concerned Ministry has indicated initiating Rs two billion new sports development schemes for the next financial years. These would be apart from those schemes that were already in operation. “Though these are verbal so far, we have been asked by the concern authority to forward details of new sports development schemes worth Rs 2 billion. We would start working on these lines from next working day onward,” Azam Dar said.

Earlier, it was feared there would be no new sports development project as the earlier proposed summary has been rejected altogether. “Since it is duty of centre to develop sports infrastructure around the country, we have proposed new development projects for the coming financial year. However, all these schemes earlier were rejected altogether by concern authority. Now we have got a ray of hope as we have been communicated on Friday to forward Rs 2 billion new sports development projects,” a source within the IPC Ministry when approached said.

Earlier, the Planning Commission has approved Rs 500 million for up-gradation and renovation of existing facilities at the Pakistan Sports Complex. “This is all we got initially. Rs 500 million and that too for the up-gradation of existing facilities at the Pakistan Sports Complex. But now we are hopeful of getting Rs 2 billion new sports development schemes.” Besides the four provinces, the Ministry has proposed sports development projects for Gilgit and Baltistan also. It has been learnt that Planning Commission has also approved Rs 2.4 billion to carry out remaining work on the schemes that were initiated two to three years back.

The major chuck has again been diverted to Narowal Sports Complex that has already eaten up over Rs 2 billion with rupees one billion more is expected to be drawn from the federal government kitty in years to come.

The Planning Commission has approved another amount of Rs 467.010 million for the Narowal project during the next financial year.Another Rs 70.467 million has been approved for the establishment of mechanical lab within the sports complex. The project that was initiated in 2013 will consume Rs 113.555 million in total. This fall, Rs 75 million has ear marked for the National Games (Quaid-i-Azam Games) in 2018-19. Rs 177 million more will be released for laying hockey turfs in Gilgit and Swat. Another Rs 323.153 million would be released this year from already approved schemes of replacing of artificial hockey turfs at Islamabad, Faisalabad, Wah Cantt, Peshawar, Quetta and Abbottabad. Last year a total sum of Rs 523.163m was earned marked for these projects fromwhich Rs 323.153 would be released in coming financial year.

An amount of Rs 848.450m from the total amount of Rs 2878 million that was set forth last year for under the head of development of infrastructure would also be released during the next financial year.

Construction of residential flats for staff in Karachi would get Rs 28.718m this year. These flats construction was approved in 2006.Recently Senate Standing Committee on Inter-provincial Coordination opined that diverting majority of the government development funds to single project (Narowal) is unjust.

Chairman Committee Senator Saud Majeed questioned about the hefty amount set forth for a single project in Centre Development Working Party (CDWP). “Which project is this that has consumed almost 70 percent of country’s entire sports development amount during the last three to four years,” he questioned.

In January 25, 2018 meeting Minister for IPC Mian Riaz Hussain informed the Committee that this project was being established in Minister for Interior Ehsan Iqbal’s constituency. “This project is brain child of Ehsan Iqbal.”

Expressing his displeasure, Senator Saud Majeed said it was unjust to divert such a huge amount to one area at the expense of entire country.Senator Saud Majeed said that if at all there was a need for such project it should have been separated for the development budget or should have gone from the provincial budget.“This highly expensive project should be separated from the development budget,” he said during that meeting.