Published: Wednesday, May 5, 2010, 2:15 IST
By Harish Gupta | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_no-thanks-enraged-sports-chiefs-refuse-financial-aid_1379167
Minister for youth affairs and sports MS Gill seems to have bitten off more than he can chew.
After deciding to truncate the careers of the chiefs of sports federations — all belonging to various political parties — at one go, he now finds himself pushed into a corner and being made, in a sense, redundant.
Highly placed sources told DNA that most of the federations, have decided not to accept any financial aid from the sports ministry — two have even written to the ministry in this regard. They have also decided to return any financial aid that was received during the current financial year that is not related to the Commonwealth Games.
Sources say the All India Tennis Association (AITA) headed by former finance minister Yashwant Sinha was the first to shoot off such a letter. It is also learnt that the Badminton Association of India and the National Rifle Association of India are preparing to forgo financial aid.
Not that the amount of aid is significant, said the sources, pointing out that the sports bodies have not directly received much money from the ministry.
The budgetary allocation over the past three years shows a decline in direct grants to federations from Rs30 crore in 2007-08 to less than Rs20 crore in 2009-10 after Gill assumed office even as the ministry’s budget grew from Rs3,076 crore in 2009-10 to Rs3,565 crore in 2010-11.
On its part, the sports ministry maintains control over the players by directly spending the money on, among other things, the coaching of players, organising training camps, and arranging travel within and outside India through its agents and officials.
The federations have no role to play except as facilitators. Even in the selection of players, the Sports Authority of India plays a significant part.
Enraged federation bosses have decided to follow the example of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The BCCI does not take any financial assistance from the government and is free from any government control.
Once these federations refuse financial assistance, Gill’s diktat won’t apply to them either, they feel. In fact, the BCCI has been funding some of the federations, including the Football Federation of India, headed by civil aviation minister Praful Patel.
While some of the other federation chiefs are in touch with the BCCI for financial support, others claim to have generated funds on their own.
For example, Abhay Chautala, president of the Indian Boxing Federation, raised money to encourage boxers who eventually won gold medals in the world championships; AITA created world-class stadiums using its own funds. These federations have sought an appointment with the prime minister in this regard.
