Are sports scholarship funds being routed to Commonwealth Games?

Funds meant for scholarship to performers at different levels are possibly being diverted to the Commonwealth Games (CWG).

Coming on the heels of allegations that funds for schemes for the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribe were being routed for the Games by the Delhi government, the fresh allegation, if proven true, may leave the organisers of the event with more egg on the face.

The scholarships are awarded under the national sports policy as cash incentive to performers in recognised state, national and international meets. It has been two years since the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports (NIS), the academic wing of Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Patiala, released the funds — amounting to over Rs12 crore per year —to the players.

“The ministry has decided to stop giving the scholarships for the time being. No application has been sent to any sports person for the past two years. In all possibility, the funds have been going for the CWG,” a SAI official told DNA.   

The scholarship scheme that comes under the national sports policy drawn up by the department of youth affairs and sports had been giving 2,500 scholarships for state-level, 800 for national level, 400 for university and school level players, and 20 for senior women.

However, since 2008, sports people from various disciplines have neither received the application forms nor the money from the NIS, Patiala.

“The last scholarship I received was in 2008. After that we have not received any application for SAI. Though the amount was not that high, getting any kind of cash incentives is like a motivation to us,” says Gagan AP, Asian Youth Games medallist.  

“Many sports people have been calling us enquiring about the scholarships. We even spoke to the NIS sports director LS Ranawath and we were told that the scholarships have been stopped and it will be reviewed again by the ministry. But it is not known when they will review it,” says Virendra Bhandarkar, assistant director of SAI Maharashtra. 

Former executive director of SAI, MP Ganesh, who is also former India hockey captain, was shocked to learn that the scholarships have not been given to the sports people.

“There is no way they can stop giving the scholarships as it comes under the union budget and the money is kept aside for the purpose. The money is directly allotted by the finance department of the ministry and it is very unfair to the sports people if it has been diverted to CWG,” says Ganesh.

LS Ranawath, executive director of SAI, Patiala, was not available for comment.