In a bid to maximise use of sports complexes, such as the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and National Stadium, after the Commonwealth Games and to raise money for their maintenance, the government has decided to rope in private partners under a process it calls “legacy planning”.
Under the programme, the ownership remains with the government but each stadium will be handed over to a private sector entity after the Games, which can then reap commercial benefits from sporting and non-sporting use of the facilities.
Sports Authority of India (SAI) has taken the responsibility of managing and operating five major stadia — JLN Stadium, National Stadium, Indra Gandhi Indoor Stadium complex, Shyama Prasad swimming pool complex and Dr Karni Singh shooting ranges — under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme.
The government has already spent more than Rs 2,400 crores to upgrade and renovate these complexes. To ensure the facilities are not misused, SAI has issued a “negative list” which prohibits use of the stadia for certain activities. An “empowered committee” headed by the sports secretary and SAI director-general is overseeing the project.
While speaking the media on what will happen to the sports infrastructure after the Games are over, the Delhi chief minister Shiela Dikhsit had said, “You have touched upon a delicate point.” She added, “In our own stadiums, we will start sports training centres.”
However, talking on the use of Games Village after the Games, the chief minister stated: “The flats will be put up for auction. That way some money will also come back.”
However, when India won the bid to host the Games, the organisers had then promised that the Games Village in Delhi will be used for the university hostel purpose after the Games are over. New Delhi had won the bid to host the Games against Hamilton in Canada with the promise. However, the senior Delhi officials, who have now confessed that the flats in the Games Village will be sold for commercial purpose, refused to comment on organiser’s promise of turning the Games Village into a university hostel.
The Delhi CM had earlier also mentioned that the city government has a plan to use the Games Infrastructure for training children.