MDA govt to soon meet PM over National Games proposals

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 6, 2019

SHILLONG: The state government has decided to seek the intervention of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for extending financial aid to the state for the successful hosting of the upcoming National Games in 2022.

This was informed by the chief minister Conrad K Sangma after conducting an inspection to the site for construction of the Games village and main stadium at an over 100 acres of land in Umsawli under the New Shillong Township here on Thursday.

He was accompanied by sports and youth affairs minister Banteidor Lyngdoh, tourism minister Metbah Lyngdoh, health minister AL Hek and senior government officials from the different line departments.

The chief minister said he would soon lead a delegation to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for submitting detailed proposals for development of the land and other places for the National Games.

“Our meeting (which will take place in the next few weeks) with the Prime Minister will be very important and I hope to get a positive response from him,” Sangma told reporters here.

He said that the state will be requiring above Rs. 1,500 crore to Rs. 2,000 crore for the successful hosting of the national games.

Stating that it will not be possible for the state to raise this amount on its own, Sangma said, “We are definitely hoping that the Centre will be supporting us and at the same time we are looking at areas where we can have private partnership as this is a mega project which requires a lot of effort.”

According to him, the government is also expecting some kind of support from the 15^th Finance Commission and a more detailed discussion is going to take place on this regard.

Asked, the chief minister said that the government had earlier submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to let the location of one of the five disability (friendly) stadiums be in Shillong.

“Therefore, with that objective it would have a double purpose. We have proposed this and it is still lying with the Union Cabinet and we are hopeful that Government of India would clear the proposal,” he said.

He added, the site would house the main stadium with a capacity for 25-30 thousand spectators, Swimming Pool, Multi Utility Indoor Stadium and housing area to accommodate 2000-3000 people.

The chief minister further informed that the part of the land will be for the construction of the Games village.

“Normally Government of India does not fund for the Games villages as it has to be looked at more from the state’s point of view. So we are exploring all possibilities, we have four-five options before us and I think within few weeks’ time or a month’s time will be taking a final decision on how will be moving ahead with the Games village,” he said.

Responding to another query, Sangma however said that the last one year has gone a lot into planning adding if the planning is not done properly then the chances of us spending more money will be there and we would not be able to see proper output as we would expect.

“But I am happy to tell you that the department has done a wonderful job and really things are in place and from this year onwards may be within next quarter we will see the actual construction started very soon,” he said.

The chief minister further expressed confidence that the state government will be able to complete the infrastructural requirements for hosting the national games on time.

“It is tough but we give all we have and we work overtime if necessary as this is a prestigious event for us and the year 2022 is an important year for the country because of its 75 years of independence and it is very important for Meghalaya because of it is 50 years of our statehood. Therefore, we will go all out and try our level best and we are confident that with the support of officials and team members and everybody will be able to complete this on time,” he said.

Meanwhile, the chief minister also conduct an inspection to the site for construction of the new State Legislative Assembly at Mawdiangdiang.