Jitendra orders speedy work on J&K stadia, Manipur sports varsity

Newly-appointed Sports Minister Jitendra Singh on Monday directed officials to expedite the upgradation of sports stadia in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir and sort out land issues related to the sports university in Manipur.

Singh assumed additional charge of the sports ministry after Sarbananda Sonowal resigned to take over as Assam Chief Minister after the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP)victory in the north-eastern state.

"Jitendra Singh issued instructions for expediting the up-gradation of sports stadiums at capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar, and bringing up sports centres in other parts of Jammu & Kashmir, for which Rs.200 crore has been earmarked by the Government of India," the ministry said in a release.

Taking note of the delay in starting work on the sports university in Manipur, Singh instructed the officials to set the state government a deadline of one month and said if they failed to clear the issues related to the land already identified, the sports ministry will be constrained to look for an alternative site.

Among those present at the meeting were sports secretary Rajeev Yadav, additional secretary Kiran Soni Gupta apart from other senior officials of the department of sports and youth affairs and Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Singh is Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) apart from being MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space.

--IANS

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