Three districts in the national capital do not have a single sports facility run by the Delhi government's education department, while six other districts only have swimming pool facilities in the name of sports infrastructure, according to a CAG audit.
The report by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG), titled 'Development, upkeep and utilisation of sports facilities and support to sports persons in Delhi', which was tabled in the Delhi Assembly today, indicated that the Directorate of Education (DoE) accorded low priority towards development of sports facilities or activities in the city.
The report also highlighted that Rs 13.22 crore of the planned budget remained unspent during the 2014-17 period.
The audit was conducted during April-June 2017 covering the period from April 2014 to March 2017 by examining the records of the sports branch, planning branch, three district offices, five stadia/ sports complexes and five swimming pools under the DoE.
The National Sports Policy was prepared in 2001. The Delhi Sports Policy was drafted in 2004 by DoE which was approved in 2008, but was subsequently amended in 2009 and 2011. But till July 2017 the policy was not approved.
Regarding the geographic distribution of the sports infrastructure, the report highlighted that the sports facilities were not evenly distributed in all districts".
"Three districts (North East, South West-A and New Delhi) were not having a single sports facility by DoE. West-A district was having four swimming pools and South and North West-B districts were having three each whereas six districts with 7.69 lakh students were not having a single swimming pool under DoE."
Drawing a poor picture of the development of sports complexes and other facilities, the CAG highlighted how the sports complex at Anand Vas which was allotted two plots of land by the education department during March and December 2001, and after spending over Rs 57 lakhs and a lapse of about 14 years, no progress has been made in taking possession of the land despite availability of funds.
Showcasing a lack of urgency on the part of the DoE, the CAG report cited that the activities under the National Service Scheme became a fully funded scheme of the Government of India, but funds could not be released during the 2016-17 as the directorate could not open a separate bank account in time, which was a prerequisite for release of central assistance.
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