Construction of Sports Infrastructure Facilities in Private Sector

What is the grant for sports infrastructure in the private sector?

Construction of Sports Infrastructure Facilities in Private Sector is a grant of the Directorate of Sports, Government of Uttarakhand, the Khel Vibhag: under which the state contributes 25% of the total cost of building a sports facility in the private sector, subject to a ceiling of Rs 50 lakh.

The grant covers nine disciplines: badminton, table tennis, squash, indoor cricket, basketball, volleyball, football, hockey and swimming. Between them these cover the two categories that private promoters in Uttarakhand actually build, indoor court sports (badminton, table tennis, squash, indoor cricket, basketball) and large-footprint outdoor and specialised facilities (volleyball, football, hockey, swimming).

The policy basis lies in the Sports Department's notification number 69/VI-2/2015-33(07)2014 dated 16 January 2015, published on the department's website under the sports policy heading, which deals with promoting sports in the state and providing basic sports infrastructure. The wider frame is the Uttarakhand Sports Policy 2021, which the state cabinet approved to expand the base of sports in the state, and which the department publishes on sports.uk.gov.in.

The reasoning behind a part-grant rather than full funding is straightforward. Uttarakhand has more demand for playing space than the state can build itself, particularly in the plains districts and the larger hill towns. Sharing a quarter of the capital cost makes a private badminton hall or a 25-metre pool viable that would otherwise not be built, while leaving the promoter with the operating risk and the incentive to keep the facility running.

Main features

• 25% of the total construction cost is contributed as a grant.
• Rs 50 lakh is the maximum grant per facility.
• Nine named disciplines are eligible.
• The facility is built and owned in the private sector, not by the government.
• The grant is offline, there is no published online application portal.
• Sanction depends on the budget provision available with the Sports Department in that financial year.

Who is eligible for this sports infrastructure grant?

You can be considered if:

• You are a private promoter, registered club, society, trust, school, college or institution proposing to build a sports facility in Uttarakhand.
• The facility is for one of the nine covered disciplines; badminton, table tennis, squash, indoor cricket, basketball, volleyball, football, hockey or swimming.
• You hold clear ownership or a secure long lease of the site, evidenced by a registered deed or revenue record.
• You can produce a costed construction estimate, since the grant is arithmetically 25% of that total.
• You can fund the remaining 75% from your own resources or a bank loan.
• You can obtain the local building and land-use approvals the site needs.

You are not eligible if:

• The facility is for a discipline outside the nine listed. A shooting range, an athletics track or a cricket ground with a turf wicket is not covered by this particular grant.
• You are seeking a grant for running costs, coaching salaries, equipment or maintenance. This is a construction grant. Equipment support and competition-organising support are separate departmental windows.
• You do not hold the land and are applying against a site you have not acquired or leased.
• You expect the state to fund the whole project. The state share is capped at 25% of cost and at Rs 50 lakh, whichever binds first, so on a Rs 4 crore project the 25% arithmetic yields Rs 1 crore but the ceiling limits the grant to Rs 50 lakh.
• You are an individual player seeking personal financial assistance. Player support runs through the Sports Department's other schemes — scholarships, sports kits, accident insurance, cash awards and the Chief Minister's Sports Development Fund.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the sports infrastructure grant

1. Fix the discipline and the site. Confirm that your proposed facility is for one of the nine covered disciplines and that the site can take the standard playing dimensions for it. A badminton hall, a squash court and a 25-metre pool each have specific clearances that decide whether the project is buildable at all.
2. Get a detailed cost estimate prepared by a qualified engineer or architect, itemising civil works, structure, flooring or pool works, lighting and fittings. The grant is 25% of this total, so the estimate is the single most important document in the file.
3. Assemble the land papers and approvals; registered deed or lease, revenue record, site plan, building permission from the local body or development authority, and any NOC the site requires.
4. Meet the District Sports Officer of your district with the proposal. The district office is the department's first point of contact and will tell you the current format, the checklist and whether budget provision exists this year.
5. Submit the written proposal with the estimate, drawings, land papers, registration of your body, identity and residence proof and bank details, to the District Sports Officer or directly to the Directorate of Sports, Dehradun. Take a dated acknowledgement.
6. Respond to the department's inspection. A departmental team normally inspects the site and verifies the estimate before a sanction is issued.
7. Build and claim against verified expenditure. Grants of this type are released against work actually executed and measured, so keep bills, measurement books and photographs from the start.

What else does the Uttarakhand Sports Department fund?

It is worth knowing the neighbouring windows, because applicants frequently write to the wrong one. According to the department's own grants page:

• Recognised sports federations organising competitions get up to Rs 3.50 lakh for a national-level event, Rs 2.50 lakh for a state-level event and Rs 1.00 lakh for a district-level event.
• Sports committees and clubs organising competitions get up to Rs 1.00 lakh, at par with the district-level rate.
• Individual players buying sports equipment get 75% of the equipment cost, and a divyang player gets 90%, subject to the departmental ceiling.

The department also runs sports hostels, scholarships, sports kit distribution, contract coach appointments, training camps, player accident insurance, out-of-turn government employment for medal winners under Sports Policy 2021, and the Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Khel Ratna and Dronacharya awards.

Where to apply and ask questions

• Directorate of Sports, Uttarakhand: Maharana Pratap Sports College campus, Thano Road, Raipur, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Email directorspots@gmail.com.
• District Sports Officer of your district. The practical first stop for the current checklist and format.
• sports.uk.gov.in, the department's official website, which carries Sports Policy 2021, the government orders and the grant checklists.

The Uttarakhand Sports Department does not publish, on its public website, a separate scheme page, application form, checklist or helpline number for the private-sector sports infrastructure grant, and the underlying 2015 notification is available only as a scanned document. The figures stated here, 25% of cost, maximum Rs 50 lakh, and the list of nine disciplines: are as listed for this scheme on the Government of India's myScheme portal. An intending promoter should confirm the current rate, ceiling, format and budget availability in writing from the District Sports Officer or the Directorate of Sports before committing to construction, and should treat any figure quoted by an intermediary as unverified.