By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 27 Aug: The establishment of the proposed Uttarakhand Sports University in Haldwani has faced a temporary but significant setback. It would be Uttarakhand’s first sports university and was proposed to be set up near the Indira Gandhi International Sports Stadium. The Union Ministry of Forests and Environment has declined to provide approval for land transfer, halting the proposed construction of the project at least for the time being. Sources in the government concede that the state government may have to look for an alternative site to set up the state’s first sports university.
The foundation stone for the university was scheduled to be laid on 29 August on National Sports Day. However, the Union Ministry has written to the state sports department, directing that, before applying for forest land, alternative revenue land must first be explored since the project comes under the “non-site specific” category. With this objection, the much-awaited launch ceremony has been indefinitely postponed.
It may be recalled that the Uttarakhand government had announced the setting up of the sports university several months ago and had earmarked land adjoining the Indira Gandhi International Sports Stadium at Gaulapar in Haldwani.
A bill in this regard was passed by the state assembly and Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Gurmit Singh had also approved the bill in December last year. It was then also claimed that the foundation stone would be laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January this year, which did not happen. The proposal involved utilising forest land, but the union ministry has refused to hand it over for the project. Preparations for the foundation laying ceremony were already underway for 29 August, but the refusal from the ministry has brought the plan to a standstill.
Sources also claim that the state sports department had already obtained recognition for the university from the University Grants Commission. Significantly, the state government had also appointed a Registrar and a Finance Controller for the institution, signalling its readiness to move ahead with the project. However, with the land transfer in limbo, the proposal stands postponed.
It may also be reminded here that the government was planning to set up the university on approximately 13 hectares of land. The government views the sports university as a transformative step that would create new opportunities for the youth of Uttarakhand while also giving athletes from the state a platform to achieve national and international recognition. For, now, however, the ambitious project remains stalled until the land issue is resolved.
