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New sports policy to be implemented in Punjab soon: Minister
Punjab sports minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on Tuesday said that the new sports policy being prepared by the sports department will be completed and implemented this year.
Chandigarh Punjab sports minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on Tuesday said that the new sports policy being prepared by the sports department will be completed and implemented this year.
The minister stated this after a marathon meeting here to discuss the draft policy. In the three-hour-long meeting with the committee of senior officers and experts, it was emphasised that work should be done to create a sports environment in Punjab. The draft policy proposes that players should get jobs and cash prizes. The policy also proposes expansion of the scope of sports tournaments towards awarding cash prizes, finding new talent and providing budding players with a good platform and making schools and colleges the hub of sports, besides starting awards for coaches, according to an official release.
At present, Haryana offers the highest cash prize for excellence in sports in the region. While Haryana offers ₹6 cr for an Olympics gold, Punjab offers ₹2.5 cr. Similarly for silver and bronze medals at the Olympics, Haryana offers ₹4 cr and ₹2.5cr, respectively. Punjab currently offers ₹1.5 cr and ₹1 cr for silver and bronze medals in Olympics, respectively. There is a vast difference in cash prizes for Asian Games and other international events as well.
There is also a proposal to give priority in jobs to the sportsmen who have excelled at national and international levels. Emphasis will be placed on recruiting new coaches in the department and approval was given in principle to start a state award for coaches on the lines of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award given to players. It was deliberated that Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award should be given every year.
Principal secretary, sports, Raj Kamal Chaudhuri, director, sports, Rajesh Dhiman, DPI (colleges) Rajiv Gupta, members of the expert committee Ex-DGP Rajdeep Singh Gill, Dronacharya awardee Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu and many others were also present at the meeting.
