Funds for stadiums in MLA seats hiked to Rs 10 cr

CHENNAI: The mini stadium project in every MLA constituency, one of the dream projects of former Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, has been upgraded with additional funds, according to an announcement by Sports Development Minister Aadhav Arjuna in the Assembly on Tuesday.

Aadhav claimed that the scheme has been halted for restructuring and remodelling purposes.

During Zero Hour, around 23 MLAs raised queries about sports infrastructure in their respective constituencies. DMK MLAs Durai Chandrasekaran and Siva V Meyyanathan raised questions about the status of the mini stadium scheme, which was inaugurated during the DMK regime.

Replying to them, Minister Aadhav said the Rs 3 crore budget allocation for each mini stadium was insufficient to build proper stadiums. "The government is restructuring and remodelling the mini stadium scheme, with a budget allocation of Rs 10 crore to Rs 12 crore. But the locations of the stadiums will not be changed," Minister Aadhav said.

The government also plans to construct an international stadium in each district. Appealing to the MLAs, the minister said they could allocate their constituency development funds to school infrastructure, including toilet facilities, rather than stadiums.

Alleging that the mini stadium in Karur had not been constructed properly, the minister said the running track had been completely damaged due to the lower budget allocation. "Owing to the lower budget allocation, the running track was completely damaged in Karur. The government has decided to select one school in each district and develop it as a model school with all sports infrastructure," the minister said.