The state government will enact a new sports law to prevent allotting sports facilities and stadiums for non-sports activities in the state, said Sports Minister K B Ganesh Kumar at a press meet in Thrissur on Friday.
As part of prohibiting the use of sports stadiums for any purpose other than sports, the government will also amend the existing Kerala Sports Act and the amended Kerala Sports Act and the draft of the new law will be placed before the Assembly in the next session, he said.
After framing the new sports law, no stadiums in the state will be provided for non-sports activities, the Minister said.
In the district and state sports councils, sports persons, who had participated in the state and national events, will be appointed as the executive members. No one from outside the sports circle would be appointed as executives of the sports councils henceforth, the Minister said.
The state government has earmarked `1 crore for promoting and constructing badminton courts in the state. Residents association can apply for constructing badminton courts and the government would provide four cents of land in this regard, he said. Eight lakh rupees will be given for constructing each badminton courts, he said.
As part of Swim and Survive programme, the government has issued purchase order to buy five more portable swimming pools, each pool costing Rs 4 lakh, in the state. In Kottayam, 500 school students of a school were given a three-month training using the facility.
The Thrissur Corporation stadium will be developed as a football stadium and a synthetic football turf will be constructed in the stadium at a cost of Rs 4.50 crore, the Minister said.
In the first phase, an eight-line athletic track would also be constructed around the turf which would be elevated as synthetic athletic track in future, he said.
The women’s football events will be held here as part of the 35th National Games.
In reply to a question on proposed Puthur Zoological Park, the Minister said that the Department required a sum of Rs 10 crore to begin the first phase of the work.
“But the government has allotted only Rs 5 crore for the project so we have requested the NABARD to provide financial assistance for the project,” he said.