Bhubaneswar, (Asian independent) Ahead of hosting the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2023, the Odisha government has enhanced the funding for development of sports infrastructure at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, the two venues for the mega event.
The state Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took this decision on Thursday. The estimated cost for the project has been enhanced from Rs 432.45 crore to Rs 875.78 crore, said Chief Secretary S.C. Mahapatra.
Out of the revised project completion cost, the Cabinet approved funding of Rs 562.58 crore from the budgetary allocation of the state government, spreading across three financial years starting 2020-21, he said.
The remaining amount is to be funded through District Mineral Foundation (DMF) Sundargarh, Odisha Sports Development Fund (OSDF) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund, he said, adding that the entire project is scheduled to be completed by December 2022.
After the initiation of the project, based on site conditions and technical vetting by experts, including from IIT Bombay, there was upgradation of the design and safety parameters to make the structures disaster resilient. Therefore, the funding has been enhanced, sources said.
The Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium is being constructed at Rourkela with a seating capacity of 20,000, which will make it the largest hockey stadium in India.
Similarly, the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar is being upgraded with various facilities like India’s first indoor athletics stadium, indoor aquatic centre, tennis court, high-performance centre for hockey, accommodation facilities etc.
To promote sports among the youth, the Odisha government has also decided to reserve 15 per cent seats in government physical education colleges for students staying in government sports hostels.
