Telangana among most poorly funded states under Khelo India scheme

As against Rs 855.16 crore spent under the scheme so far, Telangana, despite the State having a tremendous talent pool of young sportspersons, received only a meagre Rs 6.6 crore

Hyderabad: That the BJP government at the Centre continues with its indifferent attitude towards Telangana State is evident even from the funding for promotion of sports under Khelo India scheme launched in October 2017. As against Rs 855.16 crore spent under the scheme so far, Telangana, despite the State having a tremendous talent pool of young sportspersons, received only a meagre Rs 6.6 crore.

In response to a question raised by TRS MP Badugula Lingaiah Yadav, Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday that over the last four financial years, the Centre had spent around Rs 855.16 crore for developing sports infrastructure and organising events for promotion of sports under Khelo India scheme.

Telangana is among the most poorly-funded States under the Khelo India scheme. The Union government released only Rs 6.6 crore to Telangana State over four years. Except for Rs 6.5 crore released in 2017-18 and Rs 10 lakh in 2018-19, the State had received no funds in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years.

Not surprisingly, priority was given to northern States while the five south Indian States received a total amount of Rs 90.36 crore during the four years. While Karnataka received the highest funding amounting to Rs 34.43 crore, Kerala, where the Assembly elections are scheduled to be held next month, received Rs 21.65 crore. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh got Rs 14 crore and Rs 13.78 crore.

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