PANAJI
The curious case of Rs 2.68 crore spent to develop a baseball ground at Campal in Panaji for the 37th National Games but there being nothing on the ground to show for it, is snowballing into a major political slugfest between Sports Minister Govind Gaude and his predecessor Manohar (Babu) Ajgaonkar.
The money was disbursed to the contractor but there is no baseball ground anywhere in Campal. It went unnoticed when Goa hosted the National Games last year because the discipline did not feature in it as it was dropped at the eleventh hour by the Indian Olympic Association for other reasons.
This baseball ground for the National Games was to be equipped with all facilities, including seating arrangements for spectators, apart from the playing arena. Additionally, a digital scoreboard was also to be set up as per the conditions of the tender.
On record, Rs 2.68 crore was disbursed by the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) but there is no baseball field to show at Campal.
Additionally, another Rs 6.94 lakh was to be paid to a consultant for providing technical consultancy services for the construction of the playground. Of this Rs 3.91 lakh has been disbursed.
This record of money having been disbursed by the SAG for developing the baseball ground is contained in a written answer provided to the Goa legislative assembly by Gaude during the monsoon session held in July last year.
It is part of a detailed answer Gaude gave to a query raised by Aldona MLA Carlos Alvares-Ferreira and Fatorda MLA, Vijai Sardesai pertaining to money spent for infrastructure facilities for the National Games.
Meanwhile, the Goa Baseball Association, which otherwise regularly receives grants from the SAG did not however get any funding for two consecutive years “ 2022-23 and 2023-24. It only got funding to the tune of Rs 1.9 lakh from the SAG in 2021-22.
The Association maintains a boys and girls team, but has no baseball playing field anywhere in spite of which they have consistently performed brilliantly at the national level and won several medals.
According to some members of the Goa baseball senior team, they set up a temporary field in Bambolim or other parts of the State to practice and play the sport.
Will inquire into funds spent, says Gaude;
If there’s scam, needs to be probed: Babu
PANAJI: Sports Minister Govind Gaude said he will inquire into this issue of money spent on a baseball ground but the playfield is nowhere in sight at Campal.
Gaude said the construction of the ground began much before he became Sports Minister and he will be in a position to give details only after inquiring into it.
“Work on the baseball field in Campal started before I became a minister. The tenders issued for this, the goods taken, all the transactions were done before I became the sports minister. I have spoken to the concerned officials and ordered an inquiry,” Gaude said.
Gaude’s predecessor, Manohar (Babu) Ajgaonkar, during whose tenure the baseball ground was purportedly tendered and money disbursed to the contractor, meanwhile, said that if there is any scam, it should be investigated.
“If there are any lapses, appropriate action should be taken,” Ajgaonkar said, adding that the work on the baseball field at Campal had indeed started during his tenure.
