Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu today chaired 57th General Body cum 133rd Standing Committee meeting of J&K Sports Council here at the Raj Bhavan.Sh. Farooq Khan, Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor; Sh. BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Sh. Arun Kumar Mehta, Financial Commissioner Financial Commissioner, Finance Department; Sh. Bipul Pathak, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor; Sh. Sarmad Hafeez, Special Secretary to the Government, Youth Services and Sports department; Dr Saleem ur Rehman, Director General, Youth Services and Sports; Dr Naseem Javaid Choudhary, Secretary, J&K Sports Council, besides other senior officers attended the meeting, in person and through video conferencing.Advisor to the Lt Governor, Farooq Khan apprised the chair about the organizational structure and administrative set up of the J&K Sports Council and briefed him about various initiatives undertaken by the Sports Council to promote sports amongst the youth, and other such important matters related to the development of sports sector in J&K. A brief discussion was also held on existing human resources available with the J&K Sports Council.Terming J&K’s sports infrastructure as among the best in the country, the Lt Governor called for bringing policy reforms for proper maintenance of the sports infrastructure in the UT. He stressed on developing sports infrastructure at the grass root level in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. “Highlight success stories and all the positives in the sports arena of J&K to engage youth with sports related activities”, he added.He also called for bringing a coffee table book to highlight the activities of the Sports department during the last year.
On promoting water sports in the UT, the Lt Governor observed that Jammu and Kashmir has a unique advantage in terms of huge resources of water bodies and mountain ranges. He stressed on taking comprehensive measures, besides involving corporates to give a boost to the development of Water and Adventure Sports in J&K. He directed for preparation of DPR in this regard.The Chair was informed about various ongoing sports infrastructure development projects in J&K including water sports at Nehru Park, Dalgate, Srinagar and Ranjit Sagar Lake, Basohli, Kathua. The Lt Governor issued directions for accelerating the work on these projects.Emphasizing on strict enforcement of New Recruitment Rules, the Lt Governor asked the concerned to adopt the changes in recruitment process as per the new rules and further asked them to ensure that the Adhocism is done away with. He directed for inclusion of non-official members in the Council to make it comprehensive, inclusive and vibrant.The Lt Governor appreciated sports activities and infrastructure developmental programmes executed during 2018-19 and 2019-20 by J&K Sports Council. He commended the efforts put in by all the stakeholders for the successful conduct of the Winter Sports Festival in the UT early this year, which also received appreciation from the Union Sports Minister, Kiren Rijiju. He also congratulated the sports persons from J&K for putting up excellent performances at National and International level, despite various difficulties.The Lt Governor desired more youth interactions and festivals to inculcate a sense of unity among the youth of the UT. He stressed on holding more inter village, inter district and inter province tournaments to nurture the sporting talent among the youth in a more professional manner.The Lt Governor also directed for submission of proposal for the establishment of 03 sports academies in the UT. He further directed for proper fencing and boundary walls of the ongoing sports infrastructural projects.