Bihar News: Playgrounds will be ready soon in 8018 out of 8053 Panchayats

The Bihar government is enhancing sports infrastructure by developing playgrounds in panchayats, constructing stadiums, and launching scholarships to nurture athletic talent. Key projects include Khelo India proposals and the establishment of Bihar Sports University.

Besides, it has taken umpteen schemes to inculcate sporting culture and promote athletes of the state.

Strengthening the infrastructure at grassroot level i.e. in villages, the government has set its eyes on completing playgrounds in all the panchayats of the state so that budding athletes could utilise the infrastructure to practice and hone their skills. Out of 8053 panchayats, playgrounds will be ready soon in 8018 panchayats. Of this, 3079 playgrounds have been prepared under MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) while the work is currently underway to prepare the 5742 playgrounds at panchayat level.

Of the 20926 applications that BSSA has received so far, 9682 applications have been received for the constitution of collective sports clubs while 10,380 applications have been received for constitution of private clubs whereas 333 applications for collective sports clubs and 531 for private clubs have been received from urban local bodies.

Emphasis on developing sports infrastructure

Every divisional headquarters in the state will feature an international-standard indoor stadium allowing athletes to train year-round, no matter the weather. A total of 25 Khel Bhawans have already been completed so far at district level, providing athletes throughout the state with well-equipped training centres.

A Rs 100 crore sports complex will be developed at Punpun, near Patna. The process for land acquisition is currently underway. The land for constructing sports complex at Purnea and Saharsa have been identified. During the Pragati Yatra, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had announced for the development of sports infrastructure at Purnea and Saharsa. The proposal to build sports infrastructure in these two districts has got the administrative approval.

The land for developing sports facilities at Darbhanga division has already been identified and DPR is being prepared for the project while the lands of MIT and Tilka Manjhi University have been identified for developing sports facilities for Tirhut division and Bhagalpur division respectively, but sports authority has not got “NOC” from the authorities concerned.

Khelo India Infrastructure Building

A total of 116 proposals from different districts worth Rs 930.50 crore have been sent to the Central government under ‘Khelo India’ scheme for the latter’s approval.

Outdoor stadium built at Block level

The government has set a target of constructing outdoor stadium in every Block of the state under Mukhya Mantri Khel Vikas Yojana. Under the scheme, out of 374 approved stadiums, 252 stadiums have been built completely while the work on 64 stadiums is currently under progress whereas the work could not begin in 58 other stadiums. Of the remaining 198 blocks, the government has sanctioned construction of 61 block level stadiums out of 169 proposals that it received so far.

Athletes getting sports scholarship

The Nitish Kumar government has started sports scholarship scheme for the talented athletes of the state to realise pursue their dreams and become national and international champions. BSSA is running the scheme under which Rs 7.15 crore were given as sports scholarships among 128 athletes in 2024-25.

‘Mashaal’: The biggest talent hunt competition

The Bihar government has started the world’s largest talent hunt competition titled ‘Mashaal’ in the field of sports at the very nascent age among school children. The idea is to identify, promote, nurture and hone children’s sporting skills in five sporting disciplines with a view to prepare them to participate in games played at international level. The scheme- which is organised for under 14 and under 16 for boys and girls of government schools- provides high level training, coaching and nutritious food. More than 50 lakh children of 37,000 schools are participating in the talent search competition.

Bihar Sports University

The government has set up Bihar Sports University, Rajgir which is the state’s first and country’s sixth sports university. The university will be functional from the 2025-26 session. It will offer degree and diploma programs, creating opportunities for aspiring athletes, coaches, and sports scientists to gain formal education in their fields. The University will introduce undergraduate, postgraduate and diploma programmes in physical education, sports coaching, sports sciences, and related disciplines.

Moinul Haque Stadium to be redeveloped

Moinul Haque Stadium will be redeveloped for which an MoU has been signed with BCCI.

Modern Sports Complex at Rajgir

The government has constructed a modern sports complex at Rajgir, spread over an area of 90 acres at a cost of 750 crore. It boasts both indoor and outdoor stadiums that have the facility of hosting sports events across 24 disciplines with facilities for 14 outdoor and 10 indoor games. These measures would help Bihar in making its presence felt at international level.