Minister says State earned revenue, got publicity
SHILLONG: Nongthymmai MLA Jemino Mawthoh on Wednesday questioned the State government for spending Rs 90 lakh during the Chief Minister’s Open Golf Tournament held in the city in 2014.
Moving a cut motion in the Assembly on Wednesday, Mawthoh said the prize money in the tournament was Rs 40 lakh, besides additional Rs 50 lakh was also spent on the tournament from the Chief Minister’s Youth Development Scheme.
Stating that sports lovers in the State on many occasions do not get assistance from the State government for sporting activities, Mawthoh lamented that the MLAs are provided with a paltry amount of Rs 2.5 lakh in a year for implementing various sporting activities in their respective constituencies.
In reply, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Zenith Sangma said the tournament was organised with the objective of promoting golf tourism in and it has helped in generating interest among golf aficionados from across the country. “Shillong Golf Course is the biggest natural golf course in Asia but it is yet to be discovered by golfers and the tournament gave a lot of publicity and exposure to Shillong,” he said.
Zenith informed that around 200 golfers who participated in the event visited Shillong with their families during the event and stayed in hotels, which resulted in generation of revenue for the State by way of taxes. He further added that the tournament indirectly generated many benefits for the State and in future more golfers would head towards Meghalaya to participate in tournaments.
Lamenting that the funds provided to the MLAs under Intensive Sports and Youth Development Programme (ISYDP) is indeed meagre, Sangma said there are innumerable sports associations and clubs in the State and it is difficult for the government to assess how much fund is required for the groups.
The minister also added that the government has created a District Sports Promotion Society in all the districts, hence clubs and associations can approach the Society for assistance while organising sporting events in their respective districts.
Stating that substantial funds have been earmarked for different districts, he, however, rued that the funds meant for sporting events are lying unutilised in many districts, like in East Khasi Hills where over Rs 1 crore is lying unutilised.
