SHILLONG: Independent legislator John Leslee Sangma on Tuesday sought the status of the proposed football stadium in Tura.
Replying to the question, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Zenith Sangma said the proposal for construction of the stadium was submitted in 2014-15 for seeking fund from DoNER, but the same is yet to be approved.
Leslee pointed out that as many as 45 projects were scrapped by DoNER to accommodate Ampati and Tura stadiums, at the cost of Rs 40 crore each, and Performing Arts Centre in Shillong for Rs 165 crore.
He wanted to know whether these three projects were approved. In reply, Zenith said out of the three projects posted to the DoNER Ministry, the proposal for football stadium in Shillong was dropped since the cost was high (Rs 180 crore) and those for the stadiums in Ampati and Tura were retained.
“For Tura stadium, after the detailed project report was submitted to the DoNER Ministry, the Government located land at Asibra, which belonged to Atul Marak, but later litigation related to the land delayed the process and the Government is now trying to find an alternate site,” Zenith said. Leslee, however, pointed that Asibra was not part of Tura and the ideal site would have been any area within Tura town. But Zenith asserted that Asibra was well within Tura.
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said the stadium is an important project and it will be a game changer. “The proposed stadium in Tura or any of the places in the district capital is for the whole district,” he added.
Leslee said a big stadium at Adokre, which was constructed in the past, was neglected by the Government. “The land for the stadium was donated by our family for the youth of Tura, but I want to draw the attention of the Government to the plight of the stadium,” he added.
