SHILLONG: Meghalaya Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Weiladmiki Shylla has announced that the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, along with the Minister of State and top sports officials from Delhi, will be visiting Shillong on May 28 and 29 to participate in a high-level meeting.
Shylla shared that while he has received verbal confirmation regarding the visit, the official written communication is still awaited.
The upcoming meeting will revolve around the ‘My Bharat’ initiative, which has a footprint across various states.
This specific conference will focus on the Eastern Zone, bringing together representatives from all the Northeastern states as well as Odisha and West Bengal.
The Sports Minister also informed that a team of officials from Shillong traveled to Delhi last week to hold deliberations with the Union Sports Ministry regarding the renewal of a long-standing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
He noted that it has been nearly seven to eight years since the agreement was signed, making it necessary to rectify certain errors and update terms that have become outdated over time.
Following discussions with the Union Minister, Shylla stated that the formal signing for the renewal of this agreement is slated to take place on May 30 or 31 right here in Shillong.
Regarding the ongoing preparation of stadiums and sports infrastructure, Shylla assured that the work is progressing at a brisk pace.
This follows consecutive inspection visits by various delegations from the Central Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association.
The central teams expressed immense satisfaction with the state’s preparedness after assessing the available venues. The Minister added that adequate outdoor stadiums and indoor halls have been properly arranged for different sporting disciplines, and the state possesses enough fields to meet any additional requirements.
Furthermore, Shylla revealed that during a recent cabinet meeting, the state government approved a total estimated budget of approximately Rs 600 crore to fund the infrastructure developments.
As of now, the entire expenditure is being drawn exclusively from the state’s own exchequer.
While the state government continues to closely pursue financial assistance from the Union Sports Ministry, the Minister stated he cannot give any definitive assurances on central funding at the moment since the final decision rests with New Delhi.
Consequently, the state government is confidently moving forward using its own allocated budget.
