Sports complex members served dues recovery notice in Greater Noida

Greater Noida authority additional chief executive officer Prerna Sharma said expert agencies and coaches will be hired for the sports complex before the end of March

Athletes and members of Vijay Singh Pathik sports complex have sent a written complaint to the Greater Noida authority after the sports complex received a notice from the authority seeking recovery of annual maintenance charges.

Members of the sports complex said the Greater Noida authority has not even provided basic services, so it has no ground to seek maintenance charges.

“We received a notice from the authority in January seeking payment of ₹4,500 annual maintenance charges. But if the authority could not select an agency to operate the sports facilities, then why does it want to recover maintenance charges? All facilities such as swimming pool, skating rink, football ground and shooting range are in a dilapidated state. We will soon start a protest if this situation continues,” said Manjit Singh, a former hockey player and member of the sports complex.

However, Greater Noida authority additional chief executive officer Prerna Sharma said expert agencies and coaches will be hired for the sports complex before the end of March.Sharma said, “We have issued notices to 700 members to recover maintenance charges because we need funds to maintain and run this huge facility. And we have opened the facility for members and soon, coaches and experts will join too.”

Greater Noida’s state-of-the art sports facility, Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik sports complex, spread across 39 acres built at a cost of ₹130 crore, was ready in 2015 and was supposed to open in 2016. However, the authority could not find a professional agency to run it, so it has not been opened to the public till now. Now, the authority has again issued tenders to finalise the agencies which can operate the sports facilities.

The authority said it will hire agencies and coaches for all different sports such as swimming, cricket, tennis, gym, basketball, volleyball, skating, shooting, football and boxing in the next 1-2 months.

“It took time to finalise the names of the agencies because it involves a lot of paperwork. The authority issued tenders and invited bids and then resolves their queries in pre-bidding process. Now, many reputed expert sports agencies have shown interest in working at the complex,” said Sharma.

Harendra Bhati, a member of the sports complex, said, “Last year, we held a protest against the authority to get our membership cards. Then, the authority assured us that the sports complex will be open for use by March-end, 2022. But even now, the authority is making hollow promises. Without coaches, why do players even need this facility.”