Sports equipment recovered in raid

Items were kept by GHMC official for resale

During a surprise inspection at the Moghalpura GHMC Sports Complex, a senior officer found sports equipment worth `30 lakh stacked in a locked room. There is an allegation that some people in charge of the facility were planning to sell it. The equipment was meant for public use. The room has been sealed and the facility in-charge suspended.

A source said that this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The modus operandi of the facility officer is to submit a list of equipment needed. After securing the material, it is stacked in a room and sold. The undistributed material found at Moghalpura was the second batch intended for resale.

A senior officer on condition of anonymity said, “The material is supposed to reach players, gymnasiums and for use at the sports complex, playground and camps. However, it was kept stacked. The facility incharge was planning to resell them. The GHMC sports department does not have regular staff (mostly on contract). There is no monitoring system, the records are manual and there is no online update of purchases.”

A player, who represents the GHMC Basketball team said, “Most of the coaches are on contract. The trainers are hand in glove with the facility managers and get access to materials, while those who don’t have connections never get a chance to use the material. Players are asked to get their own gear. The GHMC has allocated funds for purchase of material for public use. As the facility in-charge is paid very less (between `5000-`7000), they try to earn by selling the material.”

The GHMC has 174 gym halls in its 150 divisions and 15 sports complexes. Meanwhile, in May this year, the sports wing earned a revenue of `1 crore through its Pay & Use and Pay & Play schemes at all its sports facilities. The GHMC is renting out 521 playgrounds, 14 sports complexes and seven swimming pools to educational institutions, individuals and companies. The charges depend on time and the game.