New Delhi, April 20 (PTI):Â The Sports Ministry on Wednesday said it will send just two more reminders to those National Sports Federations, who have not yet amended their Constitutions to fall in line with the National Sports Code, before taking “strict action” against them in September.
The ministry has granted recognition to 47 NSFs, including provisional recognition to a few, since the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in Hangzhou are lined up later this year.
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said the decision to grant recognition to big federations was taken keeping in mind the interest of athletes.
Handball, Taekwondo, Volleyball and Karate federations’ recognition has been put on hold while the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) and Indian Golf Union (IGU) have been given provisional recognition and told to follow Sports Code within six months, or lose the NSF status.
“For us an athlete and the sport is important. So we have already given them provisional recognition and allocated budget till September so that athletes don’t suffer,” Thakur said during a media briefing.
“But adhering to the Sports Code is a must and we will send reminders in May to those federations which have not amended their Constitution in line with the Sports Code and then a second reminder in mid July.
“If they don’t fall in line by September, then we will be forced to take strict action,” he added.
The annual recognition is a must for a federation to represent India. Besides, an NSF gets an annual grant of Rs 22 lakh under the scheme of assistance from the ministry for organising various national tournaments.
The briefing was also attended by Sports Secretary Sujata Chaturvedi and Sports Authority of India (SAI) Director General Sandip Pradhan among other ministry officials.
During the briefing, the Sports Secretary also informed that the Anti-Doping Bill will soon see the light of the day.
“The Anti-Doping Bill is coming soon. One of the justifications for bringing the Anti-Doping Bill precisely is that athletes’ rights have to be brought out very clearly in the form of a proper law enacted by the Parliament.
“Once the Anti-Doping Law is in place we will have very transparent rules and regulations in every aspect of the Anti-Doping program,” she said.
