Onlykashmir.in News Desk
The Youth Services and Sports Department has taken up 227 sports infrastructure projects across Jammu and Kashmir, involving a cumulative investment of over ₹500 crore, in what officials describe as one of the most ambitious pushes yet to expand grassroots sporting facilities across the Union Territory.
The projects, comprising 210 new works under Capex and 17 under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme, were reviewed during a meeting chaired by Commissioner Secretary, Youth Services and Sports Department, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, in Jammu. The meeting took stock of sports infrastructure, ongoing capital works, Centrally Sponsored Schemes and broader initiatives aimed at strengthening sports and youth engagement across the region.
Officials informed the meeting that around ₹160 crore has already been released to the concerned Heads of Departments and executing agencies against these projects. Dr Choudhary directed the agencies involved to expedite tendering and execution while maintaining quality standards and adhering strictly to approved timelines, underscoring the department’s intent to avoid the delays that have historically slowed similar capital works in the region.
The meeting also reviewed a district-wise roadmap for the expansion and upgradation of sports infrastructure, with particular emphasis on equitable access, athlete development and better utilisation of existing facilities. Officials were directed to map and geotag sports assets across the Union Territory and identify infrastructure gaps, with special attention to border, remote, hilly, tribal and other underserved areas that have traditionally lagged behind urban centres in access to sporting facilities.
On the workforce side, the department was informed that formalities for the proposed regularisation of around 1,800 Rehbar-e-Khel (ReKs), community-level sports instructors engaged under the scheme, are at an advanced stage, while a separate proposal covering another 500 ReKs has been submitted to the Finance Department for consideration. Dr Choudhary directed that the regularisation process be pursued on priority, subject to the completion of statutory and financial formalities, and also called for time-bound action on the career progression and regularisation of Physical Education Masters, Zonal Physical Education Officers and Physical Education Lecturers, categories of sports staff who have long sought clarity on their service conditions.
The Commissioner Secretary stressed that sports infrastructure investment must be closely linked with coaching, talent identification, competitions and athlete development, arguing that infrastructure alone cannot build a stronger grassroots sports ecosystem without a parallel pipeline connecting young athletes to structured training and competitive opportunities.
