Chieftains see red over 'Lollipop'

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">NEW DELHI: The mere 10 per cent hike in the sports budget (it was originally even less) for 2005-06 has obviously made heads of the sports federations see red. They are worried about the likely impact of the financial squeeze on the athletes'' training programme for next year''s Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.<br /><br />The total allocation for youth and sports affair for the concerned year is 439 crore rupees - up from previous year''s 400 crore.For 2005-06, sports will receive an amount of 312.79 crore, which is a marginal increase over last year''s budget estimate of 281.38 crore. The revised budget was 269.48 crore in 2004-05.<br /><br />Surprisingly, the area where reforms were desperately needed has yet again been overlooked.(See Box) Each year, the budget takes away a big chunk (almost half for 2005-06) for Sports Authority of India. This money will be spent mostly on non-sporting things - on the salaries for SAI''s huge staff and personnel all over the country, besides meeting a few routine expenditures on the upkeep of some of the stadiums, which is also an unnecessary burden.<br /><br />TNN spoke to some top sports administrators. Their reactions:<br /><br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">It was initially just a 7 per cent hike and was later increased to 10. It pales in comparison to the increase in most other sectors. It seems nobody in the sports ministry was keen to safeguard the interest of our sportspersons and on improving our standing in the world </span>- <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">VK Malhotra</span>, president of Archery Association of India and BJP leader.<br /><br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Actually, the amount has gone down and I think some of the heads have disappeared. We had great expectations that because of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, there would be new momentum. We will meet the finance minister</span> - <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Suresh Kalmadi</span>, president of IOA<br /><br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">The slight increase means absolutely nothing for winning medals at the international level. The hike is just like a lollipop. If you''re thinking at the Olympic level, forget about the results</span> - <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Baljit Singh Sethi</span>, secretary-general of National Rifle Association of India.</div> </div>