Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma 'optimistic' that infrastructure for 2022 National Games will be ready ahead of schedule

Shillong: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday said that the details of the Athletes’ Village for the 2022 National Games will be finalised next month. The state is racing against time as the 36-month countdown to the National Games is already on. [caption id=“attachment_4294071” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma. Twitter @sangmaconrad[/caption] “We will be finalising the Games Village and the designs in December. Depending on the designs, we will know the expense required,” the Chief Minister told PTI, at the sidelines of a National Games summit held at the state convention. He said as of now the state is optimistic that infrastructure for the Games will be completed ahead of the scheduled time. The Chief Minister also informed that the state is looking at Central funds to the tune of Rs 640 crore from different ministries for the construction of infrastructure. “Right now we are looking at Rs 200 crore from the social justice ministry, Rs 70 crore for the PA Sangma stadium, Rs 150-200 crore for the JN Stadium,” he said. He said that the state was also entitled some funds under Article 275. “We get about Rs 50 crore every year from the Tribal Affairs Ministry and another Rs 50 crore from the Tribal sub-plan scheme every year. Another Rs 70 crore from the NEC and another Rs 70 crore from the DoNER ministry is also there,” he informed. The Chief Minister was optimistic that some funds from the Minority Affairs Ministry will also be released and this amount will be utilized for sports infrastructure. Earlier, addressing at the National Games Outreach summit, the Chief Minister said the National Games in Meghalaya will be successful and expressed confidence that it will boost the confidence of the sportspersons in the state. “10 years after the Games were held in Manipur and another 10 years after the Games were held in Assam, athletes in these states excelled in the international arena. I hope the National Games here will help our sportsmen and women achieve the limelight,” he said.