Hisar cricket stadium proposal in limbo over want of land

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, February 25

The proposal to construct an international-level cricket stadium and academy seems to have been stuck due to the non-availability of land for the project. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had made the announcement in this regard on April 8, 2016, during his Hisar visit.

The search for an appropriate piece of land measuring about 76 acres was started soon after the CM made this announcement. Later, a district-level committee was also set up to push forward the proposal. However, nearly eight years later, the proposal seems to be gathering dust in the official files.

Yograj Sharma, a social activist, said he had been pursuing the proposal with the offices of Chief Minister, Home Minister and senior functionaries of the government.

Sharma submitted a memorandum to the Additional Deputy Commissioner Hisar, Neeraj, demanding the transfer of the a piece of land measuring 76 acres owned by the Government Livestock Farm (GLF) to the Municipal Corporation. He said the district administration had formed a committee after the CM’s announcement which identified 73 acres of the GLF land on the Sirsa road in the town. However, the District Sports Officer wrote a letter to the Chief Superintendent of Government Livestock Farm to provide about 70-75 acres of land for the project. However, the GLF Chief Superintendent conveyed to the DSO through a letter in December 2020 that land of such an area (70-75 acres) was not available with it.

In April, 2021, the Executive Engineer of the Municipal Corporation wrote to the Director of Urban Local Bodies at Chandigarh that the civic body was capable of executing the task of setting up a stadium-cum-academy if land and required funds were made available to it.

Sharma said 73 acres of the GLF land in Sirsa was demarcated for the construction of a new Civil Hospital building in Hisar. “However, since the land has not been transferred to the Health Department for construction of a hospital, it should be given to the MCH or the newly formed Hisar Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) for the construction of the cricket stadium and academy,” he urged the district administration.

Cricket coach Baljeet Girdhar, who was also a member in the district administration-formed committee, said they had identified the land on the Sirsa road but there was no further progress in the matter. He said it was a good proposal as there were immense possibilities for sports development, especially cricket, in the region.

It may be recalled that the Chief Minister, during his visit to Hisar on April 8, 2016, had stated that it was a good idea to set up a world class stadium in the town which was likely to cost around Rs 240 crore. The CM also directed officials for a detailed feasibility survey for the project.

Panel was set up

The search for an appropriate piece of land measuring about 76 acres was started soon after the CM made this announcement. Later, a district-level committee was also set up to push forward the proposal. However, nearly eight years later, the proposal seems to be gathering dust in the official files.