New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) Greater representation for athletes, better coordination between government and private stakeholders and the mandate for a proposed Sports Regulatory Board were some key issues raised by country's elite athletes during a consultation with sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya on the draft National Sports Governance Bill here on Wednesday.
The establishment of the Sports Regulatory Board is one of the key features of the draft bill, and the body will have the authority to grant, renew and suspend affiliation of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and National Sports Federations among others.
It's over-riding powers have already been questioned by IOA President P T Usha, who has warned that its constitution might be construed as government interference by the International Olympic Committee, leading to India's suspension.
As per the draft bill, the national Olympic committee, national sports federations, the national paralympic committee and their affiliates will be annually required to make public disclosure as prescribed by the Sports Regulatory Board.
A source present in Wednesday's meeting with Mandaviya said while several sportspersons and coaches welcomed the move, they demanded more representation in the regulatory body.
The draft bill has provision for just one Khel Ratna and one Dronacharya awardee in the five-member regulatory body, while secretary (sports) will be its chairman and director-general (sports Authority of India) will be its ex-officio member.
The fifth member will be the vice-chancellor of the National Sports University.
"While the proposal to have a regulatory body was welcomed by several of the 130-odd sportspersons and coaches, who attended the meeting in person and virtually, demanded more representation of sportspersons and coaches in it," a source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
While high jumper Tejaswin Shankar, rifle shooter Sift Kaur Samra, former pistol marksman and Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker's coach Jaspal Rana and Ronjan Sodhi, attended the meeting in person, ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, table tennis player A Sharath Kamal, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and woman boxer Nikhat Zareen gave their inputs virtually.
The minister also assured the gathering that the body would be autonomous, the source added.
"The minister was asked about whether the proposed regulatory body would be controlled by the government, to which he said that 'it will be autonomous'. He said that once the body was formed by the government, it would function autonomously.
"When the minister was asked about the powers of the regulatory board, he said it was all defined in the bill."
Another source, who was at the meeting, said that a prominent shooting coach expressed grave concern over national sports federations giving recognition to non-existent state associations to increase their vote bank.
"He told the minister that there are states that are just there for voting rights to get the election results in their favour. He also said that there are certain state units that exist only on paper. He pointed out that these so-call state units have very negligible representation in national championships and national games," said the source.
The source added that a star athlete demanded a framework to ensure better coordination between private entities and government.
"He wanted that all sports federations, industrialists and other stake-holders should sit together and improve sports," the source said.
Currently, major corporates such Jindal, Ambani and Tata are involved in training and managing athletes through their foundations.