New Delhi: The West Bengal government has issued a show-cause notice to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) with a demand to explain failure to complete its National Centre of Excellence (NCE) with a stadium and academy within stipulated time-frame.
As per the state government’s cabinet’s decision on October 30, 2017, the AIFF had received a 15 acre plot in Rajarhat, Kolkata, on a 99-year lease at a token premium of Rs 1 and a token annual lease rent of Rs 1 to build its NCE.
The lease was registered on June 6, 2018, and possession handed over on June 21 of that year, under the condition that the AIFF should commence construction within six months and complete construction and fully commission the project within 36 months from the date of delivery of possession as per terms of clause in the deed of lease.
But through a letter on May 13, West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd’s (HIDCO) general manager (commercial) Subhas Sinha pointed out that, “…it has been found in a recent inspection that no Football stadium has been constructed and it appears that the project is far from completion even after nearly 7 years of delivery of possession.
“Whereas, non-utilisation of government allotted land within the prescribed period constitutes a violation of the terms and conditions of allotment as mentioned in the Deed of Lease and attracts action, including cancellation of allotment and resumption of unutilised land by the lessee.
“Accordingly, I am directed to call upon you to show cause in writing within 7 (seven) days from the receipt of this notice as to why cancellation of allotment and resumption of possession thereof should not be initiated against AIFF for non-utilisation of the allotted land.
“Failure to respond within the stipulated period will be construed as your inability to comply with the terms of allotment, and appropriate action shall be taken by WBHIDCO, the lessor without any further reference.”
Apart from the government letter, multiple complaints have been raised internally regarding the project though AIFF’s deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan insisted that “everything in on track now”.
‘Committed to the cause’
The federation received the letter on May 14 and took seven days to respond, with Satyanarayan informing that the AIFF remains “fully committed” to completing the project as envisaged and would like to “reaffirm our sincere intent” and ongoing efforts towards fulfilling this vision.
It was mentioned that the AIFF have already made “significant financial and operational investments” and football facilities were already available at the plot despite “unforeseen delays” outside its control.
News9 Sports is in possession of both the correspondence, which discloses that a total of Rs 33.69 crore has been pumped in towards construction and development of the project so far, with world governing body FIFA putting in Rs 16.66 crore and the Asian Football Federation allocating Rs 6.56 crore.
As “capital expenditure”, the AIFF have invested Rs 5.50 crore along with an additional Rs 4.96 crore as “common expenditure”.
The AIFF’s National Centre of Excellence is built on a 15 acre plot in Rajarhat, Kolkata. Photo: @IndianFootball
In addition to this financial investment, several key components of the project have already been completed and are operational, the AIFF said, including the technical centre building, a natural grass football pitch, and an artificial turf, which are utilised by the men’s and women’s national teams and academy cadets.
Coaching license courses, talent identification trials, referee and coach workshops are also held, the AIFF said, while attaching photographic evidence relating to such activities, also mentioning that top clubs including reigning Indian Super League champions Mohun Bagan and East Bengal conduct training sessions or camps “from time to time” while first-division matches of the Calcutta Football League are also held.
“These efforts reflect our active and ongoing use of the Allotted Plot for and solely towards the permitted purposes pending the Project’s final completion,” Satyanarayan said.
Various reasons for delay
The AIFF though admitted that an “unfortunate delay” in completing the project but blamed it on “unavoidable delays” arising from impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020-2022).
“Between 2020 and 2022 there were nationwide lockdowns and significant restrictions on movement, labour and supply chains, as mandated by governmental authorities.
“As a result of the same, activities relating to the construction of the facilities at the Allotted Plot came to a complete halt, and no significant progress was made during this period,” Satyanarayan wrote.
Apart from the global slowdown, Supreme Court’s directives in May 2022 to remove the then-existing AIFF administration and appointed a Committee of Administrators (CoA) to manage the affairs on an ad-hoc basis and conduct fresh elections, alongwith suspension of India’s membership by FIFA on August 14, 2022, for third-party interference in governance, a leadership transition and recurring monsoon conditions were indicated as causes for delay.
With regards to the plot’s current status, the AIFF said most of the major issues that prevented resumption of construction have been resolved and a contract for construction of an additional football pitch has been awarded.
“We have also commenced construction of a thirty six (36) bed accommodation block, which is an extension of the existing infrastructure and enables the AIFF to plan year-round residential training camps (Football Academy),” Satyanarayan said.
As these efforts display AIFF’s “active and ongoing” use of the facilities towards the intended objectives and a “demonstrated intent” to complete the project “as soon as feasible”, HIDCO was requested to “allow and grant a reasonable extension” to enable the completion of the project.
The AIFF had faced an obstacle regarding the tender process for new constructions. “But we have overcome all challenges and work will begin when the monsoonal rainfall stops,” Satyanarayan told News9 Sports, adding that HIDCO is yet to reply to AIFF’s response.