Guidelines for Establishing Amma Rural Youth Sports Centre in Village Panchayats

What the document governs

Government Order G.O. (Ms.) No. 46 of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (CGS.1) Department, dated 21 February 2020, provides for Amma Rural Youth Sports Centres in Village Panchayats. The programme uses the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to develop rural playgrounds.

Key provisions include:

• Sanction for 12,524 sports centres, one in each of the 12,524 Village Panchayats.
• A volleyball court, kabadi court and either a cricket pitch or badminton court at each centre.
• Financial sanction is subject to release of the Central Government share.
• The annexed guidelines propose at least one centre per Village Panchayat and allow additional centres depending on Panchayat size and land availability.

Land and site selection

The Village Panchayat must identify a suitable site in consultation with the Village Administrative Officer and local youth. The site must not be low lying or waterlogged, and an elevated surface should be chosen.

An Amma Rural Youth Sports Centre should be placed on unobjectionable poromboke land or poromboke land vested with the Panchayat, preferably near habitations and with enough space. If such land is unavailable, the centre may be located in a Government Panchayat Union school.

Courts do not have to be in one location. They may be split between sites according to available land and local needs. The document does not provide for locating a centre on privately owned land.

Approval process

The Assistant Engineer, Junior Engineer or Overseer must inspect the proposed site and submit a feasibility report to the Block Development Officer. The proposal requires Grama Sabha approval and scrutiny by a District Level Committee headed by the District Collector.

The District Collector grants administrative sanction after the District Level Committee approves the site. Playground infrastructure must also form part of the Village Panchayat's annual shelf of projects under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Construction and monitoring

The approved works must include suitable levelling, compaction and drainage. Court boundaries are to be marked without projections above ground level.

Three stage photography must record conditions before, during and after construction. All assets must be geo-tagged, Government of India and State Government guidelines must be followed, and a utilisation certificate must be submitted immediately.