The BJP govern ment on Wednesday came under mounting political pressure over its reported decision to lease the newly developed Campal Football Ground and Stadium Com plex to a private operator, with the Goa Pradesh Con gress Committee (GPCC) warning of a statewide agitation and accusing the ruling dispensation of attempting to commercialise another public asset built with taxpayers’ money. The protest came amid growing public opposition to the proposal, forcing the Goa State Urban Develop ment Agency (GSUDA) to in dicate that the government would not proceed against public sentiment even as conflicting statements from different departments deepened confusion over the future of the Rs 30-crore sports complex.
A Congress delegation and party workers gher aoed GSUDA officials before submitting a memoran dum demanding that the reported lease proposal be withdrawn. The delegation was led by GPCC Media and Communi cations Department Chairman Amarnath Panjikar, spokes person Adv Amit Palekar, Congress leader Janardhan Bhandari, Youth Congress President Archit Naik, former CCP Mayor Surendra Furtado and Mahila Congress Presi dent Pratiksha Khalap. The party argued that the nearly 40,000-square metre sports complex, built entirely with public funds after years of delay, was created to nurture football, athletics and com munity sports and should remain accessible to the public rather than being turned into a revenue-generating com mercial facility. Launching a blistering attack on the BJP government, Adv Palekar alleged that the proposed move reflected a larger pattern of transferring public assets into private hands. “The BJP Government is systematically putting Goa on sale. Prime public properties are being sacrificed for commercial interests.
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If this continues, tomorrow even the Captain of Ports Terminal may be handed over to ca sinos. Now their eyes are on the Campal Ground. We will not allow Goa’s future to be auctioned,” Adv Palekar told reporters. He questioned why no government department was will ing to take ownership of the reported decision. “Everyone is passing the buck because nobody wants to own this anti-people decision. We will not allow the BJP to play football with the future of Goa’s youth.” Palekar also accused the government of steadily convert ing public sports infrastructure into commercial venues, pointing to the increasing use of the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium for non-sporting events. “When the Government has unlimited funds for publici ty and mega events, why can’t it maintain a sports ground built with taxpayers’ money? Sports infrastructure exists for athletes — not for private profits,” he said. Panjikar alleged that the BJP viewed public infrastruc ture as a commercial opportunity rather than a public trust. “Every public asset has become a business opportunity for the BJP. Goa’s playgrounds are not for contractors or private companies they belong to the people.
Congress will oppose every attempt to snatch away public sports fa cilities from our youth. If this proposal is not withdrawn, our agitation will only intensify,” he said. Youth Congress president Archit Naik accused the gov ernment of betraying young Goans. “The BJP has perfected two businesses — buying MLAs and selling public assets. Instead of protecting what be longs to the people, they are auctioning Goa’s future. The youth of Goa will give them a fitting reply.” Former CCP Mayor Surendra Furtado demanded that the complex be handed over to the Sports Authority of Goa for professional management while ensuring that residents of Panjim and adjoining areas continue to enjoy free access to the facility. The Congress protest followed objections raised earlier by former MLA Dattaprasad Naik, CCP councillor Leonid Furtado, Adv Vishnu Naik and Mangesh Vernekar, who questioned why a sports facility financed entirely by tax payers should be leased to a private operator after the pub lic had waited years for its completion. “If the government intended to hand over the facility to a private operator, it should have adopted a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model from the outset.
This would have reduced the burden on the public exchequer while ensur ing transparency,” Naik said. The group argued that young footballers, athletes, schools, colleges and local sports clubs should enjoy af fordable and regular access to the ground, describing sports infrastructure as an investment in public health, youth development and community life rather than a com mercial asset. With criticism mounting, GSUDA Member Secretary Bri jesh Manerkar sought to soften the government’s position, saying the tender had merely sought consultations on pos sible monetisation of the facility. “Given the current public sentiment, the Minister has noted these concerns, and the government has no intention of proceeding against the people’s aspirations,” Manerkar said. The controversy has also exposed apparent contradic tions within the government. Town and Country Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane had earlier announced that the Campal ground would be trans ferred to the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), saying parallel Cabinet notes would be moved by the TCP and Ur ban Development departments to facilitate the transfer of both the ground and the land.
Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar, however, distanced his department from the controversy, saying the Campal football ground falls under the Smart City project and not the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs or the Sports Authority of Goa. When asked whether he supported the reported privatisation of the ground, Tawadkar declined to give a direct answer, reiterating only that the facility was outside his department’s jurisdiction.
