Punjab opens 1,000 more village sports grounds under ₹1,500-crore plan

Punjab has inaugurated 1,000 village sports grounds, bringing the total to 1,764 of a planned 3,100. Backed by a ₹1,500-crore investment, the facilities will include tracks, lighting, equipment and free coaching.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann(Naveen Sharma)

The Punjab government on Wednesday inaugurated 1,000 additional village sports grounds under its Pendu Khed Maidan programme, taking the total number opened to 1,764 against a statewide target of 3,100. Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann launched the phase at Shahpur village, saying it would expand access to sport and help keep young people away from drugs.

The project is part of the government’s Yudh Nashean Virudh campaign. Mann said the state wanted to build a sporting culture in every village and create pathways for rural talent. Punjab, he said, could become an international sporting hub.

Village facilities and coaching

The latest inauguration follows two earlier phases. The government dedicated 255 grounds on May 4 and another 509 on August 24. The third phase adds 1,000, including 93 in Fatehgarh Sahib. The state has earmarked ₹1,500 crore for developing all 3,100 grounds.

The planned infrastructure includes six-foot chain-link fencing, plantation, six-foot-wide walking tracks with footlights, separate toilets, and storerooms for sports equipment. Pumps and hydrants will support upkeep. Children’s play areas and high-mast lights are included. Selected grounds will have six-lane, 400-metre running tracks.

Equipment will be provided according to village needs. Each village is to receive football and hockey goalposts, volleyball poles and nets, balls and football studs. Villages where cricket is popular will also receive complete cricket kits. Football and volleyball coaches are to be deployed at all grounds to provide free coaching.

Maintenance will be assigned to village-level committees comprising the sarpanch, youth club president, concerned junior engineer and panchayat secretary. Each gram panchayat will also nominate a woman member or a sportsperson.

Wider sports policy measures

Mann said the facilities would allow children to train close to home without bearing the cost of basic equipment. He alleged that previous governments had neither provided grants to villages nor undertaken development work. Cabinet minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond attended the inauguration.

The release said the state had allocated a sports budget of ₹1,744 crore and was developing 600 rural gyms, of which 500 had been completed. Under the sports policy introduced in 2023, ₹135 crore in prize money had been distributed to 40,415 athletes since 2022.

It is providing ₹15 lakh for Olympic preparation and ₹8 lakh for Asian and Commonwealth Games. It has expanded the state sports calendar through Khedan Wattan Punjab Diyan, hosted the Hockey Asian Champions Trophy and organised the Sher-e-Punjab T20 League, modelled on the IPL. The stated aim is to strengthen the sporting ecosystem and create opportunities for rural athletes.

Punjab, he said, could become an international sporting hub.