New Delhi: New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has decided to reintroduce its public-private partnership (PPP) scheme to operate and enhance its sports infrastructure, aiming to provide structured and quality sports training to schoolchildren.As part of the initiative, selected private agencies will manage sports facilities at venues such as Shera Ground, Talkatora Cricket Ground, Shivaji Hockey Stadium, and various Navyug School sports complexes. The model will operate on a revenue-sharing basis and focus on delivering professional coaching in sports like football, cricket, hockey, tennis, squash, and basketball.Under the revised scheme, one-third of the seats will continue to be reserved for NDMC school students at subsidised rates, while the remaining seats will be available to the general public on a paid basis. Originally launched in 2016, the initiative was discontinued in March 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic and the expiration of the previous memorandum of understanding.“To facilitate structured sports coaching for children through professional agencies again, a decision has been taken to revive the scheme by inviting tenders,” said NDMC vice chairman Kuljeet Chahal. “The move aligns with the council’s resolution to open school playgrounds for community use during the evening hours,” he added. According to NDMC proposal, the key features will include sharing revenue with NDMC in a 50-50 ratio or a 70-30 ratio. Further, one-third of the seats will continue to be reserved for NDMC schoolkids, a model for online fee collection will be adopted, and assets and infrastructure will be used only in the evening hours. The initiative is projected to generate approximately Rs 45 lakhs annually, which will be reinvested in the maintenance of the sports infrastructure.Following a meeting last week, NDMC approved the proposal and authorised its education department to initiate the process of selecting suitable agencies, and formalising agreements. The process to invite agencies will commence within 30 days, and the selected partners are expected to begin student enrolment at the sports facilities within 90 days.
