The fund has been sanctioned under the Panchayat Yuva Krida Abhiyan (PYKKA) and will be utilised for development and maintenance of playfields in 666 gram panchayats and 44 block panchayats, an official statement said.
Under the PYKKA, playfields are developed and maintained in villages and block panchayats across the country in a phased manner and competitions are conducted annually at block, district, state and national level.
The scheme was introduced in 2008-09.
It provides 100 per cent central assistance to states and Union Territories for holding annual rural sports competitions at various levels and also provides financial support for conducting National Women Championships and North East Games.
Across the country, PYKKA is planned to create basic sports infrastructure in 2.50 lakh village panchayats and 6400 block panchayats in a phased manner over a period of 10 years.
In the last four years (2008-09 to 2011-12), a total of 51,759 village panchayats and 1,538 block panchayats across India have been covered under the PYKKA Scheme for development and maintenance of playfields.
