A war of words have broken out between Hockey India and Sports Authority of India regarding the cancellation of junior women hockey team's national camp with the SAI accusing HI of overshooting the allocated budget.
The government did not clear the national junior women's hockey camp that was slated to start in Bhopal yesterday and SAI blamed HI for the cancellation.
"Hockey India was allocated a budget of Rs 10.50 crore for its Annual Calendar of Training and Competitions for 2014-2015. Hockey India was required to determine its priorities for competitions and training within this budget," the SAI said in a statement.
"Any additional funding for its additional requirements depends on various factors including availability of funds under the relevant scheme. Hockey India is also reported to have substantial funds of its own, raised from various sources. It is expected that these funds would also be used to meet the expenditure towards training of athletes.
"It is not mandatory for the Government to finance every activity proposed by the National Sports Federations. All National Sports Federations including Hockey India are required to mobilise additional resources to fund their various activities," the statement said.
SAI's reaction came after HI secretary general Narinder Batra yesterday filed an RTI against sports secretary Ajit Sharan and SAI director general Jiji Thomson for not clearing the camp.
The SAI also stated it has already released Rs 11.27 crore during 2014-15 for various activities relating to Hockey India as against the allocated budget of Rs 10.50.
Batra responded by saying that SAI was welcome to inspect HI's balance sheet.
