Hry removes Sports Director

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 12  

The Haryana Government has removed Jagdeep Singh as the director of sports and youth affairs, an official said here. He has been replaced by Amit Kumar Agarwal. 

On June 8, the Haryana government had courted controversy when it asked sportspersons employed by it to deposit one-third of their earnings from commercial and professional commitments to the state sports council but put the notification on hold after drawing sharp criticism from elite athletes.

However, the top officials of the Haryana Sports Department were clueless about when, how, and who moved the file on their behalf. "We have no clue when the process began and when it ended. We still haven't got the file. We have received the notification only," Singh had said. 

A notification issued by Principal Secretary (Sports and Youth Department), Ashok Khemka had said, "One-third of the income earned by the sportsperson from professional sports or commercial endorsements will be deposited with the Haryana State Sports Council. The money shall be used for the development of sports in the state."

The state government had earlier stirred up a controversy when it decided to reduce the prize money for those Commonwealth Games medal winners from the state who were employed with other departments or states. The felicitation function planned for the prize money distribution on April 26 had to be eventually cancelled indefinitely when the athletes threatened to boycott it.