New Delhi/Chandigarh, July 30
Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge) Ajay Maken disclosed that he was working on having an ombudsman or Lokayukta for sports "who will work as a regulator for transparency and honest running of the sports federations".

In an exclusive interview with The Tribune's Editor-in-Chief, Raj Chengappa, Maken said the proposed regulator will look into all types of grievances of the sports lovers and players.

Maken admitted that the Sports Authority of India (SAI) had strayed out of its intended purpose and was doing everything else, instead of concentrating on coaching. "SAI is currently doing too many things," he said, and added, "Coaching, instead of being its first priority, is now among its last."

Maken revealed that to improve the quality of coaching he was planning to take the National Institute of Sports (NIS) Patiala out of the control of SAI and made it into an autonomous institution through an Act of Parliament.

The minister also disclosed that a move was afoot to set up a National Institute of Sports Sciences, based in Delhi. He said the proposed institute will have branches like sports biomechanics, sports biochemistry, sports psychology, sports physiology, sports medicine, sports nutrition and general sports training.

Dwelling on the recent doping scandal, Maken gave a clean chit to NIS Patiala, saying that the food supplements that the SAI centre provided were only those that were recommended by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) while many coaches were recommending something else.

"So I told them to make a single list that includes both NIN and their own recommendations and SAI should purchase these supplements from good credible companies," he explained.

Maken said the proposed National Sports Development Bill, to be introduced in the next session of Parliament, would not only ensure greater transparency and accountability in the functioning of the sports federations, but they will also be treated as public bodies and will be within the jurisdiction of the Right to Information Act, so that anybody can seek any information about their functioning.

He said corporate houses were reluctant to fund existing sports bodies as there was no transparency in their functioning. He said a large number of sports federations were being run like the fiefdom of powerful persons.

Maken said the Commonwealth Games (CWG) scandals and corruption could have been avoided had the Indian Government taken direct charge of the organisation of the Games, instead of giving it to an Organising Committee, headed by Suresh Kalmadi. He stressed that exemplary punishment would be given to those found guilty of the CWG scam. "No guilty person will be spared," he asserted.