Sports department officials debarred from holding posts in sports associations
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT The on-going struggle towards transparency in government funded-sports bodies by sports lovers and Right To Information (RTI) activists had its first victory as the Goa government finally issued an advisory debarring officials of the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs and officials and employees of State-owned Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) from holding elective posts in Sports Associations and Federations. The issue was pursued with the government and Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar by sports lovers such as Sandeep Heble and Goa RTI Forum which had been persistently opposing the stranglehold of government officials and employees for years over such sports federations and associations that seek grants and subsidies from government sports department and SAG. This information has been issued in an office memorandum issued by the Chief Secretary, Goa, on July 18, to all the secretaries to government and the heads of various government departments and others, RTI activist Mr. Heble said on Wednesday releasing copies of the documents he had obtained under the RTI Act recently. The circular, which has been issued with the approval of Chief Minister, clearly debars government servants, except with the previous sanction of the government, from holding an elective post, or canvas for a candidate or candidates for an elective office in any body, whether incorporated or not. Taking into consideration the likely conflict of interest, it has been decided that the respective competent authorities should not accord permission to officers/ employees requesting prior sanction/ permission of the government for holding elective posts in sports federations or associations, it further stated. In respect of those government officers/employees and employees of the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs and the SAG who are already holding elective posts on the basis of prior permission obtained before the issue of this advisory , their cases should be reviewed and no government officials or an employee shall be allowed to hold an elective office in a sports federation\association for a term of more than four years or for one term, whichever is less. The advisory was sought to break monopoly of government officials over sports federations. Government servants have been stopped from canvassing for a candidate. Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/sports-department-officials-debarred-from-holding-posts-in-sports-associations/article5002284.ece
