Pimpri-Chinchwad: PCMC Revives Kheladu Dattak Yojana After Five Years; 44 Sportspersons To Benefit
2025 年 10 月 2 日
Pimpri-Chinchwad Sports Players to Receive Benefits Under Kheladu Dattak Yojana After Five Years
Sports players in Pimpri-Chinchwad city will soon receive benefits from the Kheladu Dattak Yojana (Sportspersons’ Welfare Scheme) after a gap of five years, officials announced on Wednesday. Out of 58 applicants, 44 players have been deemed eligible by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).
To provide direct benefits to these players, PCMC Commissioner Shekhar Singh gave approval during the last standing committee meeting. According to a PCMC official, the Sports Department will incur a total expenditure of ₹74 lakh. Each eligible player will receive ₹6,000 per month for the next two years.
What is the Kheladu Dattak Yojana?
To encourage city players to make a name for themselves in sports and to develop new talent, PCMC launched the Kheladu Dattak Yojana — a Sportsperson Welfare Scheme — in 2013. Players received benefits under this scheme until 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the scheme was discontinued from 2020 onwards.
Despite the scheme being inactive, reports suggest that PCMC continued to invite applications from players annually. Unfortunately, no further action was taken on these applications, leading to dissatisfaction among sportspersons within the city.
Following media reports highlighting players’ concerns and demanding justice, PCMC decided to revive benefits under the scheme. The Sports Department invited applications in 2024 for the financial year 2022-23. A total of 58 national and international players from the city applied, with 44 approved and 14 rejected. Reasons for rejection included missing documents such as marksheets, ration cards, or other identity proofs.
About the Kheladu Dattak Yojana
This sportsperson welfare scheme is designed for state- and national-level players who have been residents within PCMC limits for at least three years. Students from PCMC schools, private schools, and other players are eligible.
Players selected for national-level school, college, and other official sports competitions in games such as athletics, hockey, kabaddi, wrestling, boxing, shooting, kho-kho, lawn tennis, badminton, swimming, roller skating, and cricket can apply.
Qualifying players under the scheme receive benefits including free PMPML bus travel, an allowance for nutritious diet, and sports equipment upon request.
Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Patil, head of PCMC’s Sports Department, stated, “For five years, the benefits of the scheme could not be provided due to various reasons, including the pandemic. The 44 players who have qualified for the year 2022-23 will now receive ₹6,000 per month for two years.”
What About Sportspersons in Pune?
For struggling sportspersons aspiring to make it big at the international level, such welfare schemes can be a boon. While PCMC has now revived its sportsman welfare scheme after five years, the Kheladu Dattak Yojana by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has also been on hold since Covid.
Pune boasts many talented players representing the nation and state, but the scheme’s continued suspension has been a source of demotivation. PMC officials have so far refrained from commenting on the possible revival of the scheme.
The decision by PCMC to reinstate benefits came after persistent reporting by local media outlets highlighting the plight of athletes.
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