Shillong, May 19 : Meghalaya will formally renew its agreement to host the 2027 National Games on May 30 during the visit of the Union Sports Minister to Shillong for a two-day Eastern Zone meeting, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Wailadmiki Shylla said on Tuesday.
Shylla said the state government received information about the proposed visit earlier this week, although official written communication is still awaited. “Just yesterday I received a verbal message. I have not received any official communication in writing as of now, but according to the message, the Union Minister of Sports along with the Minister of State and other sports officials will be in Shillong on May 28,” he said.
According to the minister, the visit will coincide with an Eastern Zone meeting of Bharat Group teams involving all North Eastern states along with West Bengal and Odisha.
“On May 28 and 29, there will be a meeting for the Bharat Group teams which are there in every state. This meeting will be for the Eastern Zone including all North Eastern states, West Bengal and Odisha,” Shylla said.
He informed that a Meghalaya delegation had visited New Delhi last week to discuss the renewal of the National Games hosting agreement, which was originally signed nearly eight years ago.
“There are some corrections to be made because it has been quite a long time. That is why we want to renew this agreement,” he said.
Shylla added that the Union Sports Minister proposed signing the revised agreement in Shillong itself.
“When we spoke to them, the minister himself said it is better that we do it here in Shillong. So, that will happen on May 30,” he stated.
The minister clarified that while an agreement is already in place, modifications suggested by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) are being incorporated.
“We have already signed the agreement but there are some corrections which are being made from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA),” he said.
Shylla said he is awaiting detailed inputs from the delegation that attended the Delhi meeting.
Giving an update on preparations for the Games, the minister expressed satisfaction with the progress of infrastructure and venue readiness.
“Preparation is going well as of now. I am not just saying this as a sports minister but I am saying this after the many visits from the sports ministry and last time from IOA. Many people who came and visited and did the inspection on the site were also quite satisfied with our preparation right now,” he said.
He further stated that separate fields of play and backup grounds are being arranged for different disciplines.
“For different disciplines, there will be separate fields of play. Right now, we have sufficient numbers of grounds for indoor and other events and we even have backup grounds also,” he added.
The state government has earmarked ₹600 crore for hosting the Games and is also pursuing financial assistance from the Centre.
“The total budget we are looking into is ₹600 crore. As of now, this will be from the state’s exchequer but we are pursuing it with the central ministry,” Shylla said.
“I cannot say for sure. It depends on the central government, but as of now, we are going from the state fund,” he added.
