According to sports minister Tusharkanti Behera, the Odisha government has spent Rs 261.76 crore on the construction of the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela.
The minister responded in writing to a query from BJP lawmaker Subash Panigrahi, stating that funds totaling Rs. 136.82 crore from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) fund and Rs. 124.94 crore from the state budget were used to build the hockey stadium.
He claimed that the project has not received any funding from the ministry of youth affairs and sports.
Behera added that the state PSU Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) completed the work on schedule.
Since Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium is the largest fully seated hockey arena in the world, it has established Guinness Book of World Records.
The arena, which is now the gold standard in hockey stadium construction, was built in a record-breaking 15 months and has a capacity of 20,011 people for uninterrupted viewing.
In January of this year, the stadium—along with Kalinga Stadium—hosted the final men’s FIH Hockey World Cup. The Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium hosted the FIH Hockey Pro League from March 10 to March 15.
Prasanta Patnaik