SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, June 9: The state chess association’s inactivity resurfaced after Jharkhand was denied a grant of Rs 10 lakh from the All India Chess Federation (AICF) for the development of school chess.
While many states’ chess associations have received the funding and have begun implementing development programs after meeting AICF’s requirements, on the other hand, the Jharkhand chess association has shown no interest in it.
Last year, AICF granted the states’ units a grant of Rs 10 lakh per year under the condition that chess be developed in schools.
According to AICF guidelines, each state unit must establish an office in the capital (at a rent of Rs 20,000), furnish it with furniture worth over Rs 2 lakh, install computers, and appoint a controller at the headquarters and a coordinator of the program in each district to implement the project in schools.
The All Jharkhand Chess Association (AJCA) signed the All India Chess Federation’s contract paper, however, it has yet to fulfil a single provision, including opening an office, after six months. One of the restrictions, according to sources, is that no rented office should be opened in the building or premises of any office-bearer of the group.
According to an office bearer, state chess association president Pradip Verma had chosen three buildings for his office in Ranchi, but no one was interested in finalising the decision.
“It is a matter of concern for Jharkhand chess development that there are 12 top office-bearers including the president- Pradip Verma, executive president Richa Barnbal, four vice-president- Vijay Kumar Singh (Hazaribagh), Umashankar Choubey ( Dumka), Sunil Kherwar ( Deoghar), Dhananjay Kumar ( Ramgarh), General secretary- Neeraj Mishra ( Dhanbad), four joint secretaries- Ajay Kumar (Saraikela), Basant Khandelwal (West Singhbhum), Anil Kumar Singh (Chatra), Sujit Kumar Singh (Giridih) and treasurer Satish Kumar (Ranchi) in the association. But it seems no one has any interest to implement the project in Jharkhand,” said the official.
The shocking part is that no meeting has been convened yet to finalize the Rs 10 lakh project.
The president is occupied with his own business, the executive president has moved out of Ranchi, and the general secretary is involved in AICF programs.
Even though the executive committee unanimously signed the AICF contract, no meeting was convened to select an office facility and appoint a controller at headquarters and a coordinator in the districts. According to the sources, the coordinator (paid staff) would keep a close eye on each school in the district to see if the AICF course was being implemented appropriately.
The coordinator’s performance in all 24 districts would be monitored by the controller in the head office in Ranchi.
According to an ex–office-bearer of the state association, the election was scheduled for May. Now, the hope lies with a new committee, which will take steps to obtain a grant of Rs 10 lakh in the coming years if the AICF’s conditions are met.
