June 16, 2003 20:21 IST
The athletes who did the country proud at the Manchester Commonwealth Games last year will finally get the cash rewards promised by the government, though only a fraction of it. For the remaining amount they will have to wait for another two months.
Sports Minister Vikram Verma assured the medal winners on Monday that they will get the full amount as promised to them by the government but due to lack of funds it will be handed over to them in two installments.
Impressed by India's best-ever performance at the Commonwealth Games, where the country bagged 69 medals, the then Sports Minister Uma Bharti had announced an exponential increase in the cash rewards for medal winners -- a gold medal fetching Rs two million, instead of Rs 500,000; a silver getting Rs 1.5 million in place of Rs 300,000 and a bronze medal getting Rs one million instead of Rs 200,000.
However, the government later realised that it did not have sufficient funds to keep its promise as the rewards added up to Rs 130 million while the Finance Ministry had allotted only Rs 90 million for the incentive awards scheme.
Varma said under the first installment to be distributed before the end of this month, the medal winners would be rewarded under the original scheme -- Rs 500,000 for gold, Rs 300,000 for silver and Rs 200,000 for bronze.
The rest of the money will be give in the month of August.
"We will be hosting a function in August where the medal winners will be felicitated and they will be given their due amounts," Verma told reporters.
