Money meant to help Indian athletes and improve sports infrastructure in the country is being spent on luxury facilities used mainly by senior bureaucrats and government officers, an investigation by The Indian Express has revealed.
The report shows that crores from the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) were diverted over the past few years to elite residential colonies and civil services institutions instead of being focused fully on sportspersons and public sports infrastructure.
It is notable here that the NSDF is governed by a 12-member council under the Union Sports Minister, but grant proposals are cleared by a 6-member panel comprising senior officials under the sports ministry.
Luxury sports complex inside officers’ colony
At the centre of the controversy is a high-security government residential colony in New Moti Bagh, in Lutyens’ Delhi, where many top IAS officers and senior bureaucrats live. The colony now has ultra-modern sports facilities, including a temperature-controlled swimming pool, squash court, tennis courts, badminton courts, gym and billiards room.
According to official records accessed by the Indian Express, the colony first received Rs 2.8 crore under the Khelo India scheme in 2019 for sports infrastructure. Later, in June 2024, another Rs 2.2 crore from the NSDF was approved for renovation and upgrade work at the same complex.
The report said even the tennis courts that were already developed earlier were upgraded again using fresh funds from the sports development scheme.
Crores spent on officers’ colonies and civil services clubs
The investigation found that between 2021 and 2025, more than Rs 6.2 crore from the NSDF went to institutions connected to government officers, including the Civil Services Officers’ Institute (CSOI), the Central Civil Services Cultural and Sports Board (CCSCSB), and New Moti Bagh.
The NSDF was created to support athletes, training programmes and sports infrastructure across the country. It also funds schemes like the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), which supports India’s top athletes preparing for international competitions.
However, the same fund was also used for projects linked to civil services institutions and restricted-access facilities.
Parliament panel raised objections
The spending pattern later drew criticism from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Sports. In a report tabled in the Lok Sabha in August 2025, the committee said it had been informed that grants from the sports fund were being given to residential colonies and civil services associations.
“The Committee recommends that this practice should be avoided,” the report said.
The issue becomes more serious because contributions to the NSDF have seen a sharp decline in recent years. As per the report, contributions dropped from Rs 85.26 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 37.02 crore in 2025-26.
Entry controlled despite public money being used
The Indian Express report also highlighted that these facilities are not freely open to the general public. At the Civil Services Officers’ Institute, entry is restricted, and visitors need valid identification cards. At New Moti Bagh, access is reportedly controlled through screening at the gate.
Sudhanshu Pandey, president of the New Moti Bagh Residents’ Welfare Association, defended the spending and said all approvals followed official procedure. He said the project report was cleared by the Sports Authority of India and later approved by the Sports Ministry.
Pandey argued that sports facilities are part of the overall welfare infrastructure in government residential colonies and help improve physical and mental health. He also said the facilities are used by children and families living in the colony and by some screened private citizens.
Questions raised over priorities of the sports fund
The investigation further found that the Sports Authority of India spent over Rs 1 crore from the NSDF on cricket-related gift items for cricket boards in countries like the Maldives, Jamaica, and St Vincent and the Grenadines. The Indian Express report also says that money from the NSDF was also given to two RSS-linked organisations in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
Former Sports Ministry officials quoted in the report questioned why public sports funds were being spent on projects that are not widely accessible and do not directly benefit athletes. One former official reportedly described the use of NSDF money for such facilities as “unethical”, especially when many athletes still struggle with limited support and infrastructure.
