SRINAGAR, Aug 14: The Environmental Policy Group (EPG) has urged Minister for Youth Services, Sports and Food & Supplies, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Satish Sharma, to intervene to safeguard Srinagar’s existing sports grounds, playgrounds and open and green spaces from encroachment, diversion, fragmentation and neglect.
In a communication addressed to the Minister, EPG expressed particular concern over the future and management of important sporting assets, including the historic Polo Ground and S.P. College Sports Ground. The group sought a comprehensive policy for protecting and conserving existing sports infrastructure and public open spaces across Jammu and Kashmir.
EPG said the issue had assumed greater urgency in view of the growing problem of drug addiction among young people in Jammu and Kashmir. It maintained that easily accessible sports and recreational facilities play an important role in keeping youth engaged in healthy, constructive and disciplined activities.
“While the Government and society are making concerted efforts to address the growing menace of drug addiction, it would be counterproductive to simultaneously allow the shrinking or diversion of existing spaces where young people can participate in sports and recreation,” the group said.
The organisation stressed that sports grounds should not be viewed merely as government land available for infrastructure development. Such spaces, it said, constitute vital social infrastructure by providing opportunities for physical activity, discipline, community interaction and constructive use of leisure time.
The concern is particularly significant in Srinagar, EPG said, where rapid urbanisation, increasing traffic and infrastructure expansion have placed growing pressure on the city’s limited open and green spaces.
The group specifically raised concerns regarding the proposed Sangarmal–Rajbagh bridge/flyover project, stating that the proposed intervention could affect a substantial portion of the historic Polo Ground.
According to EPG, Polo Ground has served Srinagar for decades as an important sporting and recreational facility and remains an accessible space for young people, sports enthusiasts and the wider community. It supports sporting activities including hockey, football, rugby and athletics, while also serving as one of the significant open and green spaces remaining in central Srinagar.
“If implemented without adequate safeguards, an intervention that reduces or fragments the functional area of Polo Ground could permanently compromise its sporting, recreational and environmental value,” EPG said.
The group also cautioned that the loss of open space could have wider environmental consequences, including further deterioration of the urban environment and increased exposure to air pollution in an already congested part of the city.
EPG said the Government’s emphasis on promoting sports and developing sporting infrastructure must be accompanied by an equal commitment to protecting facilities that already exist.
“It would be contradictory to speak of strengthening sports infrastructure and encouraging youth to take up sports while allowing established grounds in urban areas to be progressively reduced or diverted for other purposes,” it said.
The organisation has requested the Minister to direct the concerned authorities to undertake a comprehensive review of the proposed Sangarmal–Rajbagh alignment, particularly its impact on Polo Ground.
EPG has further sought an expert assessment of whether the project is necessary in its present form, especially in view of the Dalgate–Parimpora flyover/bridge project, which it said has been approved for funding by the Central Government.
It also called upon authorities to publicly disclose the precise extent of land proposed to be utilised from Polo Ground, including the permanent and temporary construction footprint and any possible impact on the heritage Polo View shops.
The group demanded an independent assessment covering the project’s sporting, recreational, environmental, heritage and social impacts before any irreversible intervention is permitted. It also urged that sports bodies, urban-planning authorities, environmental experts and other relevant stakeholders be consulted before any alteration to the ground.
EPG called for clear safeguards for Polo Ground, S.P. College Ground and other sports grounds, playgrounds and public open spaces across Jammu and Kashmir to prevent infrastructure projects from causing avoidable fragmentation or permanent loss of such facilities.
The organisation also urged the Sports Department and other concerned agencies to ensure regular maintenance and upgrading of existing sports complexes, playgrounds and open and green spaces.
“Every available sports and recreational space becomes more important when the youth of Jammu and Kashmir are facing the growing challenge of drug addiction. We need more grounds, more playgrounds and more accessible recreational spaces—not fewer,” EPG said.
The group clarified that it was not opposed to infrastructure development or improved connectivity, but maintained that such projects should be based on sustainable urban planning. It urged the authorities to explore alternative designs and alignments wherever existing public sporting and environmental assets are at risk.
EPG urged Minister Satish Sharma to ensure that no irreversible intervention affecting the sporting utility, open character or heritage value of Polo Ground is permitted until all viable alternatives and the wider environmental and social implications of the proposed project have been comprehensively examined. “Protecting Polo Ground and other existing sports facilities would demonstrate that the Government’s commitment to tackling drug addiction and promoting sports is backed not only by new projects and announcements, but also by protecting the spaces where young people can actually participate in sport and recreation,” the organisation said.