GOOD INNINGS: Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh VC &MD G. Kamala Vardhana Rao being given a farewell on his transfer to New Delhi on Friday in Hyderabad.

HYDERABAD : For the time being, the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) does not have a chief. When G.Kamala Vardhana Rao relinquished his charge as the VC & MD on Friday, he did so after a crucial SAAP board meeting which put up some proposals that had far-reaching consequences.

The most important was a suggestion to the State Government to take back the Gymkhana cricket ground (through the Cantonment Board) and lay a 400-metre athletic track there. The move however, has upset the HCA which claims that since the venue continues to be the main hub of cricketing activity, it would be unfair on the part of SAAP to lay claims to it now.

"If only there is no cricketing activity, then it could have been understandable. But since we continue to function from the premises, the decision defies logic," says Shivlal Yadav, secretary of HCA.

Old hostel set up

Another decision was to revive the old hostel set-up with the main one coming in Hyderabad and the other regions in place of the existing SAAP academies.

But perhaps, the most crucial of all, is the proposal to set up a Rs.60-lakh commercial complex on the premises of Lal Bahadur Stadium. "I must confess that it was one thing which I could not complete," says Kamal Vardhan Rao looking back. Then why this sudden decision? "To raise funds," is the reply. The SAAP board's decisions are not mandatory; but just advisory in nature. So when Kamal Vardhan Rao finally leaves for Delhi on Sunday to join the Central services, he might wonder whether he spoiled his farewell by being a party to such decisions!

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