Badminton coach Goverdhan Reddy gets a monthly salary which is far less than one-third of the pension of a retired Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach!
For having put in 10 years of service at the Fateh Maidan indoor stadium, what he earns is a meagre Rs. 4, 313 salary per month (after ESI and PF deductions).
He is not only an understudy of Dronacharya S. M. Arif but played a key role in the evolution of a raw talent of Saina Nehwal into a champion performer. But, the sports administrators seem to have an indifferent view about coaches like Goverdhan. For, the 24 coaches in the city, now converted into pay-and-play coaches (who will be paid by an outsourcing agency) continue to battle against all odds.
Sports Authority of A.P (SAAP) coaches with NIS diploma get Rs. 4,313 per month while those with the six-month NIS certificate course Rs. 3, 313 per month. Ironically, these coaches play a major role in filling the coffers of SAAP through the pay-and-play scheme but don't get any benefits in terms of a hike in their salaries.
Vatti's Assurance
This despite Sports Minister Vatti Vasanth Kumar's announcement of a hike – ranging from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 9,000 - to the 59 coaches recruited in two batches in 1993 and 1999. But, to their misfortune, these pay-and-play coaches are a paying heavy price for their selfless service.
The basic flaw is the quixotic method adopted in recruiting these coaches under different heads say consolidated coaches in different batches and then paying them different salaries.
There is no uniformity or a proper procedure in place to fix salaries as per the seniority in service. Consequently, the coaches' salaries issue is in a mess. And, when these pay-and-play coaches approached senior officials recently they were told that a fresh notification for recruitment would be issued and they would be absorbed into service.
Seniority issue
“If this happens, it means we will be losing all these years of service,” points out one of the coaches.
Significantly, their counterparts in the AP Sports School at Hakimpet and the YSR Regional Sports School in Kadapa got hikes with arrears but there is no one to take care of their concerns. “As per the GO MS No. 3 - 2011, we should get at least Rs. 16,000 and Rs. 11,000 for the two categories based on the seniority of the batches,” they say.
