Bhubaneswar: The state government has not taken any steps for upgradation and redevelopment of Barabati Stadium in Odisha’s Cuttack city.

This was revealed by Sports and Youth Services Minister Suryavanshi Suraj while replying to a query of Barabati-Cuttack MLA Sofia Firdous in the Assembly yesterday.

“Barabati Stadium is managed by the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA). The Sports and Youth Services department has not undertaken any step for upgradation and redevelopment of the stadium, including specific infrastructure improvements and modern amenities,” said the Minister.

The Barabati-Cuttack legislator earlier urged the state government to share detailed information regarding its plan for upgradation and redevelopment of the iconic Barabati Stadium.

Sofia, a first-time Congress MLA, also sought to know details regarding the timeline and estimated budget for the mega project.

Notably, the previous BJD government in Odisha, in February this year, had announced that it would upgrade and redevelop Barabati Stadium in three years with an expenditure of Rs 600 crore.

As per the plan, the seating capacity of the stadium was supposed to be increased to 60,000 from the existing capacity of 42,000.

The state government had then announced that many structures of the stadium, built in 1952, would be demolished and new structures would be constructed with advanced architectural design.

The cost of the redevelopment project was supposed to be shared between the BCCI, OCA and the Odisha government.