Haryana has moved into crisis-management mode after two back-to-back deaths of young basketball players exposed glaring lapses in stadium safety across the state.
In the first decisive response, the Chief Minister Naib Saini government suspended district officials, ordered a full audit of sports infrastructure and executed a sweeping administrative reshuffle, removing both the Sports Secretary and the Director.
A Fatal Reminder of Negligence
The emergency measures follow the death of a 16-year-old national-level basketball player in Rohtak, Haryana where an ageing basketball pole collapsed on him during practice.
The incident came barely 48 hours after a similar tragedy in Bahadurgarh, where a 15-year-old boy died under almost identical circumstances at the Hoshiar Singh Sports Stadium.
The twin accidents triggered widespread grief and serious questions about oversight, prompting the Sports Minister, Gaurav Gautam, to suspend the respective District Sports Officers and halt operations at the affected facilities.
Authorities acknowledged that the poles were extremely old and long overdue for replacement. A committee has been constituted to probe the failures, inspect all equipment and monitor immediate corrective action.
The basketball coach and the in-charge of the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium have also been named in the inquiry, as the government begins the process of replacing outdated and unsafe infrastructure across state-run sports facilities.
Zero-Tolerance from CM Saini
Chief Minister Naib Saini expressed deep anguish over the deaths and vowed strict accountability. The government termed the incidents “serious and unfortunate”, directing all district sports officers to personally inspect every stadium and training facility under their jurisdiction.
Any building or equipment deemed unsafe is to be closed immediately, and officers have been warned that future lapses will invite personal liability.
A high-level review meeting has been called on 28 November at Tau Devi Lal Stadium, with all senior and district-level officials summoned for an urgent infrastructure assessment.
Top-Level Shake-Up in the Sports Department
Signalling the government’s intention to enforce responsibility at the highest levels, the Sports Department underwent a major overhaul. Vijay Singh Dahiya, a 2001-batch IAS officer, has been appointed the new Commissioner and Secretary of Sports, replacing IPS Navdeep Singh Virk.
The Director’s position has also been changed, with IAS officer Sanjeev Verma relieved of his charge and 2013-batch IAS officer Parth Gupta taking over as the new Director.
These changes, ordered with immediate effect, form part of a wider administrative reshuffle involving 20 IAS and IPS officers, underscoring the seriousness with which the state is treating the lapses.
Wider Administrative Reshuffle Across Departments
The reshuffle extends beyond the sports sector. Arun Kumar Gupta, formerly Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, has been posted as Additional Chief Secretary of Urban Local Bodies and will also serve as Member Secretary of the Kurukshetra Development Board. Amit Kumar Agrawal has been handed additional charge as Commissioner and Secretary of the Heritage and Tourism Department.
Meanwhile, 2004-batch IAS officer Phool Chand Meena has been appointed CEO of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), while his predecessor, J Ganesan, will now serve as CEO of the Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority (FMDA) along with additional roles as DG, Housing, and Administrator of the Housing Board.
In another key appointment, 2012-batch IAS officer Aamna Tasneem has been designated Special Secretary in the Home Department.
As the government moves quickly to restore confidence in the state’s sports infrastructure, the administrative reshuffle marks one of the most sweeping actions taken under the Naib Saini administration—aimed at ensuring that such preventable tragedies never occur again.