Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) today revealed that the process for the redevelopment of iconic Barabati Stadium in Cuttack city is going on as per the plan.

The OCA made this revelation two days after Sports Minister Suryavanshi Suraj informed the Odisha Assembly that the state government has not taken any steps for upgradation and redevelopment of Barabati Stadium.

“The ownership of Barabati Stadium lies with the Odisha Olympic Association while the Odisha Cricket Association is looking after the day-today management of the stadium. The process is on for redevelopment of Barabati Stadium. We will move ahead as per our plan and procedure,” said OCA secretary Sanjay Behera at a presser today.

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.

“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 while replying to a query of Barabati-Cuttack MLA Sofia Firdous in the Assembly on July 26.

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.