Tata Steel has allotted a quarter to the state shuttle outfit at Amanat Road in Sakchi locality of Jamshedpur. The development took place after JBA and Tata Steel decided to bury the hatchet and joined hands for the development of badminton in Jharkhand. Both the parties signed an MoU in this regard on January 26. The steel major will make necessary repairs and white washing before the office of JBA is shifted.

The state badminton association has been handling the affairs of the game through its office at the landmark Mohan Ahuja Stadium in Bistupur for the past 22 years. The office of Jamshedpur District Badminton Association and erstwhile Bihar Badminton Association also existed at the stadium.

JBA secretary K. Prabhakar Rao said Tata Steel has allotted the quarter on rent and their office would shift there by the end of this month. "We have handed over the Mohun Ahuja Stadium completely to Tata Steel. So there was no point in operating the office from there," he added.

Rao, also joint secretary of Badminton Association of India, said they would set a up temporary office at Mohan Ahuja Stadium during tournaments organised by them. "I thank Tata Steel vice-president (Corporate Services) Chanakya Chaudhary and company's sports wing chief Farzan Herjee for taking the initiative to join hands with us for the development of badminton in Jharkhand," he added.

The process of ending the legal tussle between Tata Steel and JBA is underway. Tata Steel Utilities and Infrastructure Services Limited (erstwhile Jusco) has already inspected the stadium for structural audit and also restoring electricity supply.

The legal wrangle between the steel major, which owns the stadium, and JBA started when in September 2014 the former asked the shuttle outfit to vacate the stadium. But the JBA filed a title suit against Tata Steel at the local court with the plea that the venue had been leased out to it till December 2017.

In 2018, the erstwhile Jusco disconnected electricity supply to the stadium for pending dues amounting to over Rs 50 lakh. Tata Steel would be spending around Rs 2 crores towards upgradation of Mohan Ahuja Stadium.