Tata Steel and the Jharkhand Badminton Association have come together to jointly promote badminton in Jharkhand.

An agreement (memorandum of understanding) was signed between Tata Steel and the JBA on Wednesday which will pave for settlement and compromise of all pending litigations between the steel manufacturer sports wing and the state badminton association.

“Both of us have come together to mutually work out an amicable solution for the greater benefit of the sports of badminton and make the state a cradle for creating world-class badminton players,” said a senior sports official of Tata Steel which has to its credit sports academies in football (Tata Football Academy), Tata Archery Academy (TAA), Naval Tata Hockey Academy and boasts of training centres in disciplines like athletics, tennis and boxing at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur.

Following the inking of the agreement, Tata Steel sports division badminton development and advisory committee have been formed to take forward the initiative. The committee will work for the development of badminton as a sport at Tata Steel’s Badminton Training Centre and Mohan Ahuja Badminton Stadium. This also includes providing the best-in-class infrastructure for training and organising district, state, national and international badminton tournaments.

The Mohan Ahuja Indoor Stadium at Jamshedpur on Thursday. Bhola Prasad

“Sports is a way of life at Tata Steel and our partnership with the JBA is yet another step that demonstrates this. Besides other benefits, the budding players will not only get the best infrastructure but also best coaches,” said Tata Steel vice-president corporate services, Chanakya Chaudhary.

Extending his gratitude to Tata Steel, Prabhakar Rao, secretary of the JBA said: “This is a historic moment for all of us today as we enter into this partnership. Mohan Ahuja Stadium is being handed over to Tata Steel for building a state-of-the-art badminton facility. The JBA along with Tata Steel will do whatever is best for keen sports lovers of Jamshedpur.”

“The past is behind us and together we will progress towards the betterment of badminton,” said Tata Steel chief protocol and sports and chairman of the Tata Steel sports division badminton development and advisory committee, Farzan Heerjee.

Significantly, legal wrangle between the JBA and Tata Steel over custody of the over five-decade-old Mohan Ahuja Indoor Stadium for the last few years had led to worsening of the courts and damage to the roofs due to lack of maintenance.

The matter went to court when Tata Steel, which owns the stadium, had asked the JBA to vacate it in September 2014. However, the JBA filed a title suit against Tata Steel at the Jamshedpur district court with the plea that the venue had been leased out to it until December 2017.

In 2018, Tata Steel Utilities and Infrastructure Services Limited (formerly JUSCO) disconnected electricity supply to the stadium for pending dues amounting to over Rs 50 lakh.

The JBA filed a case against Tata Steel Utilities and Infrastructure Services Ltd for illegally disconnecting power supply.