Berhampur: The district administration on Tuesday began work on the expansion of Berhampur Stadium from today by acquiring 6.043 acres from the defence ministry and giving them 57.56 acres of government land - 53.529 acres near Golabandha Military Station and 4.063 acres at Narayanpur near Gopalpur.

"Of 17.683 acres on the Barracks ground, 8.5 acres was the land of the sports and youth services department in which Berhampur Stadium was built and 9.183 acres adjoining land belonged to the defence ministry earlier. But we needed to vacate the four officers' quarters from there for further expansion of the stadium and we achieved it through an exchange of lands after an MoU was signed between the parties. We took possession of the 6.043 acres from the defence ministry adjoining the stadium on Tuesday," said sub-collector Berhampur Sidhartha Shankar Swain.

The defence ministry still has possession of 3.087 acres adjoining Berhampur Stadium. The sports and youth services department will construct four officers' quarters there.

"Berhampur Stadium is going to be an international integrated satellite stadium. A private firm of Haryana called Race Course India has been entrusted to prepare the detailed project report and estimate the cost of the project," the district sports officer of Ganjam.

The Berhampur sub-collector said adequate funds would be made available for the expansion of Berhampur Stadium. "We will take up the work in a positive atmosphere without any further impediments. The army officers have requested us for early completion of the construction of quarters and those would be built in the stipulated period," said Swain.

Internationally-acclaimed weightlifter K. Ravi Kumar of Berhampur, who has been posted as the deputy superintendent of police here expressed happiness over the development. "The 30-year-old dispute has been sorted out and I hope that the expansion of Berhampur Stadium would be completed shortly. The young generation will benefit from this," he said.

However, Ganjam District Cricket Association president Ramesh Chandra Patra, who has filed a PIL in Odisha High Court with a plea for direction to complete the stadium and expedite all other infrastructure development, described the move as "cheap meal". "It would be a hindrance for the circulating space and vehicle parking," he said.