Next summer, chill out at Netaji Indoor Stadium. And even next monsoon, you need not worry about getting wet under its leaking roof.

From January 2005, the public works department (PWD) will start replacing the nearly defunct air-conditioning system and the entire ceiling.

The state finance department has given ?administrative approval? for the release of funds for the scheme, a senior Writers? Buildings official said on Wednesday.

Work, therefore, can begin in January. ?The government has given administrative approval for the entire Rs 5.41 crore, the estimated cost of renovation, which may go up marginally,? the official added.

Though only part of this fund ? Rs 50 lakh ? is going to be released now, the stadium requires urgent repairs, and so it will be handed over to the PWD for the job in the first week of January.

?Work should have started much earlier, but the sports department has a series of programmes lined up for winter. The leaking roof is our main concern,? PWD minister Amar Choudhury said.

The problem of the leaking roof and a near-defunct air-conditioning system has long afflicted the 12,000-seater stadium,which has never undergone any major repairs since it opened in 1975.

?A ceiling does not become weak and distressed in less than 30 years. It is suggested that the original one was faulty,? a PWD official said.

There are two ceilings at two different levels of the stadium ? one of which is a ?truss roof?, supporting the remaining portion. Together, the entire ceiling is about 8,950 sq m.

?Bringing down the entire ceiling itself is a challenge for us. We want to complete work in record time, and it should take us about six months. But we are not promising anything, as it could take longer,? the Writers? official said.

The original ceiling was of reinforced cement and concrete in a pre-cast form. This time, the ceiling will be made much stronger. ?We hope things will be different by next year,? the official signed off.