Porvorim: Sports minister Ramesh Tawadkar on Tuesday said the department would clear the pending prize money for medal-winning sportspersons within a month after ruling and opposition MLAs criticised the delay.Curchorem MLA Nilesh Cabral said prize money had been pending in some cases for as long as six years and questioned the delay in releasing just Rs 19 lakh.“It can be very discouraging for sportspersons who work very hard to win medals. What is the point of them working so hard if the promised reward is not released?” Cabral said, calling it a failure of department officials.Tawadkar said Rs 4.87 crore had already been disbursed, with only Rs 19 lakh remaining to be paid.Leader of opposition Yuri Alemao said govt should create a time-bound system to ensure prize money is released within a month in all future cases.
