Upset by the BCCI’s continuing brazenness while flouting the first set of time-lines to carry out the reforms validated by the Supreme Court and also disregarding specific caveat to do any finance-related business for the period 2016-17, the Justice Lodha Committee on Tuesday directed the BCCI to place before it the minutes of the two meetings that took place at the Cricket Centre here on September 30 and October 1.
Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, secretary to the Committee, has mailed the BCCI president Anurag Thakur, secretary Ajay Shirke, treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry and CEO Rahul Johri, asking them to submit the minutes of the two meetings by Wednesday (Oct. 5) morning.
While the BCCI convened the Emergent Special General Meeting (ESGM) on September 30 “to consider directions of Justice (retd.) Lodha Committee in connection with the formal adoption of the new Memorandum of Association and rules for the BCCI,” the BCCI president convened an impromptu Emergent Working Committee (EWC) meeting to announce substantial increase in the one-off infrastructural subsidy (Rs. 60 crore to Rs. 70 crore), disbursement of the BCCI’s balance share (Rs. 19 crore) of the compensation to the State associations and increase in the Test match fee (from Rs. 7 lakh to Rs. 15 lakh).
The BCCI also adjourned the ESGM to October 1 citing technical glitches to proceed with the meeting.
Writing on behalf of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee, Sankaranarayanan concludes the mail saying: “Please send the minutes of the EGM/SGM dated 30.9.2016 & 1.10.2016 and the Emergent Working Committee meeting dated 30.9.2016 by tomorrow (Oct. 5) morning.”
At the outset, the Committee has blamed the BCCI office-bearers for misinterpreting directions and contents of the advisory sent to it and its official bankers, Maharashtra Bank and Yes Bank.
Accounts not frozen“It is unfortunate that the directions/contents of the e-mail have been misinterpreted, as is evident from the press reports to state that the present India-New Zealand series is at stake.
“The committee has not frozen the bank accounts of the BCCI. Nor has it objected to the banking operations/payments relating to routine administration and conduct of cricket matches/tournaments/activities.
“This has been clarified in express terms to the banks concerned, so that cricket and the public are not made to pay for the actions of the BCCI governors.’’ The Lodha Committee has further said that it has only expressed objections to the decisions taken at the EWC meeting and in relation to disburse large funds to the various member associations “under the guise of increasing the annual infrastructure subsidy and to divide the proceeds of the Champions League compensation. We understand that these may run into figures of more than Rs. 500 crore.
“Such decisions were neither routine nor emergent.”
The committee has also taken note of Thakur’s observation that the BCCI will have to either abandon plans to host the 10th edition of the IPL or pull the Indian team out of the Champions Trophy to be held in England in June 2017 in the event of the Lodha Committee recommendations being implemented.
Rebuts Thakur’s statementRebutting the BCCI president’s statement, the committee said: “The out-of-context statement by the president is misleading.
“While dealing with IPL, the report had merely suggested that while drawing up the cricket calendar for a year, a gap of 15 days may be provided after a strenuous IPL season before the commencement of events in the national calendar, to ensure that a cramped cricketing year does not take a toll on the cricketers’ body and longevity of their career.
“This does not in any way prevent some flexibility where the calendar has already been declared for 2017 when the Champions Trophy has already been scheduled.”
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