The three-member committee set up by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to probe alleged financial irregularities by the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) has advised the BCCI to suspend the body and appoint a panel of professional cricketers to run the game in the capital.
The committee, which submitted its report on Tuesday, pointed out several instances of financial mismanagement in the DDCA and recommended that sports bodies should be brought under the purview of the Right to Information Act (RTI).
The committee, headed by the Delhi government's urban development secretary Chetan B. Sanghi, however, has not made any recommendations on whether the DDCA should be allowed to host the fourth Test of the ongoing series between India and South Africa. The Test is scheduled to be held from December 3-7, but the DDCA is yet to get necessary clearances from the Delhi government in order to host the match.
DDCA are supposed to pay entertainment tax in excess of Rs 24 crore in order to get clearance for organising the match at the Feroze Shah Kotla Stadium. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already kept Pune as a back-up venue in case the DDCA fails to meet the deadline for the match.
During their investigations, the committee also met BCCI president Shashank Manohar in Nagpur last week. The panel members had also quizzed DDCA vice-president Chetan Chauhan and other board members on details about various issues.
The panel -- which also includes sports secretary Punya Salil Srivastava and Rahul Mehra, a Senior Standing Counsel of the Delhi government -- also stated that it is the BCCI's responsibility to ensure that the DDCA officials set their house in order.
"The BCCI policy of shutting its eyes to DDCA affairs is not correct. The DDCA is an affiliate and as things stand the DDCA should be suspended (by the BCCI). In in the interim the DDCA should be run by a body of professional cricketers. The DDCA should also be brought under the Right To Information Act," a Delhi government official was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Also Read
The panel also said that its report should be handed over to the Justice R.M. Lodha committee which was set up by the Supreme Court to probe Indian Premier League (IPL) betting scandal. The Lodha Committee is currently working on its recommendations to reform the way the BCCI functions.
The committee was formed on November 12 and was asked to examine complaints of financial fraud and structural irregularities in DDCA among others.
Former cricketer and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kirti Azad had raised the issue of financial irregularities in the DDCA, which prompted parliament to refer the matter to the home ministry. The home ministry then forwarded the issue to the sports ministry, after which the matter moved to the Delhi government for further probe.
Former Indian captain Bishan Singh Bedi and Madan Lal had met Kejriwal and requested him to take steps to ensure transparancy in the DDCA's functioning.
Veteran India opener Gautam Gambhir had also met Kejriwal on November 12 to discuss the issues related to the DDCA. Gambhir had a major tiff with DDCA officials after former India batsman Ajay Jadeja was appointed the coach of the Delhi team at the start of the current Ranji Trophy season. Jadeja later stepped down.