Moneylife:
Pune: Friday, 08 January 2016.
The Report of
Justice Lodha Panel on cricket reforms, which was made public, last week, has
recommended the Board of Cricket Control of India -BCCI to come under RTI. Here
are the reasons.
Besides a
string of recommendations, to the Supreme Court, for cricket reforms in India,
the three-member panel led by Justice RM Lodha has also suggested to the
legislature to consider bringing the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI)
under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act and to ensure
transparency in all its functions and dealings of money.
The Report
states, “The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) enacts that public
authorities shall make known the particulars of the facilities available to
citizens. Having regard to the emphasis laid by the Supreme Court that BCCI
discharges public functions and also the Court’s reference to indirect approval
of the Central and State Governments in activities, which has created a
monopoly in the hands of the BCCI over cricket, the Committee feels that the
people of the country have a right to know details about the BCCI’s functions
and activities. It is therefore recommended that the legislature must seriously
consider bringing BCCI within the purview of the RTI Act.”
However,
presently the issue of the BCCI coming under the RTI Act is sub-judice.
Therefore, the Report mentions “While the issue of the BCCI being amenable to
the RTI Act is sub-judice before the High Court of Madras in WP No20229/2013,
many respondents who appeared and interacted with the Committee were of the
view that BCCI’s activities must come under the RTI Act.”
The Lodha
Panel Report has put immense importance to “transparency” by the BCCI. Besides
the RTI Act, it has recommended that the website of BCCI be transparent
(information on the website is also an integral part of the RTI Act) about the
tenders and bids, on annual reports, balance sheets and resolutions and links
to online ticket facilities.
The Lodha
Panel Report has also has recommended the regional bodies of BCCI to put most
of the information in public domain, observing corruption, financial
irregularities, conflict of interest, partiality in selection of cricketers and
so on.
Here’s
what it has proposed for the BCCI and its regional offices:
“…the
Committee proposes that clear principles of transparency be laid down, and the
BCCI website and office will carry all rules, regulations and office orders of
the BCCI, the constitution of the various committees, their resolutions, the
expenditures under various heads, the reports of the Ombudsman/ Auditor/
Electoral Officer/ Ethics Officer and the annual reports and balance sheets.”
“In addition,
norms and procedures shall be laid down for the engagement of service
professionals and contractors, and there shall be full transparency of all
tenders floated and bids invited by or on behalf of the BCC.”
“….The
website shall also have links to the various stadia with seating capacities and
transparent direct ticketing facilities.”
Constitution
& Functioning of Members Apart from the BCCI
The majority
of the regional members of the BCCI are societies registered either under the
Societies Registration Act, 1860 or the respective State acts. A handful have
recently been registered as companies under the provisions of the Companies
Act, 1956 (Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and
Maharashtra). The Cricket Club of India (CCI) and the National Cricket Club
(NCC) are also public companies limited by guarantee. Thus, all existing
Members of the BCCI have different structures. Uniformity in the constitution
and functioning of the Member Associations is necessary for the proper
governance of the game. The different structures in Member Associations have
brought about much disquiet in Indian cricket.
Compliance: Companies and Societies have
fundamentally different constitutions and objects, apart from different
reporting and compliance mechanisms. While the associations that are companies
have been registered as not-for-profit (earlier under Section 25 of the
Companies Act, 1956 and now under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013), there
is little to show that there has been compliance as legally mandated. As far as
Associations registered as societies are concerned, the relevant statutes
provide for a comparatively lesser degree of transparency.
Expenditure
& Infrastructure: One
of the major criticisms of the functioning of the BCCI has been the fact that
there has been no accountability by Member Associations of the grants given to
them by the BCCI for the ‘development of cricket’. No detailed account are
maintained, no oversight or audit is carried out, and on the rare occasion
where a particular Association has been found wanting, there is no follow up
action. The funds are allegedly utilised for winning votes by apportioning
amounts to constituents (clubs, and district associations) and quite frequently
being siphoned away without any accountability.
State
infrastructure remains poorly developed with very few turf wickets or cricket
grounds outside of the existing stadium. The stadia (even new ones) do not
provide basic facilities to the public, nor offer food and water at a
reasonable price or of an acceptable quality. More importantly, the lack of hygienic
toilets and access to the differently-abled discourage many patrons. The ad-hoc
and irregular manner of creating stands or refurbishing the premises without
proper municipal permissions has led to a standoff with at least two state
governments (Delhi and Tamil Nadu). The eventual victim is, of course, the
cricket fan who loses out on a chance to watch a home match.
Lack of
professionalism:
There is no distinction between governance and management in the Member
Associations, and no steps have been taken to create modern and professional
systems to take cricket administration forward. The accounting systems for
example, are uniformly capable of alterations without a trace, thereby opening
up the possibility of abuse. There is no incentive to create revenue streams,
and it is time to rouse the Member Associations from their comfortable couches
where they rest upon BCCI’s largesse.
Dual
posts: Strangely,
while conflict of interest issues have been at the heart of recent
controversies, virtually all office bearers of the BCCI continue to be office
bearers in their respective State Associations at the same time. Presidents and
Secretaries of State Associations are to discharge functions with the primary
interest of the State in mind, but as BCCI office bearers, these interests
would have to be subordinated to that of national interest. Often, with powers
centred on an office bearer, that individual has been found to appoint his
State associates to critical posts in the BCCI, thereby creating an imbalance.
Interference
in selection: Over
the last two decades, there have been disturbing accounts of some of the
country’s leading players being forced to migrate and play for other States
because the home state’s administration looks to suppress their avenues and
brook no independent action by the Selection Committees. Large amounts of
influence, in all possible unsavoury forms have been utilised in order to have
one player or other selected, with merit being wholly ignored. The problem is
so deep-rooted, that many feel that the States are not inducting or fielding
their best available talent.
Transparency: While quite a few associations have
websites, the relevant and critical details including their constitution,
bye-laws, accounts, expenditure, ethics guidelines and player statistics are
rarely available or up to date. There are many others who do not even have or
maintain websites, nor do their offices respond to requests from journalists
and others for sharing such material.
Information: Technology solutions, as referred to
earlier, would be useful to ensure that such transparency is achieved. Each
State Association will necessarily have a website that carries the following
minimum details:
a.
The Constitution, Memorandum of Association and Rules
& Regulations, Bye-Laws and Office Orders and directions that govern the
functioning of the Association, its Committees, the Ombudsman and the Ethics
Officer.
b.
The list of Members of the Association as well as those
who are defaulters.
c.
The annual accounts & audited balance sheets and
head-wise income and expenditure details.
d.
Details of male, female and differently abled players
representing the State at all age groups with their names, ages and detailed
playing statistics.
e.
Advertisements and invitations for tenders when the
Association is seeking supply of any goods or services (exceeding a minimum
prescribed value), or notices regarding recruitment, as also the detailed
process for awarding such contracts or making such recruitments.
f.
Details of all goals and milestones for developing
cricket in the State along with timelines and the measures undertaken to
achieve each of them.
g.
Details of all office bearers and other managerial staff
(including CEO, COO, CFO, etc.)
h.
Details of directives from the BCCI and their
compliances. These websites will have to be maintained and updated at least on
a quarterly basis. All the above information will have to be maintained at the
registered office of the State Association and when sought, the same shall be
shared with the applicant on the payment of a reasonable fee, as may be
prescribed by the Association.
Let us see
how much of the Lodha Panel’s recommendations are implemented, considering the
heavy money and political clout that the BCCI has come to be.
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