Agency
New Delhi: The Justice RM Lodha Committee on Monday recommended administrative restructuring Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), currently struggling to clean up its image dented by the IPL corruption controversy.
Among the sweeping reforms suggested by the three-member committee are disallowing ministers from occupying positions in the board; cap on age and tenure of office-bearers and legalising betting. The panel has also recommended that each state can have only one representation in the BCCI, but that voting rights of institutional and city-based units be withdrawn.
The panel suggested a CEO for BCCI for the body’s everyday affairs. The CEO will be accountable to a council of nine members. “There should be an apex council for the BCCI comprising nine members – five elected, two representatives of players’ association, and one woman. The CEO will be assisted by six professional managers and the team of CEO and managers will be accountable to the apex council,” said Justice Lodha, addressing a crowded press conference after submitting a 159-page report to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court will decide whether the recommendations would be binding on the BCCI.
Lodha said he held 38 meetings with Board officials, cricketers and other stakeholders. “First thing is about the structure and the constitution. As you know, presently the BCCI has 34 members. Some of these members do not have any territory like Services, Railways etc. Some of them do not play tournaments. Some of the states have multiple members like Maharashtra has three, Gujarat has 3. With the interactions we had, except few it was broadly represented to us that one state as a unit of representation in BCCI is a very fair idea,” Lodha said.
The panel -which also included Justice (Retd) Ashok Bhan and Justice (Retd) RV Raveendran – said legalising betting would bring down corruption in the game. It has recommended that only players and board officials should be forbidden from betting.
It recommended limiting BCCI officials’ terms: president could only have two terms of three years but other officials could run for three terms.
The panel recommended bringing the BCCI under the Right to Information Act – a move the board has previously opposed.
“…Since the BCCI performs public functions, people have the right to know the functions and facilities and other activities of the BCCI and therefore in our opinion whether RTI Act is applicable to BCCI or BCCI is amenable to RTI is sub-judice. We have recommended the legislature must seriously consider bringing BCCI within the purview of the RTI Act,” Justice Lodha said.
The panel cleared former IPL COO Sundar Raman’s name in the betting controversy saying there was not enough evidence against him.
President, vice-president, joint secretary and treasurer of the board should be Indian nationals not over 70, solvent, not a minister or a government servant and should not have been a BCCI official for a cumulative period of nine years.
“The current rule gives as many as three votes to the President of BCCI – the first as representative of a state association that is a permanent member of BCCI, second as chairman of the meeting under Rule 5(i) and the third is voting in the event of a tie.
While his vote as representing a permanent member of BCCI and his vote in the event of a tie are fair and permissible, provision of additional vote as chairman of the meeting needs to be deleted,” he added.
The panel recommended a players’ association to ensure cricketers’ views on the board’s functioning are heard.
Players’ association will be formed by a steering committee, headed by former Home Secretary GK Pillai, and comprising former captains Mohinder Amarnath and Anil Kumble as well as women’s cricket legend Diana Edulji.
The association will have those who have played first-class cricket.
Supreme Court appointed the Lodha commission in January, first to decide on penalties in a betting scam that plagued the BCCI in the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League and then to suggest changes in the functioning of the cricket body.(PTI)
