Lodha reforms: BCCI okays minor changes, ready to come under RTI Act

After nearly two months, the Indian cricket Board has decided to express its reservations over the implementation of recommendations of the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee.

The BCCI, which has been maintaining that it had an obligation to implement the Committee’s recommendations and fully respected the directives of the apex court during the special general meeting (SGM) in Mumbai on Friday, gave the mandate to BCCI’s secretary to file an affidavit in the Supreme Court highlighting the anomalies in the recommendations that the BCCI feels need a relook.

The SGM was held in preparation of March 3, the date by which the BCCI is supposed to let the Supreme Court know about the implementation of all the recommendations of the Committee. “If you have any difficulty in implementing it, we will have the Lodha Committee implement it for you,” Justice Thakur had told the BCCI counsel at the last hearing.

“The members authorised the honorary secretary of the board to file an affidavit in the Supreme Court on behalf of the BCCI pointing out the anomalies and difficulties encountered in implementation of the Justice Lodha Committee’s recommendations,” said a BCCI release.

It is learnt that the BCCI has decided to file the affidavit before March 3 with the state associations expected to play a supporting role, with the board giving them the liberty to file affidavits independently.

On Friday, the BCCI members didn’t make the list of their concerns public, which they consider as stumbling blocks in the full implementation of the Lodha panel recommendations.

Except for the press release, which stated that the members had authorised the BCCI secretary to file an affidavit, the BCCI has adopted a wait-and-watch policy till the matter is disposed of through legal remedy. The BCCI also does not want to antagonise the apex court by making public statements.

The BCCI has serious reservations about the recommendations pertaining to the eligibility of office-bearers, dissolving the associations and bringing in ‘one state, one vote’ policy and not holding positions simultaneously in both the state and national body, as in the case of board secretary Anurag Thakur, treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhary and joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary.

The most important issue is about having advertisement breaks only during lunch and tea in international matches which will lead to the BCCI losing approximately Rs 1500 crore in revenue generated from TV rights. It is something which will seriously affect the board’s coffers.

Meanwhile, in a bid to impress the Supreme Court, the BCCI has decided to set in motion the process of hiring a CEO and CFO.

Being one of the reforms suggested by the court-appointed panel, the BCCI’s working committee authorised the president and honorary secretary to appoint an agency to search for suitable candidates for these posts.