Lodha panel submits report, calls for complete revamp of the country’s cricket board
New Delhi: The Supreme Court-appointed panel on Monday called for a severe shake-up in the country’s cricket administration, proposing extensive changes to run the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Among the many recommendations, the Justice Lodha Committee called for bringing the scandal-hit board under the Right to Information Act and said gambling should be made legal.
The panel also recommended barring politicians from the board and introducing time limits on holding office. Other key changes suggested include formation of a players’ association to be given highest representation at the board, limited autonomy for the Indian Premier League governing council and the appointment of three independent officials to look into contentious areas within the BCCI - conflict of interest, dispute resolution and election processes.
Lodha, who submitted a 159-page report to the Supreme Court, said, “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 three.
“With the interactions we had, except few it was broadly represented to us that one state as a unit of representation in the BCCI is a very fair idea. “As regards the office bearers of the BCCI — president, vice-president, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer — certain eligibility criteria have been fixed. He must be an Indian, he must not be above age of 70, he must not be insolvent, he must not be a minister or government servant, and who has not held office in the BCCI for a cumulative period for nine years,” said Justice Lodha, in what is likely to have serious implica tions in BCCI’s governance.
Justice Lodha added that each office bearer will have tenure of three years and no office bearer can hold the office for more than three terms with the rider that there will be a cooling off after each term.
Besides, no person can simultaneously be an office-bearer of the BCCI and also a state association. “We have recommended uniformity in the structure and constitution of state associations. Their accounts must be audited by the BCCI to maintain transparency in functioning,” the panel said.
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