'BCCI should take a lead in making itself accountable'

Even though the Cabinet asked him on Tuesday to rework the draft law in the wake of objections from ministers associated with cricket bodies, sports minister Ajay Maken is optimistic that transparency and accountability will remain the hallmark of the proposed law. Chetan Chauhan reports.

Updated on: Sep 1, 2011, 01:49:20 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi

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Sports minister, Ajay Maken, has faced stiff opposition from the BCCI, the world's richest cricket body, by attempting to bring it under regulation through a new draft law. Even though the Cabinet asked him on Tuesday to rework the draft law in the wake of objections from ministers associated with cricket bodies, Maken is optimistic that transparency and accountability will remain the hallmark of the proposed law.

Excerpts from the interview:
Why do you think the BCCI should accept the National Sports Development Bill?
There is a lot of national sentiment associated with cricket and people expect the Board to be more transparent and accountable in its functioning. I believe the BCCI should take a lead in making itself accountable to the people.

How do you justify bringing the BCCI, which does not receive money from the government, under the RTI?
Sports federations in India select national teams which represent India in international competition. The selection of these teams is a public activity as there is a lot of interest in the performance of the teams. Many federations get direct, and others like the BCCI, indirect benefits such as land at cheap rates, free security for conducting a match and tax rebate from the government. The RTI clearly provides that any private body receiving direct or indirect benefit from the government is covered under the law.

We are just implementing an existing law and trying to ensure that federations abide by the provisions.

Ministers in the Cabinet had objected to the 70-year age bar saying there is no such condition for MPs or any other elected representative?
You should understand the difference between elections to Parliament and to sports bodies. They (federations) say that office-bearers of federations are democratically elected. This is correct but the electorate is restricted. In BCCI elections everyone cannot vote. Only members are allowed and no ordinary citizen or former cricketer can become a member. This is why we have introduced a 25% quota for sportspersons. The BCCI is an administrative body and rules of retirement for judiciary (65 years) and bureaucracy (60 years) should apply. What we have proposed is not from the sky. We adopted the tenure guidelines applicable to the International Olympic Committee's charter.

The Cabinet ministers opposing the Bill described it intrusive. Do you agree?
It is their opinion. The law ministry has vetted the draft Bill and other ministries, such as Home Affairs, approved it. We had provided a chance to the federations to present their views in the Mukul Mudgal Committee. Forty four federations supported the tenure conditions. The BCCI should have raised objections there. To me, the Bill is not at all intrusive but we will examine the minutes of the Cabinet meeting to find out which are the most objectionable points and will redraft the Bill accordingly.

When will the redrafted Bill be presented before the Cabinet?
I hope before the start of the Winter Session of Parliament (in November end).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.Read More

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