s Hyderabad Cricket Association hosting the costliest League in India? Well, it seems so if the accounts copy circulated to some of its Executive Committee members is any proof.
Just consider this. The accounts suggest that Rs. 93 lakh was spent between September 2014 and March 2015 for various league matches held under the aegis of the HCA. And when asked for the break-up, the members were in for a huge shock of sorts with the figures: Rs. 42,29,750 for umpires fees (normally the gradation of fees for the umpires is Rs. 500, Rs. 800 and Rs. 1,000 for different Divisions of the League). Then, it is mentioned Rs. 1,89,000 was spent towards catering for the league matches. Here, the point is that the players have to take care of themselves for all the matches and nothing is provided by the HCA except the cricket balls, mats and hiring some private grounds. Well, the figures also suggest a whopping Rs. 6,82,000 towards purchase of mats for the conduct of the matches even though each quality mat costs about Rs. 15,000. Then, the sub-head for scorer fee indicates another whopping figure of Rs. 5,71,000. And, if you meet any scorer he will always complain of not being paid adequately which is contrary to this huge sum. So, amidst this backdrop, it was not a surprise that the accounts were not audited by a certified agency or even cleared by the HCA Finance Sub-committee, headed by Surender Agarwal, which has to send it to the Executive Committee for approval. Meanwhile, the Electricity Department officials apparently slapped a fine of Rs 1.20 crore on the HCA after disconnecting the power supply to the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on Saturday evening on alleged charges of power pilferage.
“Apparently, some mischief has been done somewhere where the officials were misled. We have been regularly paying the monthly bill (of about Rs. 3.5 lakh) without fail,” HCA Secretary K. John Manoj pointed out. And, what is surprising is the charge of pilferage when a senior electricity official visits the stadium every month and seals the meter after reading,” he explains. Amidst this backdrop, the focus shifts to the Annual General Meeting scheduled on August 30. Ironically, all this was happening right under the nose of the Justice R.M. Lodha panel which was in the city for the weekend seeking suggestions to restructure the BCCI, of which the HCA is an affiliated unit.
