Compliant BCCI state units will start getting funds in phases
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A senior BCCI official has revealed that the compliant state units of the BCCI will start getting their allocated annual grants in phases after the Annual General Meeting on October 23. Meanwhile, president-elect Sourav Ganguly is expected to meet with Board professionals at an informal gathering.
For three years, as the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) has gone about repairing the functioning of the BCCI, none of its state units has received their share of Rs 35 crore. And so, once the Sourav Ganguly-led democratically elected members take over the board, the member units are expected to finally get their hands on more than Rs 100 crore.
"The Annual Accounts for multiple financial years will be passed at the AGM and once it is done, the decks will be cleared for all the compliant state units to get their allocated funds. However as per the Supreme Court order, only the compliant state associations will get the funds," the official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
"Some of the associations have not got funds for three years and they don't have reserves while others have done infrastructural work by digging into fixed deposits. Now they are supposed to get at least 105 crores (Rs 35 Cr x 3 years) plus interest. But I don't think anyone will get that kind of money at one go," the official said.
"The money will be paid in phases. However, the share of grants could be revised as the new units will get their share for the past one year. This needs to be looked into by the president, secretary, along with the legal and financial experts," the official further added.
Meanwhile, the CoA is understood to have its final meeting on October 22, a day prior to the AGM in Mumbai, before the handover of power to the democratically elected body. It is further learned that Ganguly himself is expected to meet with CEO Rahul Johri, GM of Cricket Operations Saba Karim, IPL COO Hemang Amin.
"It's a kind of an ice-breaker as the new president will like to take stock of things, know the team of professionals as they will have to work in tandem to create a roadmap for Indian cricket. Former India keeper Karim has come under sharp criticism from all quarters during his stint as the head of operations in domestic cricket and women's game, but it is not likely that Ganguly will make any radical decisions on his future in the early days of his tenure.
"It is a well known fact that Karim has botched on a lot of counts but I don't think Ganguly will like to take any radical decision soon enough especially till the domestic season is over in March," a senior member said.
"However, it's good that with a democratically elected body in place, there will be checks and balances on Karim, who can no longer take unilateral policy decisions on domestic and women's cricket. There is a president and a secretary now," he added.
