CHENNAI: The BCCI is going to buy 25 acres of land adjacent to the 25 acres it has already bought, near Bengaluru, for its National Cricket Academy. The decision was taken at a meeting of the NCA board in New Delhi last week.
Primary work on the 25 acres, which was bought for `50 crore earlier, and one that had run into litigations, has started and agencies have been hired. The board wants the additional 25 acres for expansion plans. The state government has been approached for this new plot, which is adjacent to the old one.
Since its inception in 2002, the NCA has been functioning out of the Karnataka State Cricket Association premises at M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The BCCI had been looking for its own land, and before settling for the new plot near Bengaluru, had even contemplated shifting up north to Pune or Dharamshala.
“Initial work at the original 25 acres has started. The land is being levelled. Relevant agencies are already at work. That plot is enough for what we need now, but there are plans to expand in future,” NCA board chairman Niranjan Shah told Express. “We need the additional 25 acres for that. This has been approved by the BCCI, and we’ve started the process of procuring the land.”
It has been learned that the BCCI is ready to spend another `50 crore on the new plot.
The project to shift NCA to the body’s own land, and to the proposed location, has faced several obstacles. The board had even set a deadline last year, saying that they would look elsewehere if the plot near Bengaluru was not available. The situation has changed over the last year, with legal tangles being cleared and the BCCI’s taking possession.
“It has been going on for a while, there were difficulties. But things seem to be settled now. We have not set a deadline for completion of work, but it has already started. All approvals and clearances have been obtained. We are now focussed on the new plot, which will become necessary after a few years as cricket operations grow,” said Shah.
atreyo@newindianexpress.com