CHENNAI: Irrespective of who runs it, the BCCI seems to follow its own rules when it comes to maintaining transparency. For close to three years, every month it has been putting up on its website a list of payments of above Rs 25 lakh. Salaries of coaches and players amounts paid to state associations, service and equipment providers to income tax — it’s a long list. Missing from the entries is the salary of CEO Rahul Johri, whose take-home after income tax and other deductions is over Rs 30 lakh per month. Reason? According to sources in the department concerned, the CEO is a staff of the BCCI and the list put up displays payments made only to vendors. Strange it may seem, but that’s the logic.
“What you see on the list are payments made to vendors. Because of the contractual nature of their employment, players and coaches also come under this category. The CEO is an employee of the board. The nature of his appointment is different from the players or coaches. That’s why his salary is not there on the website,” BCCI sources dealing with these matters told Express.
However, records of the BCCI working committee meeting held on October 18, 2015 — where the decision to go public with these payments was taken — don’t say it’s restricted to payments made only to vendors. In the minutes of the meeting under the heading “BCCI will display the following information on its website” item No 4 is “All payments made by the BCCI over Rs 25 lakh”.
A section of BCCI members are viewing the exclusion of Johri’s salary from the list as an anomaly rather than a rule. “It’s a matter of convenience to say the CEO is a staff and coaches, players are vendors. It’s a fictitious distinction. It was never decided that this list would be a selective one. All payments above Rs 25 lakh are supposed to be mentioned,” said a BCCI member, who had attended that working committee meeting in Mumbai three years ago.
On the BCCI website in the section “Details of payments made above Rs 25 lakh”, one can see that India coach Ravi Shastri received Rs 1,89,37,500 as “professional fee” for three months from April to July. India A and U-19 coach Rahul Dravid get Rs 40,50,000 per month. Payments made to IPL franchises, travel agents, insurance companies — are also mentioned. The only notable omission is the CEO’s salary, which according to sources is Rs 30,58,266 per month after deductions.
Some of the BCCI members hold the CoA responsible for this. “If they can release travel expense figures of the board’s office-bearers, why not the CEO’s salary,” said a member. Efforts to reach CoA chief Vinod Rai on this proved futile. Sources close to the CoA indicated this had escaped attention.
atreyo@newindianexpress.com