CHENNAI: Even as the National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued notices to six cricket stadiums across the country asking why activities at their venues should not be stopped, the authorities concerned hoped the recent development will not affect the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) matches at their facilities.
The NGT through the notices asked the authorities concerned to explain why their activities should not be stopped for failing to disclose the source of water used to maintain pitch and grounds. The green body is hearing a plea against the use of groundwater or fresh water to maintain cricket grounds instead of the sewage treatment plant (STP)-treated water, and against not installing rainwater harvesting systems for groundwater storage, discharge and restoration.
The six stadiums are the Arun Jaitley Stadium (Delhi), Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium (Raipur), Sawai Mansingh Stadium (Jaipur), Dr DY Patil Stadium (Mumbai), Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium (Lucknow) and Barabati Stadium (Cuttack). Among them, four venues — Delhi, Raipur, Jaipur and Lucknow — are hosting IPL matches.
The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) said it had submitted the compliance report in March last year and was unaware about the developments that happened on April 16. "DDCA had received a notice from Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) in the year 2024 regarding use of ground water at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. We carried out all the compliances as required under the guidance of CGWA," RR Singh, DDCA's spokesperson, told this daily.
Singh further said that the DDCA will take all necessary steps to comply with all instructions issued in this regard. "We have carried out all the compliances and have complied with the directions issued by the Tribunal from time to time. Unfortunately, we were not aware about the matter being taken up on 16.4.26 and therefore could not appraise the Hon’ble Tribunal about it. We are taking necessary steps to bring the correct position on judicial record," Singh added. He also informed that the venue already has two sewage treatment plants and 17 rainwater harvesting pits.
An official of the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh, which owns the Raipur stadium, also asserted that they will do all the necessary compliances as soon as possible. "The stadium ownership has been transferred to CSCS recently. It was previously owned by the state government. We have not received any notice so far but as we own the stadium now, we will make sure all the compliances are done at the earliest," the official said.
Both DDCA's spokesperson and CSCS official, affirmed that the NGT notices will not affect the ongoing matches. The Delhi venue is scheduled to host a match between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings on Saturday while Raipur will host two home matches of Royal Challengers Bengaluru — one each on May 10 and 13. Similarly, Lucknow and Jaipur are also hosting various IPL matches in the due course of time.
Cricket stadiums across the country were asked for an explanation by the NGT in the past. A few of them submitted their replies following inspection of their facilities by the committee constituted for the purpose.
The bench comprising NGT chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert members A Senthil Vel and Afroz Ahmad observed in an April 16 order that seven stadiums initially failed to submit their replies despite repeated directions. "Learned Counsel appearing for Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad has submitted that he has received the instructions today and the reply along with all the details will be submitted within three weeks," read the order issued on April 16.
"Learned Counsel for the Applicant has advanced the submission that the remaining six stadiums have not filed their response till now nor they are appearing before the Tribunal or responding to the repeated orders of the Tribunal. He has submitted that these stadiums are duly served," said the order.