No matter what, sport in India usually gets mired in unwarranted controversies. When it comes to cricket, it seems one cannot survive without the other.
This time, it’s regarding the National Sports Development Bill that was drafted close to four years ago and is yet to see the light of day because politicians in BCCI and other sports bodies felt it threatened their fiefdom. So they opposed it.
Now, when the Lodha panel recommendations looked more stringent and are destroying their very existence, the BCCI is hoping the Sports Bill is passed at the earliest.
Suddenly, everybody has been talking about the Sports Development Code and the Bill. There have been speculations and conjectures but far from what it really should be. If the BCCI officials thought it will give them more freedom, they are wrong.
The very tenet on which the Code was built was accountability. The sports ministry is very clear that if they provide funds they require more accountability from the recipients. The Indian Olympic Association and the National Sports Federation follow the Code and whoever doesn’t has been derecognised. All NSFs have been directed to sign-up on the Niti Aayog Portal as NGOs.
Though NSFs are not NGOs, they follow most of the guidelines that govern an NGO. The NSFs come under RTI, something the BCCI has been opposing vehemently. They also have to publish their audited accounts. They too come under Prevention of Corruption Act.
Perhaps, these BCCI officials don’t know that the ministry has already set up a committee to redraft the Sports Development Code. The committee will study the Lodha panel recommendations too and see if any of the recommendations can be implemented.
There are other likely changes too. Sports over the last four years have seen a lot of change. More money has sneaked into the system. Players have become more professional and richer too. There’s been a spurt of professional leagues — from kabaddi to wrestling you just need to name the sport. The ministry too has been observing these changes minutely. They don’t want an IPL-like situation. It is understood the ministry is looking how a professional setup cannot infringe upon a non-profit-amateur organisation.
There is another very contentious issue that the ministry might look into—the tenure issue. The age will remain 70 but the tenure of an office bearer will be governed by the International Olympic Council Charter. If the committee thinks it fine, the cooling-off period of four years might be removed. This is where the BCCI can gain. The Lodha panel has recommended nine years in state and nine years in BCCI with a cooling-off period of three years.
There is another argument. Some of the influential politicians who headed or head BCCI or its state units before the Lodha recommendations were very vocal about the Bill and wanted it modified. The redrafting of the Bill has already started under the astute leadership of the secretary of sports. Like all sports enthusiasts, we just hope the original Code is not diluted.