THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA), the apex cricket body in the state, has been mired in allegations and controversies of financial irregularities. While the ombudsman of the KCA has already passed an order against former KCA president T C Mathew, there is more beneath the surface.
KCA bought several properties and constructed stadiums and grounds across the state. There was no e-tender and transparency maintained in how the purchases were done.
The Infrastructure venture consortium (IVC), which was given the contract to construct the Edakochi cricket stadium, according to experts, did not have any prior experience in constructing a stadium. The KCA signed a MoU with IVC knowing clearly that it was primarily a seafood export company and had clearly stated in its affidavit that the company was created specifically for taking up KCA projects.
The KCA has spent Rs 12 crore over six years for maintaining a project office near the Madhava Pharmacy Junction on Banerjee road, Kochi, for a project that did not exist. This was specifically for the Edakochi international stadium, as stated in the audit report of 2010-11. The statutory auditor Varma and Varma has no clue how this money was spent, reporting, “The accounts of the project office at Ernakulam were not subject to audit by them, it is audited by a separate firm.”
However, Jayesh George former KCA secretary and present representative to BCCI from Kerala, begs to differ. He said, “The KCA has conducted the audit for this project office and we got a clear report from Deloitte for the same. We have complied with all the Lodha committee mandate regarding the administration and have maintained the cooling off period.”
A former KCA top office bearer on condition of anonymity told Express, “There are several instances of swindling money from the association. For instance, the best clay which is used to lay turf wickets is Mandya clay which costs Rs 3,100 per tonne when it reaches Ernakulam. KCA, however, is on paper buying clay from Vaikom at a rate of Rs 12,500 to Rs15,000 per tonne. Isn’t this blatant corruption. There is no record of how many tonnes are bought a day and this clay is not reaching the destinations it is supposed to.
The KCA started a centre for excellence for the all-round development of players.
While KCA owns 90 acres of its own land and has several stadiums of its own, the centre for excellence is coming up in Tripunithara, in association with a local club there. While at present the membership fee of the club with which it is associated is Rs 85,000, after the centre of excellence is commissioned, the membership fee in the club will be Rs 3 lakh. A former official says, “This is the hidden agenda and KCA officials should be made accountable.”
Interestingly, KCA which gets a funding of around `35 crore per year is going back on developing fresh talent and sources indicated the cricket body should give new players the exposure rather than clinging on to administrative hassles.
Sambasiva Sharma, former Ranji Trophy player, told Express, “Let them conduct a forensic audit. The mushrooming of paper cricket clubs is another menace. In Thiruvananthapuram district alone, there are now 150 clubs. These clubs are purely for election purposes.”