Lodha Committee suggests BCCI to be brought under the RTI act; governance structure to be overhauled

The Justice Lodha Committee has submitted its verdict to the Honourable Supreme Court of India, as the apex court had asked it to do when it had trusted the three-member panel to investigate the IPL Corruption Scandal of 2013, and recommend changes to the BCCI’s governance structure in July last year.

In line with the preview, that Sportskeeda had posted yesterday regarding the status quo of the state of affairs in the BCCI and the expected changes, the final report contained similar amendments to the governance, management, administration and finances of the board that controls the game in the country.

Of late, cricket’s image in the country had been plagued by the accusations of corruption, especially in the light of the spot-fixing saga that saw many of the cricketers being suspended for life, and two IPL franchises being suspended for two years. The absence of a proper structure to impose checks and balances on maladministration as well as the contentious issue of conflicts of interest, which was alleged to have propelled the chances of undue favours and money laundering, was also felt.

Looking deeply into these issues, the committee headed by the former Chief Justice of India, has asked for sweeping changes in the functioning of the BCCI, which can be encapsulated in the following points:

State Associations

There are various State Associations – also known as Full Members – affiliated to the BCCI, representing the various states that take part in the domestic cricket tournaments. However, the proper governance and restrictions on the possibility of corruption within these affiliates has been an issue, as the funds allocated by the apex board to them were alleged to have been used for non-cricketing purposes.

Also, equal funds were allocated to each of the state association irrespective of its size or needs – the money given to a large state like Tamil Nadu or Karnataka was the same as given to a small state like Goa.

This has been done away with, and now, all the Full members have been asked to prepare a budget for their needs and submit it to the BCCI, which would be monitored and approved, and funds would be allocated accordingly.

Also, an independent auditor has also been recommended to look into the utilisation of the grants given and the members have been asked to submit a compliance report in this regard.

Also, only one association from each state would be entitled to vote in the affairs of the BCCI, with other members without territorial or competitive existence- like the Services, Railways etc.- being given the associate status. Hence, all state associations would not be entitled to uniform subsidies.

Realignment of Zones

There are various Zones into which the cricketing territory has been divided into. The North Zone, the East Zone, the South Zone, the Central Zone etc. to name a few, take turns to appoint the BCCI President from within their realms for a period of five years.

The process adopted for such appointments is a complete departure from the spirit of democracy enshrined in the constitution of India, and the BCCI, having been given the status of a public body, shouldn’t be undemocratic, where the president can be chosen by the support of as little as 3 members of a zone, with the other members (total 31 in number) being mere spectators.

This has been amended to by making the Zones relevant only for the tournaments conducted among themselves, but not for the elections of presidents to the boards or to the standing committees. Hence, now, there would be no Zonal representation in the board.

Governance Structure and Decentralization of Power

As of now, the BCCI has a President at its helm, followed by the Secretary, the Treasurer and other office bearers who enjoy indisputable powers, with many of the office bearers holding terms of undefined time period.

The President has been vested with supreme powers such as three votes in the election affairs – one vote in case of a tie, one for being the president of a full member state association, and another for being the chairman of the said meeting – the veto power in case of the selection of players and taking action against them, and an absolute authority with regards to the change in captaincy and the appointment of members to the ICC.

The Lodha panel feels that such powers must be decentralised, as it breeds corruption and power abuse. Hence, while two votes of the President have been retained, the one vested in him by being the chairman of the meeting has been taken away.

Also, all powers hitherto with the President would be divided into the governing bodies (separate ones for the IPL and the BCCI) to be known as Apex Councils.

The tenure of all the office bearers has been reined in and has been restricted to a maximum cap of nine years, with one term being of a maximum period of three years and no two successive terms being allowed to anyone in the Apex Council.

In addition to this, an office bearer after completing nine years in office would be disqualified from contesting further elections, as will he be if found guilty of a criminal offence, mental disability, has attained 70 years of age, holds any government office, or the post of any other sports body in the country.

The proposed revamped structure of the BCCI.

The Apex Council and Non-cricketing affairs

The newly recommended council has to be properly represented with a fair mix of elected representatives and nominated ones. The plethora of incumbent office bearers currently holding every other position in the BCCI has been cut short to a nine-member body, with representations under each.

The President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Joint Secretary would remain the elected members, followed by two councillors – nominated by players’ associations- one Full Member from within the BCCI and one appointed by the Comptroller and Auditory General of India.

It has been understood that the members of the Apex Council might not be well equipped with handling cricketing as well as non-cricketing affairs, and hence, the provision for non-cricketing management, which would run independently of the governors, has been put in place.

Besides curbing the ad-hoc appointments to the standing committees without professional commitments, it would appoint technically sound personnel for handling affairs such as Finance, Operations, Technical, Media and Human Resources, headed by a CEO.

RTI, Players’ Association and their representation

A sweeping change has been that of the BCCI being brought under the purview of the Right to Information Act, with the Lodha panel being of the opinion that BCCI performs public functions and the people have the right to know what happens inside.

Also, there has been a recommendation of proper representation of players in the day to day functioning of the board- both men and women- as it has asked for a provision for the state associations to be run only by former cricketers and not by the politicians.

In addition, the selection committee would now contain only three members – all of them being former Test cricketers. The person with the most number of Test caps would head the committee.

Talent spotting committee would also have three members with all the appointments being made at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). There shall also be a players’ association comprising men and women retired cricketers to be appointed by a steering committee.

Ombudsman, Electoral Officer, betting, and ethics

The ombudsman earlier appointed by the BCCI must now be a retired judge of a high court in India. An Electoral Officer has been recommended to oversee the entire electoral processes.

The conflicts of interest possibilities will now be monitored by an Ethics officer. Apart from these appointments, one historic change that could change the face of cricketing affairs is the recommendation for the legalisation of betting on cricket matches, though with strict checks. Holds on fixing are expected to be fortified anyway.

The IPL would now be a separate entity having its own COO, and representations from the franchisees, the players’ association and the C&AG of India. Its governing council has also been reduced to nine members, with office bearer holding dual positions – that is here, as well as in the general body of the BCCI.

To sum up, there would be a BCCI general body at the helm, which would have the apex council and the IPL Governing Council under it. The Apex Council will have the CEO for non-cricketing affairs, the Umpires’ Committee and the Cricket Committee with proper representation while the IPL would have separate representations. The general body of the BCCI comprising the five office bearers would be answerable to the Apex Council.