It has been a rough ride for Vilasrao Deshmukh, who completed one year as Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president on July 15. Various cricketing and non-cricketing issues have dogged the association since the new team was elected
One of the burning issues at today’s 78th Annual General Meeting of MCA to be held at Wankhede Stadium is the mystery behind 405 World Cup (2011) final tickets being unsold, which MiD DAY revealed in its March 19 edition.
Ravi Mandrekar
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Former MCA Managing Committee member Ravi Mandrekar has demanded an enquiry into the issue. “It is unbelievable that 405 tickets of the World Cup final went unsold. The association has suffered a loss of Rs 74 lakh. The affiliated clubs would have been richer by at least Rs seven lakh if these tickets were sold. An enquiry into this has to be initiated like it was done during 1987 World Cup tickets issue,” Mandrekar told MiD DAY.
Another point Mandrekar will raise is the refurbishment cost of Wankhede Stadium, which has been raised from an estimated Rs 145 crore to Rs 320 crore. “It is important to find out the reason behind such a huge difference in cost. There is no satisfactory answer given to the members as yet,” said Mandrekar, who is the secretary of Gaud Saraswat Cricket Club.
Mandrekar will also raise the issue of MCA’s clubhouse at Bandra Kurla Complex. The commercial use of the property, given by Maharashtra government at a concessional rate, led to the withdrawal of Income Tax exemption of the association. The MCA will have to cough up Rs 51.20 crore if the outcome of the appeal is not in their favour. “First of all, the whole agreement is flawed. The land was given for education purpose. MCA has breached all government terms.
There are no financial gains for MCA also in continuing with current terms because all the money is going to the developer,” Mandrekar noted. He will also raise the membership issues at the MCA clubhouses (BKC and Kandivli). “Some Managing Committee members in the past have taken three memberships of BKC instead of two without anybody’s approval. This is a breach of Section 50 of Indian Trust Act, which clearly states trustees cannot be beneficiaries.
“Some Managing Committee members were also paid for their services during the 2011 World Cup. The rule is clear… no one is allowed to take money from the association,” Mandrekar said.
The closure of BKC indoor academy since the last one year and performances of the senior and junior Mumbai teams are other issues that will be taken up in the AGM.u00a0
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