After initially opposing MCA's decision to name Kandivli clubhouse after Master Blaster, Sena says the cricket body should follow procedure
A day after Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) came under the Shiv Sena’s ire for deciding to name its Kandivli clubhouse Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana, the cricket body approached Mayor Sunil Prabhu and sought the civic body’s consent to name the club after the Little Master.
In trouble? In July, Mayor Sunil Prabhu said the MCA had flouted norms by constructing a posh club on the Kandivli land allotted for setting up a cricket training academy. File Pic
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Initially, when MCA had said that it would like to name the ground as Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana, the Sena said that it had no business to do so, as the land belonged to the civic body. “We are not opposed to naming the clubhouse after Sachin, as he is the god of cricket. We are against the procedure. The plot on which it has come up belongs to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and has been leased to the MCA,” said Mayor Prabhu, a Sena leader.
He added, “The MCA has written to us today and sought the permission to name the gymkhana and we will clear the proposal as per the civic process.”
Embattled ground
The Kandivli clubhouse has been mired in several controversies ever since its construction began. Earlier this year in July, Mayor Prabhu said the MCA had flouted norms by erecting a posh club on the land allotted for setting up a cricket training academy.
Additionally, the club was inaugurated without an occupationcertificate. At the time, Sena leader Yashodhar Phanse, too, had demanded an inquiry into how the plot had been issued to the MCA.
However, when asked about the matter he and his party had raised earlier, Prabhu shrugged the issue off, saying, “It is the responsibility of the BMC chief , not ours. The municipal commissioner issued the occupation certificate to the MCA so he should look into it.”
When MiD DAY approached Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte, he said that he would ask for further information on the naming issue. Asked about the alleged violations on the ground, Kunte said, “I will look into it.”u00a0
Nov 11
Date on which MCA wants to rename the ground ‘Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana’
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