In a key development, a Right to Information (RTI) activist has urged the Mumbai Police to provide security for cricket matches only after recovering their dues from the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). The activist wrote to Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey on Saturday, demanding that the MCA should only be granted security for cricket matches provided they fulfil their dues.
RTI activist urges Mumbai Police to recover dues from MCA
According to ANI, as per the letter issued, activist Anil Galgali alleged that the Mumbai Cricket Association has not paid Rs 14.82 crores to the Mumbai Police despite receiving 35 reminders for the same. The Mumbai Police had informed the RTI activist that they had sent such reminders to the MCA for recovering their dues for various matches that transpired over the last eight years.
Galgali levelled several allegations of the dues that MCA ought to pay the Mumbai Police as he stated, “Dues of as much as Rs 14,82,74,177 have not been paid by the Mumbai Cricket Association yet. Mumbai Cricket Association has paid the fee of Rs 1.40 crores only for the IPL cricket match of 2018 in the last eight years.”
It is believed that the Mumbai Police has sent 35 reminders to the President of MCA, stating that an interest of 9.5% will be charged on this outstanding amount. Galgali added, “From April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020: Fee has not yet been charged under the security of the cricket match concluded during this period because no order has been issued by the Maharashtra government regarding how much to be charged. Mumbai Police has corresponded 9 times to the Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department regarding this but the Home Department is not responding.”
The report added that Galgali has claimed that the Mumbai Police gave him information about several cricket matches that included the Women’s World Cup that concluded in 2013, the T20 World Cup of 2016, the Test match of the year in 2016, and IPL in years 2017 and 2018. The ANI report ended by stating that the RTI activist has sent a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil, Minister of State for Home Satej Patel and other officials, demanding that no cricket match shall be held until the MCA clears the dues of the Mumbai Police.