Brief Facts: 1

I { CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION. File No, ClClLSl Cl 20721 0007 74 Appellant Shri Subhash Chandra Agrawal Public Authorlty i R.espondents Delni & District Cricket Association Date of Decision 13.04.2015 Brief Facts: 1. Sri Subhash Chandra Agrawal filed a complaint on 8.6.2012 stating that there was no response from respondents to his RTI petition dated 30.4,2012 seeking details about a) land provided to stadium of DDCA at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, b) title, ownership/lease/freehold/rent, rate of rent, subsidy given, other facilities, security, etc. provided by Government or state resources, c) activities undertaken, eligibility criterion for enrolment of membership of Association, total number, various categories, d) number of voters, e) powers and facilities available to office bearers, f) number of mailed envelopes containing proxy-forms returned undelivered, g) number votes received at elections held last, h) system of distribution of complimentary tickets,/passes during several matches conducted by BCCI ant IPL etc, i) number of envelops with such passes for matches held till 30th April 2012, along with, j) envelopes returned undelivered, kj utillzation of seats fell vacant due to return of complimentary tickets, l) relationship of DDCA with BCCi, etc and m) any other related information along with file-notings on movement of the RTI petition as well. 2. The complainant sought a direction to provide documents free of cost as per S 7(6) and compensation under S 19(8)(b) besides invoking the penal provisions. On reference from the Hon'ble Commissioner Shri M.L Sharma, a . full bench of the Commission was constituted. LS/C/20t2/00071+ ,o\ Page 1 ,o t;l-o i' , ) Complainant's case 3. The complainant's case is: the DDCA is a PubllcAuthority undersection 2(h) of the RTI Act because it is substantially financed by the Central Government in as much as a plot of land measuring 14.28t acres at Ferozshah Kotla has been allottecl to it on temporary basis for a period of 33 years w.e.f' 1.4.2002 and DDCA is required to pay license fee @ Rs. 5,500/- per acre per annum for the open space and at the rate of 5% per annum @ Rs. 88 Iacs per acre for built up area, revisable after every 11 years on the basis of land rates prevailing at that time. The land is located in the heart of the capital city of Delhi and the fee structure grossly falls short of the prevailing market rates and this can be construed as indirect substantial financing of DDCA. It is an Association under the Companies Act, which has its office at Willington Pavilion, Kotla Ferozshah, New Delhi..The object of this Association is to encourage and promote the game of cricket in the Province of Delhi and districts of Karnal, Meerut, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Gurgaon etc, The other objects of the Association are to finance or assist in the organization or promotion of Provincial Cricket Association and of Inter Provincial Tournaments as also to promote and hold/organize, either singly or jointly with other Associations, Clubs or persons, cricket matches and competitions etc. Complainant contended: a. The Delhi & District Cricket Association is a "public authority" as defined r.rnder section 2(h) oi the Right to Information Act for the reason that it is substantially funded, directly or indirectly, by the a ppropriate Government(s). b. The DDCA is one of the 30 Member State Cricket Associations of the BCCI and has an umbilical cord attached to its parent National Sports Federation BCCI which is responsible for the promotion and development of the game of cricket across the length and breadth of India just like the DDCA is solely responsible for the promotion and development of cricket within the entire territory of the National Capital Region of Delhi. c. That in the course of management of their affairs, the BCCI, in consultation with the world parent body viz,, International Cricket Council other cricket playing countries, prepares itinerary LS/C/2012/000774 a\ Page 2 :l (n lo ".? i, 3 c,' \ * \o'\.r ,- ) through the Future Tours Program (FTP) by fixing schedule for international matches / tournaments such as the iCC World Cup for ODI's and T20, Champions Trophy, Champions League besides Tests, One Day Internationals and T20 matches played between its member nations, amongst others. Thus these cricket matches are played at various venues in India belonging to Member State Associations of BCCI like the Respondent DDCA (Ferozshah Kotla Ground) and abi"oad. In addition to otner international fixtures, the BCCI ifirough its 30 affiliated Member State Associations such as the Respondent DDCA, Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), Kerala Cricket Association (KCA), Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), etc also holds domestic cricket fixtures throughout the length and breadth ol the country. All district, state and inter-state matches / tournaments, including but not limited to, the Ranji Trophy, the Irani Trophy, the Duleep Singh Trophy, the Deodhar Trophy and the N.K.P. Salve Challenge Trophy, etc are also hosted by the BCCI and / or its Member State Association(s) including Respondent DDCA. Not only this, for the last six Seasons the BCCI though considered to be a "Not for Profit Charitable Organisation" is also responsible for holding an out & out commercial venture namely the Indian Premier League, popularly known as the "IPL" all across India including Delhi. As is well known, auction of franchisee teams and players including renowned international cricketers is also held involving billions of rupees to be paid to them for their respective participation in the game. For the aforementioned international, domestic & league matches, BCCI, DDCA and various IPL Franchisees enter into separate commercial contracts regarding in-stadia rights, gate money, sub-leasing of stadia, etc , as is the case between Respondent DDCA, BCCI and Delhi GMR Franchisee (Delhi Dare Devil). d. Not a single penny as revenue can be earned, much less tens, hundreds and thousands of Crores, whether by the BCCI or its Ivlember Asso.,lation (Respondent DDCA) in the absence of a cricket ground / stadia where matches are held such as the Ferozshah Kotla Grounds in the heart of the capital city of Delhi. It is quite evident that the BCCi and its Member State Association including the Respondent DDCA earn majority of their revenues (almost 85-90 per cent) by selling various properties / rights (W Rights, in-stadia rights, sponsorships, etc) of various matches, domestic or international as detailed in paragraph 3 hereinabove, on the solemn assurance that they shall host these cricket matches on a ground in a cricket stadium which would be viewed by thousands of people within the stadium and millions across the world through the medium of television, radio, internet, etc. Hence,.there is an umbilical cord between the BCCI and its Member State Associations like the Respondent DDCA as all the stadia across the length and breadth of India including Ferozshah Kotla Ground in Delhi is leased out to the Ls /c12017, /0007 L4 Page 3 various Member State Associations of BCCI such as to the Respondent DDCA for Delhi. No revenue whatsoever would be earned by either the BCCi or the DDCA, etc in the absence of these cricket giounds / stadia situated in prime localities made available to them by various local state Governments and that too at a pittance of a lease amount instead of the prevailing market rate. The Respondent DDCA is a recipient of Union and/or State Governments largesse and/oi- grants/ inter alla, in the forrn of nominal lease of prime land given to it at throw away prices and not at the prevailing market price for the Ferozshah Kotla stadium. It is only because of such massive infrastructure provided by the Government that Respondent DDCA is able to save millions of Rupees annually. But for ttris wind fall concession which is clearly in the nature of substantial indirect funding, it would be almost impossible for the DDCA to purchase such vast land of about 14.28 acres built in Lhe heart of the capital city of Delhi at the prevalent market price. Even if one considers the current circle Rate, which is known to be far less than the prevailing market price in the area, the said 14.28 acres of land at Ferozshah Kotla would come to thousands of crores of Rupees and not a meager lease amount of about Rs. 24.64 Lakh per annum which is currently being paid by the DDCA to the local Government and that too for a long term lease' f. Besides, affiliated Member State Associations of the BCCI like the Respondent DDCA, also avail huge concessions from the Government in the.form of providing them free of cost security while hosting cricket'matches commonly known as "police bandobast". But for such substantial largesse's, grants and.concessions or funding by the Centre and / or State Government it would be almost impossible for the DDCA and its parent body BCCI to function as such leave alone generate revenues to the tune of Crores of Rupees annually. Thus huge amount of financial benefits accrue to the Respondent DDCA. On bei"ralf of complainants, ilon'ble MP (Lok Sabi,a) Mr. Kirti Azad, forriler test cricketer and member of World Cup winning team in 1983, presented following points explaining the concessions granted by Government, controls exercised and made serious allegations of irregularities against the DDCA. a. The DDCA occupies 14.28 acres of lakhs of prime land in Delhi, for which it pays mearly Rs 24.64 lakh of license fee annually. Since 2002, no lease executed by MoUD with DDCA, for want of compliance with various requirements listed by L&DO vide their ietter L&DO/111/17(32)02/stZ dl l0th July, 2OO2- DDCA therefore is clearly in.

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