Ranchi, July 11: Just when Ranchi-ites are getting used to witnessing international cricket ties on its backyard, an ugly row has broken out between the state cricket association and Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) that fired the first salvo earlier this month by scrapping its land lease for the stadium complex, citing 10 violations, including one on financial compensation.
Today, two days after it replied to HEC's notice, Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) president Amitabh Choudhary termed the PSU's allegations as lies.
"All the allegations are untrue. ... points raised by HEC in its lease termination letter (of July 4) have been replied to. JSCA is ready to meet HEC officials to cordially resolve the issue," Choudhary, the man credited with putting the state capital on the international cricketing map, said at a news conference.
"We have followed all the norms under the lease agreement, including proper display of the HEC logo on the stadium building, as well as on official communications, payment of 5 per cent on total ticket sales to HEC, besides 100 tickets for HEC for every match. I want to make it clear that no part of the stadium building is being used for any commercial purposes," Choudhary elaborated.
The JSCA boss, who said he would be meeting chief minister Raghubar Das to explain the matter, also termed as "factually incorrect" HEC's contention that its CMD's name had been removed from JSCA's official website for a few days.
HEC scrapped the lease of the JSCA International Cricket Stadium Complex at Dhurwa on the outskirts of Ranchi on July 4, alleging 10 violations, including non-payment of 5 per cent revenue from ticket sales, missing logos from the stadium complex and commercial use of the stadium building.
In its reply on Thursday, JSCA has termed the notice "unwarranted" and based on conjecture. Also, since the lease was granted "on the express of Jharkhand High Court" it wasn't open to HEC to unilaterally terminate it.
On ticket sales, JSCA maintained it had been paying 5 per cent of revenues generated, but did not pass on details of ticket sales as it was beyond the ambit of the lease.
But, HEC CMD Avijit Ghosh stood by the PSU's allegations.
"What we said is fact. We are not a manipulator. We will also react at the right time. HEC has no personal interest in the matter," he told The Telegraph over telephone today.
"The last ODI between India and Sri Lanka was held at the stadium on November 16, 2104. HEC was paid its 5 per cent share of ticket sales only after we served them a notice on July 4. On July 6, a JSCA official came with a cheque of Rs 5 lakh. Is this JSCA's diligence? We were never told how many tickets were sold and at what rate," he claimed.
PR officer Hemant Kumar Gupta questioned JSCA's financial integrity, saying the association had had deliberately reduced its share of revenue from ticket sales.
"The stadium has a total seating capacity of 40,000. For the India vs England ODI of January 19, 2013, HEC was paid Rs 23 lakh. For the India vs Australia match on October 23, 2013, HEC was paid Rs 12 lakh. And for the last match, we were paid only Rs 5 lakh, that too after we served a notice," he said.
CMD Ghosh maintained JSCA was using the stadium premises for commercial purposes. "We had leased out our land for the purpose of cricket, not commerce. It is used as marriage hall and restaurant," he claimed.
On his name not figuring on the JSCA website, Ghosh admitted it was a "trivial issue" about which he wasn't concerned at a personal level.
"But under the agreement, CMD happens to be a patron member. I have just been added as a patron member on JSCA's official website. But, two days back I was not. I have kept a screen shot of the JSCA website," he said.
