Sports Ministry takes on BCCI over RTI

The Sports Ministry, in a bid to clip the wings of the BCCI (Board Of Control For Cricket In India), has come up with a Draft National Sports Development Bill, which bars sports bodies from using ‘India’ unless they come under the the Right to Information Act (RTI) ambit. The committee headed by Justice (retired) Mukul Mudgal has submitted the Draft National Sports Development Bill to the Sports Ministry.

The BCCI has so far refused to come under the RTI ambit, citing its nature of functioning and autonomy. However, it will have to change the name to avoid the RTI. That could be very tough for the Board, as it has been functioning with the ‘India’ tag since its inception.

Clause (h) of the proposed Bill says, “In order to represent India in international events and to have a right for a particular sport federation to use  ‘India’ or ‘Indian’ in the sport scenario, the federation shall have to comply with Chapter IV (Unethical practices in Sports) and Chapter IX (Applicability of Right to Information Act).”

Since the BCCI is not registered under National Sports Federation (NSF) and does not take government grant, it is not mandatory for the Board to acceept the RTI regulations.