A government proposal that seeks to regulate the operations of the BCCI and other national sports bodies, and bring them under federal transparency and accountability laws, has created some controversy and prompted a sharp reaction from cricket’s administ

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2011A government proposal that seeks to regulate the operations of the BCCI and other national sports bodies, and bring them under federal transparency and accountability laws, has created some controversy and prompted a sharp reaction from cricket’s administrators. The National Sports (Development) Bill 2011 has been placed before the cabinet and is due to be discussed on Tuesday; if approved, it will be placed before Parliament and could be enacted within a few weeks.The bill seeks to reserve at least 25% of federation posts for former players, which means that ex-cricketers will get more play in the affairs of the BCCI; it puts a 70-year age bar for all administrators and limits appointments to only two consecutive terms; it will also mandate the positing of audited accounts of public-access websites. It also puts all federations within the ambit of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) – the BCCI has long opposed measures, including those brought in by the ICC, to put its players under an anti-doping regime.Perhaps its most significant provision vis-a-vis the BCCI is the invoking of the Right to Information Act (RTI), a landmark law that allows members of the public to seek details of the working of federations under the legislation.The BCCI is registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, meant ideally for charitable, non-profit institutions. The advantages available to societies of this kind involve direct benefits involving purchase of government-owned land for cricket-related use at very reduced rates, while indirect benefits relate to excise duty and income tax exemptions. An appellate tribunal is now hearing the BCCI’s case against the Income Tax department’s demand that tax rules be strictly applied to them, as they are not a charitable, non-profit organisation.The cricket board has traditionally been outside the government’s purview and, unlike other national sports federations, has not received state funding. However, it has received tax breaks while staging events, including the recent ICC World Cup. While the BCCI already complies with some parts of the bill’s provisions, including holding regular elections and limiting terms for its office-bearers, it keeps much of its operations out of the public eye. Its accounts are not disclosed, nor are details of its financial dealings – issues that became controversial following the IPL fiasco in 2010.”Only organizations taking a grant from the government can come under the RTI, and the BCCI doesn`t [receive government grants],” board spokesperson Rajeev Shukla was quoted as saying on .The move has put cricket’s administrators, many of whom are senior politicians, in an awkward position. Shukla is a junior government minister while Sharad Pawar, the ICC president and still a powerful figure in Indian cricket, is a member of the cabinet that will discuss the bill. Opposition leader Arun Jaitley is president of the Delhi and Districts Cricket association and seen as a future BCCI president and his party colleague and fellow MP Anurag Thakur heads the Himachal Pradesh Cricket association, whose ground in Dharamshala has hosted IPL games.Some former players have, however, backed the bill. “If the government formulates a rule, the BCCI should follow the framework of the guidelines … I believe the BCCI can work independently but must always toe the government line,” Kapil Dev said.”It is good for sports bodies and their professional running,” another former India captain, Mohammad Azharuddin, said. “It (law) should be for all sports federations and there should be no exception.” Azharuddin is an MP with the ruling Congress party.Sports administration in India has been at the centre of several controversies over the past couple of years. The shambles surrounding the 2010 Commonwealth Games made headlines the world over and eventually resulted in its main organiser being arrested and imprisoned pending trial. The IPL, following last year’s dramatic exit of its chairman Lalit Modi, has been the focus of several investigations by federal agencies on charges of financial irregularities. On Tuesday the country’s finance minister told Parliament the government was probing complaints of irregularities in the IPL and and “criminal activities” by some of the franchises.