Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) are yet to address the issue regarding the settlement of payments to ground staff ahead of the second ODI between India and New Zealand.
Feroz Shah Kotla which is set to play host for the second ODI has been declared the best venue for the ninth edition of Indian Premier League and was awarded for being the best pitch in the cash-rich league. The award meant DDCA had received a massive 12.5 Lakh INR which the association has promised to distribute to the ground staff and other technicians involved without whom the accolade would not have been achieved.
However, even after five months since the conclusion of IPL, the staff are yet to receive the promised bonuses which made them not too happy as they still await for the promised payments.
“Every groundsman was supposed to get around Rs 40,000-50,000 while curator Ankit Datta was slated to pocket around Rs 1.5 lakh.The sum is equal to some of the groundsman’s two months’ salaries. They have made plans with the festive season around. They are getting agitated,” an official from the association told the Times of India.
Mr.Ravinder Manchanda who is the treasurer of DDCA claims that they are yet to receive the funds from BCCI as he further says they have not even received the money for hosting World Cup T20 prior to Indian Premier League in March.
“We are still waiting for BCCI to transfer the funds to our account. Even the funds earned from hosting the World T20 matches haven’t arrived,” he said.
However, on the official website of BCCI, there is a declaration that IPL prize money payments have been made until August 2016 which makes things complicated in the state association. The groundstaff had gone on indefinite strike, days ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 (WT20) earlier this year owing to delayed salaries. However, the situation is not critical at the moment but the board is keen to resolve the situation at the earliest.