Lodha Panel Demands Transparency In Ticket Allocations
Feb 8, 2017 at 10:02 AM
It clearly seems that things are far from being uncomplicated for the BCCI. Just days after having things not going their way at the ICC meeting in Dubai, the world’s richest cricketing body is set to receive yet another setback. The Supreme Court appointed Lodha Panel has demanded yet another implantation from the BCCI. On this occasion, the move is about ensuring that the revenue received through allocation of tickets remains transparent.
In India, there has often been witnessed that for the general public, there are less number of seats available, with state boards reserving a lot of the tickets for their own members and distributing them later on. In some cases, these complimentary tickets are sold in the black market, leading to corruption.
“Let us remember that complimentary passes reduce the availability of tickets to the public and revenue from their sale,” Mr. Lodha was quoted saying in his interaction with TOI.
“It instead goes to friends, government department, and others. A lot of them get these free passes.”
“There is no account of where these go, no disclosures, and facts are not brought to public domain. We all know that complimentary passes are a largesse by the cricket association concerned, given as entitlement to certain sections of society,” Lodha added.
“What is the basis of free tickets and passes being given for games? What proportions of tickets are available to the general public and how is that transparently ensured? What is the policy for giving tickets and passes to governmental and statutory authorities? We have also specified that the ombudsman must redress grievances of the public concerning ticketing.”