MCA8217;s school for scandal

MUMBAI, July 4: What does a cricket academy, a squash court, gymnasium, pool tables, a bowling alley and a restaurant have in common? Cri...

MUMBAI, July 4: What does a cricket academy, a squash court, gymnasium, pool tables, a bowling alley and a restaurant have in common? Cricket, of course! A section of the Mumbai Cricket Association MCA, however, does not buy that argument. They say constructing a multiplex like the Indoor Cricket School being built at the Wankhede Stadium near Churchgate will not only detract from its objective but could also turn into a purely commercial and elitist venture.

Apart from being ill-conceived, the project is also wholly unviable given the state of the MCA8217;s finances, the association8217;s members say. Pointing out that the MCA has yet to pay SICOM Rs 7.5 crore for the electronic scoreboard it purchased for the 1996 World Cup, they wonder how the MCA will raise resources to fund the school. Conceived of 25 years ago, the MCA has managed to construct only a single-storey structure thus far, simply because it lacks the requisite funds, members add.

They also question how work on the school, to be built on thelines of the one at the Maryleborne Cricket Club at Lords, England, has commenced when no feasibility report has been prepared till date.

Says Shashi Prabhu, the project8217;s high-profile architect who has also designed the Wankhede Stadium and Andheri Sports Complex: 8220;The school will coach budding cricketers and help players who lack net practice due to the rains. The nets will be 120 feet long. Three pitches with artificial grass will also be built. Indoor conditions for all-weather purposes will be sophisticatedly created,8221; Prabhu told Express Newsline.

Piling work commenced in 1978 but stopped three years later with civic permission lapsing. In 1994, former chief minister Manohar Joshi was elected as MCA president but work could not continue as the BMC rejected fresh permission stating that there was no balance Floor Space Index FSI. It was only in March 1996, a year after Joshi became chief minister, that the state Urban Development Department granted extra 30,000 sq feet as FSI. However, workcommenced only in February 1998. 8220;It is the MCA8217;s old ploy to keep delaying and then rushing the work with last-minute approvals,8221; alleges a former managing committee member.

Questioning the very need for an academy, members say it will flop in Mumbai which has sunshine for nine months, allowing budding cricketers to practice for the better part of the year. Indoor cricket has potential in places like England, where severe cold and rain persists for nearly six months. Also, despite the revenue thatwould accrue, the cost of maintaining the school would far outstrip income, members say. Finally, it will turn into another gymkhana, they add. MCA members also point out that the Mafatlal Group had contributed Rs 1.5 lakh in 1974 for a cricket school per se. However, with the ostentatious features added along the way, sponsors will be hard to come by, they reason.

MCA Joint Secretary Ratnakar Shetty said construction could not commence earlier, as Mafatlal8217;s contribution was not enough to begin work.8220;Members were not opposed to the plan but have merely sought a feasibility report,8221; he says. The other joint secretary, Pravin Barve, adds: 8220;We are looking at various options to generate income. A project report is being prepared. Looking at the cricket mania today, we are confident the project will take off well.8221;

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MCA Treasurer Ramesh Kosambia admits that the General Body has not yet approved the project and that the association8217;s funds are in dire straits. 8220;We hope the school does not become a white elephant like the electronic scoreboard. The Annual General Meeting will first approve Prabhu8217;s plans after which it will be publicised for sponsorship,8221; says Kosambia, adding that 300 MCA-affiliated sports clubs will use the indoor school.

Chief coordinator of the Elf-Vengsarkar Cricket Academy, Makarand Waingankar, says the concept of a cricketing school is good as facilities in Mumbai are deteriorating. 8220;Our maidans are in bad shape and the boys cannot practice in summer due to a water shortage atthe maidans. Three vital months are also lost during the monsoon,8221; he says. But, he adds, it would be more feasible to have two or three small schools. 8220;The one being built by the MCA is commercially-tinted and ultimately young enthusiasts will have to pay through their nose,8221; he says.