No audit since 2004, hence no money

The infighting among office bearers resulted in not only the papers being mismanaged and misplaced, but also in some vital functioning lying unattended.

And, therefore, despite assurance to the ministry regarding submitting of “utilisation certificate” on time in future, the WFI isn’t getting financial clearance from the government to send the teams for international tournaments.

Currently, the WFI backlog is of Rs 13 lakh. This amount is pending since 2000. The federation has not submitted utilisation certificates for any trips in that period. Hence the government has only given administrative clearance to the squad that is participating in the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships to be held in Ontario, Canada beginning from June 15, and subsequently Canada Cup at the same venue.

Regarding the audit gap, WFI chief GS Mander told The Indian Express: “The dispute created the problem. Now the auditors have access to the books and they are looking into it. Legal action will be taken against those found guilty.”

The matter being urgent, WFI officials are hoping that the matter is decided quickly. “We had a discussion with the officials of the sports ministry regarding submitting of pending bills. The issue is expected to be resolved in the coming month,” said Mander.

The plea from the federation is that till such time the papers aren’t cleared, the government should not stop financial support. “Generating funds and sending teams on regular basis is bit too difficult,” he said.

At this point this is the reason why the federation has asked those selected for the Commonwealth meet to foot their own bills.

Before Mander & Co took the office of the federation recently, the WFI affairs were run by court nominee Justice JK Mehra. But WFI officials say that Justice Mehra did not go into the details of the pending bills.

Recently the government gave air passage to the team that participated in the international tournament in Egypt, but the board and lodging was paid by the players. That money is yet to be reimbursed by the government. Also, the WFI had to spend over Rs 5 lakh to send the teams for the Asian championships. That money is also pending with the sports ministry.

Meanwhile, all the selected grapplers for the Commonwealth championships and Canada Cup have agreed to pay their expenditure.