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Lodha panel clarifies why BCCI can't pay state associations

The former chief justice's clarification came after BCCI president Anurag Thakur reportedly said on Monday: "The board would have to cancel the remainder of the New Zealand series because its bank accounts had been frozen following a directive from the Lodha committee".

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Former Supreme Court (SC) chief justice RM Lodha on Tuesday said that the commission headed by him has not frozen the bank accounts of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) but has only asked for two specific payments from the board to its state associations be stopped.

The former chief justice's clarification came after BCCI president Anurag Thakur reportedly said on Monday: "The board would have to cancel the remainder of the New Zealand series because its bank accounts had been frozen following a directive from the Lodha committee".

"There can't be any tournament without money. Cricket cannot run without money. We don't take money from the government. We are not allowed to make payments. I can't say anything about the India-New Zealand series. Team India is No. 1 today, when we are financing state boards, questions are being raised," Thakur was quoted as saying.

On Tuesday, the Justice Lodha panel's website made the air clear: "No direction has been given to banks — Yes Bank and Bank of Maharashtra — to freeze the accounts of BCCI, but only that two specific payments from the board to its state associations be stopped."
"Any payment required for routine affairs, such as organising matches, can go on as they did earlier," the website said.

New Zealand Cricket has not received any communication from the BCCI on this issue and the Kiwi players were practising as per schedule in Kolkata for the third Test in Indore and will be travelling to the host city on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, dna had quoted a source in the panel as saying, "The BCCI largesse of Rs 70 crore (an addition of Rs 10 crore to the existing infrastructure subsidy of Rs 60 crore) to state associations and Rs 28 crore each to full members as compensation for the cancellation of the Champions League T20 were being cleared by the BCCI in an emergency meeting on October 1.

"This combined amount comes to more than Rs 2,000 crore. Is it some kind of a joke that a body like BCCI, which has to implement the orders of the SC, could distribute large sum like this to state associations? In the Lodha panel's opinion, the disbursement of such funds was not routine," said the source. The panel is expected to put all this in front of the apex court on Thursday.

Why BCCI can't use the money

On July 18, when the SC ordered sweeping changes at the BCCI, the Justice Lodha panel was given the task to implement its orders in six months. Justice Lodha, subsequently, gave BCCI a time line to implement the decisions and to conduct "routine business" only after the entire reforms process was completed. On October 1, the BCCI called a Special General Body Meeting (SGM) to take the views of members on the implementation of Lodha panel reforms. This meeting also decided to disburse "over and above routine funds" to all member-states. This was why the Lodha panel asked the two banks to not disburse the funds.

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