The BCCI official, on condition of anonymity, said, "We have no plans to shift as of now. There is no back-up plan." If push comes to shove, the BCCI might consider Kanpur and Ranchi as venues.
A top ranking BCCI official has said the IPL league organisers have no back-up plan if the Bombay High Court, which on Thursday refused a stay on the inaugural match of the tournament to be played here on April 9, orders that following matches be shifted out of drought-hit Maharashtra. IPL management has adopted a wait-and-watch policy for now.
The BCCI official, on condition of anonymity, said, "We have no plans to shift as of now. There is no back-up plan." If push comes to shove, the BCCI might consider Kanpur and Ranchi as venues.
The fate of IPL matches in the state has become uncertain following a public interest litigation challenging the wastage of huge quantities of water required for maintaining grounds in a drought-hit state.
The high court on Thursday by way of not stopping the supply of water to stadiums where the IPL matches will be played offered the league a breather till April 12. Accordingly, the first match will be held at the Wankhede stadium on April 9 between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants.
The PIL, filed by non-government organisation Loksatta Movement, sought the transfer of 20 IPL matches — scheduled in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur — out of the state in view of the water crisis. It claimed that around 40 to 60 lakh litres of water will be used to maintain the grounds; this instead could be diverted to people facing severe water shortage in Vidharbha and Marathwada regions.
The issue is threatening to become a cause for major headache for the tournament organisers since it appears that other drought-hit states hosting IPL matches might be influenced by the outcome of the litigation and make similar demands, the BCCI official said.
Meanwhile, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla refused to comment on a Plan B if the matches are not allowed in Maharashtra. "The honourable high court heard this matter on Thursday and has decided to have another hearing on April 12. It won't be right to give an opinion at the moment," he said.
He added, "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has filed an affidavit where we have put forth our version explaining that we are not wasting water. We definitely want to ensure that there is no wastage of water. It is necessary to use water (for the ground) and we have got the facilities. We do not take water from municipal corporations in Pune or Nagpur, but we take it from borewells."
On Thursday, a division bench of Justice VM Kanade and Justice MS Karnik refused to direct the corporation from supplying the scheduled 22,000 litres of water to Wankhede stadium for the purpose of drinking and sanitation, as prayed by the petitioners.
While refusing to grant relief, the court said, "We are not concerned about one IPL but we want to know the larger plan on water management formulated by the government to tackle the severe situation of drought faced by the state, which would aggravate in the coming months."
The bench has asked the state government to inform it by Tuesday whether it has initiated inquiry to check how the tankers get their water supply when neighbouring districts like Thane and Navi Mumbai are facing severe shortage of water.
The court has now posted the matter for further hearing on Tuesday and directed the government to file an affidavit detailing the policy it's going to adopt for better management of water and to inquire about whether water supplied to stadiums through tankers is potable or non-potable and its sources.
The bench said "It seems like those who have money can get any amount of water while the poor have to wait for days on end to get their daily supply."
However, the BCCI opposed the plea arguing that these are international pitches and they have to be maintained. Moreover, water is not used two days prior to the matches as the pitches have to be dry when the match begins. The water used is non-potable and supplied by tankers. To which the court said, "The question is of priority. Are you going to maintain pitches and let thousands of people die?"
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