Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday toughened his Government’s stand on the raging controversy over the excessive use of water for cricket pitches during Indian Premier league (IPl) matches, by asserting that he would not mind if IPl was shifted out of the State, but the State Government would not provide potable water for maintenance of pitches.
Under immense pressure from the Bombay High Court to act tough against the BCCI and other cricket associations bent on indulging in “criminal wastage” of water for maintenance of cricket pitches during the IPl matches to be played in Maharashtra, Fadnavis said that even if IPl was shifted out of Maharashtra, the State Government had no issues but it would not provide potable water to the IPl this season.
Talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a function organised on Maharashtra’s traditional new year day “Gudi Padwa” at Girgaum in south Mumbai, Fadnavis said: “In the High Court, we have said that we will not provide potable water for IPl for this season. Even if IPl is shifted, we have no problems. But no potable water will be provided for IPl”.
“It was put forth by the organisers (BCCI) that they would use non-potable water. We have said that unless we ensure it is non-potable water, we cannot let IPl matches to be staged in Maharashtra,” the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister’s statement came a day after an HC Bench of Justices VM Kanande and MS Karnik refused to stay the first T20 fixture scheduled for April 9 — on the ground that it wanted to ascertain from the State Government and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as to whether the water supplied to stadiums in tankers was potable or non-potable.
At a hearing on a PIl filed by NGO ‘loksatta Movement’ which challenged the use of 60,000 litres of water for maintenance of cricket pitches during IPl matches, the HC bench observed in its order: “The petition is filed just before the IPl matches are to begin from April 9...we do not propose to grant a stay at this stage...we want to know the source of water supplied to the cricket grounds for maintaining the pitches”.
The HC Bench had directed the State Government and the BMC to file separate affidavits by April 12 clarifying whether the water supplied to stadiums during the IPl matches was potable or non-potable.
In all, 20 IPl matches are to be played in the ninth edition of the IPl beginning at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 9.
The High Court - through its decision not to grant immediate stay on all the IPl matches to be played in Maharashtra - has cleared decks for the first T20 fixture to be played between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants on Saturday. However, uncertainty continues over the fate of remaining 19 matches scheduled at the stadiums of Maharashtra i.e., Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.
On April 12, the High Court is expected to take a call on whether to shift the remaining 19 matches out of Maharashtra, when it hears both the State Government and the BMC on whether the water supplied to stadiums during the IPl matches was potable or non-potable.
Giving a stern word of advice to the State Government, Justice Kanade of the HC Bench had observed on Thursday: “This is a serious issue, the Government needs to look at it seriously... People where they have money can have as much water as they can whereas in other places people are getting water once in three days...this is an anomaly”.
“You are dealing with people at large....animals have died, cattle have died, people are dying and you want to maintain pitches and grounds,” Justice Kanade observed, as he directed the State Government to spell out what short-term and long-term measures it has planned to tide over the water crisis.
Upbraiding the BMC for failing to rein in the water tanker lobby which was exploiting to the hilt the current water shortage in the metropolis, Justice Kanade also observed: I am told that these tankers charges over Rs 900 per tanker. How it is permissibleIJ How can you (BMC) allow thisIJ After all, the wells and borewells from where they draw water belong to the corporation”.
The HC Bench had asked the State Government and other authorities if they had formulated any policy for supply of potable and non-potable water to Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan and other cities in Maharashtra.
The HC Bench had also asked the State Government to clarify in their separate affidavits, if they had made any inquiries about the source of water supplied to the stadiums through tankers.
The judges had sought to know from the State Government and civic authorities if they had drawn up any contingency plans to meet further scarcity of water in the event of the delay in the arrival of monsoon this year.
On his part, acting Advocate General Rohit Dev told the court: “We have emergency plans for coming months. We have micro-level planning for each of the districts...there are two high-powered committees which are looking into the issue.”
In another query, the HC Bench asked the authorities to inform if they had imposed any restrictions on use of water in marriages and receptions to be held during the month of April-May 2016 in view of the severe water crisis prevailing in the State.
Holding that use of water for maintaining cricket pitches for Indian Premier league (IPl) matches was a “criminal waste” and wondering if people are more important than cricket matches, the same HC division bench had on Wednesday observed that the IPl matches be ideally shifted to some other state outside Maharashtra where water was in abundance. It had asked the Maharashtra Government as to what steps it was taking to restrict wastage of water during IPl matches.
Making no bones about the wastage of water by the cricket bodies, the HC Bench had told BCCI and other cricket bodies in Maharashtra: “How can you waste water like thisIJ. People are more important or your IPl matchesIJ How can you be so carelessIJ Who wastes water like thisIJ This is criminal wastage. You know what the condition is in Maharashtra”.