Relieved by High Court's direction to MCD for issuance of provisional occupancy certificate required to stage the India-South Africa Test, DDCA vice-president Chetan Chauhan on Thursday welcomed the appointment of Justice Mukul Mudgal to oversee the affairs of the final match at Feroz Shah Kotla.
DDCA had got a one-day lifeline by the BCCI on Wednesday after it overshot the original deadline set by the Indian cricket board to get all the neccessary clearances to host the fourth Test. The state government then moved HC with a plea seeking a direction to South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) over issuing a POC.
After the hearing spilled over to Day 2, DDCA finally got a relief from the honourable court and Chauhan thanked the judiciary.
"A major hurdle has been crossed and we have got relief. We also welcome Justice Mudgal to oversee the match and its organising," Chauhan said after day’s hearing.
"He (Mudgal) is a good man, a cricket lover and very reasonable. He is very impartial and we are happy to carry on our duties under his guidance," the former India cricketer said.
The `24.45 crore entertainment tax slapped by the government on the state body, which seemed to be the bone of contention in hosting the match will be be up for discussion on Friday and Chauhan is hopeful that everything will fall into place.
"look, as I said the final hurdle has been crossed and the discussion on entertainment tax will be brought up in tomorrow's hearing. We are not running away from it but it should be reasonable," he said.
BCCI though had kept Pune as a back-up venue for the final game and are still awaiting the final verdict from the court on DDCA before they finalise the host venue.
Justice Mukul Mudgal, a former Delhi High Court judge, headed the Supreme Court appointed committee to inquire into the allegations of corruption against former BCCI chief N Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, India Cements, and others and allegations of betting and spot-fixing in 2013 IPl matches.
HC paves way for 4th Ind-SA test at Delhi
The Delhi High Court on Thursday paved the way for DDCA to hold the upcoming fourth India-South Africa test match at Ferozeshah Kotla stadium and directed the South Delhi Municipal Corporation to issue the provisional occupancy certificate.
A bench headed by Justice BD Ahmed observed that it does not want to penalise the players and cricket-loving public by not allowing the DDCA to host the match and appointed Justice Mukul Mudgal to oversee the affairs of the test to be held from Dec 3.
It said that Delhi and District Cricket Association is being given the last opportunity to get all necessary clearances from the Delhi Urban Arts Commission and Archaeological Survey of India and no objection certificate from land and Development Office and completion certificate from South Delhi Municipal Corporation by March 31. The bench asked the cricket association to deposit `50 lakh within two weeks with SDMC towards property tax dues.