Shivlal Yadav, Arshad Ayub Made Accused No 1 & 2
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Hyderabad: In a significant development, the ACB court of Hyderabad on Thursday directed the director-general of ACB to investigate the alleged misappropriation of funds in the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA).
The cricket association’s vice-president and former Indian test cricketer N Shivlal Yadav was made accused number one in the case and president Arshad Ayub the second accused.
Among the 20 other individuals and companies named are M V Sridhar (vicepresident), Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) (which constructed the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium at Uppal) and Bajaj Electricals.
The Special judge for ACB court, I Krishnaiah, made this order after hearing a petition filed by HCA member C Babu Rao Sagar, who charged the executive committee of HCA and several contractors with connivance and causing loss to the association.
The judge held that since cricket associations deal with public money and public assets, they too fall under the category of public servants.
The ACB DG was given time till May 9 to submit his report. The petitioner alleged that a sum of Rs 77 crore was swindled by the HCA executive in the construction of cricket stadium at Uppal on the outskirts of Hyderabad in connivance with Nagarjuna Construction Company.
According to T Sriranga Rao, the counsel for the petitioner, after winning the bid for Uppal stadium, NCC entered into an agreement with HCA for constructing the stadium for a sum of Rs 31 crore.
As per the terms of the agreement, this should include fire-fighting system for the stadium. The accused have increased the cost of construction to an exorbitant Rs 108 crore so far and even today, the stadium is without a fire-fighting mechanism, the counsel said. He charged the HCA executive with receiving huge kickbacks for allowing the association’s money to be swindled. The association leaders are now trying to give a fresh contract for the fire-fighting equipment, he said.
CHARGES GALORE
Misappropriation of Rs 77 crore in construction of Uppal stadium
Over 20 office-bearers received gold biscuits worth Rs 44 lakh as gifts in violation of the bye-laws
Rs 21-crore canopy contract
Rs 2 crore loss in purchase of seats at double the cost
Award of contracts sans tenders
Land purchases running into crores ‘Input costs of stadium material inflated’
Hyderabad: The executive committee of Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) and several contractors have been accused of misappropriation of funds and causing loss to the exchequer of the association.
The petition filed by HCA member C Babu Rao Sagar listed out several irregularities including awarding canopy work contract to Star Mercantile Company for Rs 21 crore, which should have been part of the main construction contract as was done in the case of Nagpur stadium which was completed at a cost of Rs 45 crore during the same period; and purchasing 45,000 bucket chairs for the stadium at double the rate and causing loss to the association to the tune of Rs 2 crore.
HCA purchased seven generators from Devi Power Systems of Secunderabad at Rs 25 lakh per each generator and paid an amount of Rs 1.75 crore from the association’s coffers without calling for any tenders. But the branded price of these generators in the open market is only Rs 13 lakh per generator, the petitioner said.
There were contradictory statements made by the association’s executive as to who purchased the six acre land in Nizamabad. At one stage, it was said that the Nizamabad cricket association had bought this but the HCA records show that this land was purchased by it for nearly Rs 1 crore whereas the reality was that this land was actually bought for just Rs 6 lakh per acre.
As many as 22 office-bearers of the HCA received gold biscuits worth Rs 44 lakh as gifts from HCA in violation of the bye-laws of the association.
The association leaders also misappropriated more than Rs 1 crore in the sale of tickets during India-Australia match in Hyderabad in 2007, the petitioner said.
Further, according to the petitioner, HCA is spending Rs 83 lakh for developing playgrounds at Madhushree engineering college and at two other places without calling for tenders. HCA gave an out-of-turn allotment of work to Bajaj Electricals Ltd, Hyderabad, for erecting floodlights at Uppal stadium at a cost of Rs 6.32 crore and half of this amount was already released even before the works started.
Shivlal Yadav along with other accused executives have decided to purchase 50 acres of land in Nandigama village of Medak district at Rs 20 lakh per acre even though land was available there for just Rs 10 lakh per acre. Contrary to HCA rules, already an amount of Rs 1 crore was paid as an advance, the petitioner alleged.
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