NEW DELHI: About the only constant that sports governance in India can lay claim to is that ad hocism rules and due process is only on paper. What else can explain the Sports Ministry’s decision, for the FIFTH TIME, to extend the deadline given to the Indian Golf Union (IGU) to be compliant with the National Sports Code, or face de-recognition.
It bears noting that the FOURTH deadline set by the Sports Ministry expired on June 30. Under the new revised one, the IGU has until November 8 to comply with the protocol.
Not surprisingly, the ministry’s unilateral decision to extend the deadline given to the IGU to get its act together by another 90 days has been slammed (and rightly so) by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
More so in the light of the fact that the IOA has already formed a five-member Golf Governance Committee (GGC) to supervise IGU’s affairs and the participation of Indian golfers in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
IOA secretary-general Rajeev Mehta told Times of India: “The ministry has no right to recognise/de-recognise a national federation. IOA as the governing body of Olympic sports in India, affiliated to various international federations, can only take that decision.”
That the GGC has not even held its first board meeting until now does not put the IOA in a good light it needs noting, although Mehta told TOI that it would be organised in the second week of September.
Meanwhile, the ministry’s letter to IGU, accessed by TOI, reads: “This interim recognition of 90 days is the last opportunity given to IGU to put in place duly elected governance and comply with the NSDCI (National Sports Development Code of India), 2011. During the period of interim recognition IGU will not be entitled to any financial support directly or indirectly from the government as was the condition during the last extension.”
For the record, after the fourth extension, the Sports Ministry had clearly warned the IGU that no more extensions would be entertained until it revamped its governance structure, convened its annual general meeting (AGM) and conducted transparent elections. The operative part here is ONLY for the record.
