World T20: Fingers crossed for Feroz Shah Kotla after court dismisses plea

The part of the stadium which is posing a major hurdle in obtaining the NOC is the RP Mehra block.

With just days left for the World T20 to start, the availability of Ferozeshah Kotla was thrown into fresh crisis after the high court dismissed a plea from the Delhi and District Cricket Association for a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) for the use of the stadium.

The DDCA had approached the high court with a plea to restore an earlier petition seeking approval from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), as part of the stadium violates the norms set by the ASI against construction within 100 meters of a protected site. The DDCA had initially filed its plea in 1997, but the case had lapsed due to non prosecution. Recently the association again filed a plea for restoration of the matter, seeking court orders to the ASI for granting clearance.

The part of the stadium which is posing a major hurdle in obtaining the NOC is the RP Mehra block. It was built in the late 90s and now houses the media enclosure besides production and commentary boxes. It was built before the stadium went for a major overhaul in the early 2000s when construction took place in parts close to the government school and Ambedkar Stadium.

Rejecting DDCA’s restoration plea, the bench headed by Chief Justice G Rohini said the association cannot “live from match to match” and it can only hold the matches after demolishing part of the structure which is within 100 metres of the ‘Kotla Baoli’. “You (DDCA) cannot live from match to match,” said the bench, which asked the DDCA to demolish the “unauthorized” structure. “If it is unauthorised, it has to go. It was held unauthorised and you have kept this pending since 1997. The 1997 writ petition was dismissed twice in default.”

The developments, barely a couple of weeks before Kotla hosts its first World T20 match, triggered confusion and chaos within the DDCA. The association continued to maintain “no demolition order” stand but is working on a way forward to ensure procurement of necessary clearances.

“There was no talk of demolishing the block. I need to have a look at the order first. We had an emergent meeting with senior members of the association — Chetan Chauhan and CK Khanna — and the moment we get hold of the order, we would act accordingly. Match is on at the Kotla and we will ensure there is no hindrance from our end,” says DDCA treasurer Ravinder Manchanda.

The association, it is learnt, is contemplating a couple of alternatives following the observations of the high court bench. The DDCA is expected to play the “national interest” card in the next hearing and would request the bench to grant them “provisional clearances” to allow the World T20 matches to be held in the capital. DDCA is even exploring the possibility of filing an SLP (Special Leave Petition) but even that wouldn’t come for hearing until next Tuesday, a week before the first match, due to the weekend and Mahashivratri on Monday.

“The only option left now is to convince the court to give us provisional occupancy certificate. Yes it has been rejected in the past but these matches being World T20, we are hoping the honourable court gives us the same in the interest of the fans and the tournament,” says a senior DDCA official who is part of the organising committee.

Meanwhile, in a ray of hope for DDCA, retired Justice Mukul Mudgal, in a report filed before a different bench of the high court, observed that the World T20 matches “may be permitted” at the Kotla. The report filed through Nitin Mishra before the bench of Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Vibhu Bakhru said that “particular concerns” raised by the court “about safety aspects of the stadium” had been “addressed by DDCA to the satisfaction of SDMC and occupancy certificate is awaited.”

“DDCA may be permitted to conduct the World T20 and IPL if deemed proper by this court. Furthermore, time may be granted to DDCA up to June 30 only, as a last resort, to address any other issues unrelated to safety raised by other authorities.”

(Inputs from Sahil Malhotra)