Sports bill gets a makeover
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New Delhi: Age and tenure norms have been left untouched in the reworked draft sports bill unveiled by sports minister Ajay Maken on Monday, which could lead to furrowed brows among sports administrators who have always doubted its intent.
The bill, which was rejected by the Union Cabinet on several scores in August, was redrafted by the sports ministry with several changes. But the change that every sports body, right from the Indian Olympic Association, was hoping for has not been brought about. The age and tenure caps were among the contentious issues — including bringing cricket under the RTI Act — that a few ministers, led by Sharad Pawar, who is also the current ICC president, had vehemently opposed.
»DRAFT BILL NEW AVATAR
Bill projects diluted RTI, dope norms to soften critics
New Delhi: Age and tenure norms remain in the reworked Sports Bill butthe ministry has seemingly bowed to the diktat of the dissenting ministers, diluting the RTI rules to include an exclusion clause and ruling that NSFs are free to follow the anti-doping rules of their international parent federations even if they are at variance with the World Anti-Doping Agency norms.
»DRAFT BILL NEW AVATAR
Bill projects diluted RTI, dope norms to soften critics
New Delhi: Age and tenure norms remain in the reworked Sports Bill butthe ministry has seemingly bowed to the diktat of the dissenting ministers, diluting the RTI rules to include an exclusion clause and ruling that NSFs are free to follow the anti-doping rules of their international parent federations even if they are at variance with the World Anti-Doping Agency norms.
One sport to benefit would be the Board of Control for Cricket in India. In viewofthe BCCI'sobjections,wehavedecided to exempt cricketers from some anti-doping norms, Maken said, apparently referring to the whereabouts clause, which was watered down by ICC to a great extent and accepted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The ICC does not follow some WADA norms and in these cases the rules of international federation — in this case the ICC — will prevail over the WADA Code. It is not that the WADA Code will not apply to cricketers but in those cases where there is conflict, the ICC rules will prevail. It is also not an exemption to BCCI, it is to the ICC, he said.
Despite this concession, BCCI is likely to object to being made a national federation and will also bristle at being broughtunder theRTIAct despite insisting that it does not take financial aid from the government.
Efforts have been made to streamline the bill while retaining basic the principles of transparency, good governance and de-control from government.
Serious consideration has been given to remove the perception that the ministry was seeking to directly interfere in sports. So,I am hopefulthat the revised bill will get Cabinet's approval this time, Maken added.
The RTI rules in the new draft also exempt information peculiar to sports from being disclosed to the public. Queries related to selection, appointment or exclusion of athlete, coach, trainer or physiotherapist; to the quality of performance of an athlete in a competition; to health and fitness of an athlete; to whereabouts of an athlete and information which is confidential under the NADA code will be excluded from the Act.
This has been done to ensure that our athletes are not in a disadvantageous position as compared to our competitors from other countries by revealing thehealthcondition of our players. This issue was raised by many former and current athletes, Maken said.
Around 14 changes have been effected in the bill.
The government has vested itself with the responsibility of promotion andfunding of sports but has carefully avoided any confrontation with IOA and the national sports federationsby stating that its jobwas merely administrative.
The bill has taken away all discretionary powers of the government to recognise a federation and has instead left it to the appellate tribunal. The government's is an administrative job wherein they willcheck all the eligibility criteria a sports body has to meet and give it recognition. Any discrepancy or dispute will be referred to the tribunal, said Vidushpat Singhania, a sports law expert, who has been closely associated with the drafting of the bill.
Members of the tribunal will be appointed by the Chief Justice of India with the disputes mechanism beginning with the redressal forums that each NSFs are supposed to set up, leading up to Indian CAS before being referred to the tribunal in case the dispute is not settled.
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