IPL in Maha will raise Rs 100 cr, could be used for drought relief: BCCI

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said on Saturday that should the IPL’s matches be shifted out of drought-stricken Maharashtra, the state will lose around Rs 100 crore which could be spent on drought relief.

"Maharashtra gains Rs 100 crore from IPL and if the tournament goes out of the state, it will be a loss for the state," Thakur said. The figure he quoted was based on a BCCI study after 2015’s IPL.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had said on Friday that "we do not have any problem, if the IPL is shifted from Maharashtra this season. No potable water will be provided for IPL this year."

The Mahashtra government is facing criticism for allowing 18 IPL matches to be played in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, which would mean using 65 lakh litres of water for pitch preparation, even as 70 per cent of the state suffers water cuts given the drought, according to NDTV.

The Bombay High Court is hearing two PILs filed by NGOs asking that the matches be shifted out of the state.

According to Thakur, the money raised from the IPL matches can be used to provide relief to villagers who find even drinking water hard to get. 

He said that the BCCI too is concerned about the drought in the state and would not want to use potable water to prepare the grounds for the matches.

"It is also mulling adopting drought-hit villages along with the franchises,” said Thakur. “The franchises have been asked to prepare a report on what else can be done on the drought-mitigation front." 

The BCCI and IPL franchises will make their point in court on 12 April.