Despite "open defiance" by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the Indian government on Wednesday said it "wanted to bring the powerful cricket body under the ambit" of the Right to Information Act, according to the IANS. The government has declared all National Sports Federations receiving a grant of Rs 10 lakh ($16,300) or more in a year as "public authorities under the RTI Act" but the BCCI has "contested it saying it does not get any government grants." India Sports Minister Sarbanabda Sonowal, while responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, said the government has "formulated the National Sports Development Bill to bring BCCI under the ambit of RTI" (IANS, 8/13). The PTI reported the Indian government said taking over the Indian Cricket Board "was not a 'feasible' option." Sonowal said, "BCCI is an autonomous body registered under the Societies Act. It is not feasible for the Government to take over and run the day to day activities of BCCI." He said the government was "aware of several controversies surrounding the BCCI and it was investigating the matter." He added, "Several controversies about BCCI regarding allotment of franchisees, match fixing, betting etc., reported in sections of print and electronic media, have come to the notice of the Government" (PTI, 8/13).
