Mumbai Cricket Association

Wankhede Stadium

Mumbai City Collector Shivaji Jondhale

Cricket Club of India

Brabourne Stadium

Wankhede Stadium

Wankhede Stadium is one of the major venues in world cricket, having hosted the 2011 World Cup final. The stadium’s architect, Shashi Prabhu, called the allegations baseless

The(MCA) is in danger of losing its pride – the– over a slew of issues with the state government, including lease renewal, unpaid dues, and alleged illegal alterations on the plot that houses not just the stadium but also the Indian cricket board headquarters.A notice issued byon Tuesday, April 16 (a copy of which is in possession of Mumbai Mirror) has demanded Rs 120 crore from the MCA towards unpaid dues and lease renewal, failing which the cricket association will have to vacate the premises.The Wankhede Stadium was built in 1975 after politician SK Wankhede decided that the MCA must have its own stadium following repeated tussles with the, which owns the. The Wankhede Stadium, which can accommodate 33,000 spectators, is sprawled across 43,977.93 sq metres (52,597 yards), and the plot was leased to the MCA by the state government for of 50 years, which ended in February last year.As per that lease agreement, MCA will pay the state government a monthly rent of Re 1per square yard for the built-up area, and 10 paise per square yard for the remaining area. The state government has claimed that rent amount changed after the MCA constructed a building on the plot -- Cricket Centre -- which is now the Board of Control for Cricket in India HQ. The notice issued by the city collector on April 16 has demanded that the MCA furnish permissions for every single alteration and construction on the plot.“The MCA has written to the chief minister seeking lease renewal and we have replied saying the association must pay according to the market rate. We are also checking whether the BCCI headquarters on the premises had all permissions,” Jondhale said.While the MCA’s CEO, CS Naik, said he was not aware of the collector’s notice. After this correspondent forwarded the notice to him, he did not offer any comment. Meanwhile, architect Shashi Prabhu, who designed the Wankhede Stadium, said there was “zero scope for any illegality” on the plot. “Every permission was in place before the stadium was renovated ahead of the 2011 ICC World Cup, whose final was held in Mumbai. The BCCI headquarters are connected to cricket,” Prabhu said.IPS officer-turned-activist YP Singh, who has been raising the issue of alleged illegalities by the MCA, claimed that the association had shown access for fire tenders from university ground whereas “no such means of access actually existed”.“The BCCI headquarters are placed in a building shown as indoor cricket academy so that the plans could be passed. There are serious deficiencies of parking and there is no place for fire tender to move around the stadium,” Singh alleged.Resident deputy collector, Mumbai City, Sampat Davkhar, said that a site inspection will soon be conducted, and the MCA office-bearers have been summoned on May 3 to discuss lease renewal.