Internet Desk: Bombay HC slammed the BCCI on Wednesday for going ahead with its plans to hold the IPL matches in Maharshtra , Pune and Nagpur.
Lashing out at the Maharashtra government over the wastage of water for maintaining pitches during the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Bombay High Court said that the people were far more important than organizing cricket matches.
Former journalist Ketan Tirodkar has sought court orders to recover Rs1, 000 for each litre of water used to maintain cricket pitches for the matches in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune during the tournament.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed regarding the same, which also demanded extra charges be levied on IPL organizers to meet the expenses for sending water to crisis-hit areas.
Earlier, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla ruled out shifting the matches out of Maharashtra due to drought and water scarcity in the state.
A PIL filed in the High Court on Tuesday sought a direction to the IPL Chairman to pay tax on usage of water, claiming that about 60,000 litres of water would be needed every day to maintain the pitches.There is demand from some quarters that IPL matches should not be played in the state as the preparation of grounds requires huge amounts of water.
The annual T20 extravaganza would kick off on April 9 in Mumbai.