Maharashtra CM: No problem if IPL shifted out

After the Bombay high court came down heavily on the state government for allowing Indian Premier League (IPL) matches when people are left with no water, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said it would not supply potable water to cricket stadiums in the state.

Mr Fadnavis also hinted that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was free and the state government would have no problem if it wanted to shift the IPL matches out of the state due to water shortage.

“We have made it clear that no stadium in the state will be provided potable water for maintaining cricket grounds and even if IPL matches are shifted out of Maharashtra this year, the state government has no problem,” said Mr Fadnavis.

The announcement comes a day after the Bombay high court on Thursday refused to grant a stay on the first IPL match on Saturday, but pulled up the state, asking where its priority lay — cricket matches or people dying due to water shortage.

“Thousands of people are dying due to water shortage and you want to maintain pitches. If you want to say that let the thousands of people die and you would not let the pitches die, then we are sorry, and we are not ready to accept it,” said Justice V.M. Kanade on Thursday.

The court also asked if the stadiums were being provided with potable or non-potable water for maintaining pitches and grounds.

Two Hyderabad-based NGOs, Loksatta Movement and Foundation of Democratic Reforms had filed a PIL in the court challenging the use of over 60 lakh litres of water being used for maintaining pitches and sought shifting of cricket matches scheduled in the state.

Mr Fadnavis added, “The state government is doing its best to tackle the water crisis. We are trying to reuse water by adopting the tertiary treatment which improves waste-water quality and the state is also mulling desalination of water where salt water is desalinated to produce water fit for human consumption.”