Land acquisition: BCA forms panel

VADODARA: Buckling under pressure from the managing committee members, the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) has finally formed a committee for stadium land acquisition. The eight-member committee has been formed to take decisions regarding land purchase, title clearances and other related issues. The decision was taken during the managing committee meeting on Saturday.The land acquisition process is now expected to gain momentum.
The association in its official note said, "The managing committee of BCA has structured a special committee comprising eight members of BCA for purchase of the much-awaited BCA cricket stadium land. This special body consists of president Chirayu Amin, vice-presidents Samarjitsinh Gaekwad and Sanjay Patel, managing committee members Bindukumar Shah and Sanjay Bhatt, secretaries Snehal Parikh and Sachin Dalvi and treasurer Arun Gandhi.
The management said that these members will be fully authorized to take all the decisions pertaining to the land acquisition process, towards realizing the BCA cricket stadium project at the earliest. While Amin had talked about forming a committee for land acquisition in the recently held annual general meeting (AGM), it is for the first time that such a special committee has been formed formally.
The cricket stadium issue had been hanging fire for last nine years and the management had been facing severe criticism over undue delay. Earlier, the land acquisition issue was looked after only by the top management and information regarding the deals was kept completely confidential.
However, the formation of a new committee is being seen as a positive move and sources said that the management is expected give out more details about the stadium land issue in the coming days.
The managing committee meeting of BCA held on Thursday had seen heated arguments after the management refused to provide details of land acquisition. Some members had refused to approve the amount that was to be given for buying a piece of land.