**Cuttack**: After Deloitte audit report has exposed widespread financial irregularities in Odisha Cricket Association (OCA), the State cricket body on Wednesday said the audit report is “not true” and will prove its “clean image”.
Terming the media reports about the audit report untrue, former OCA Secretary Ashirbad Behera said, “First, the audit report was confidential and I am shocked to know how it was leaked. Moreover, there were no financial irregularities in OCA and the audit report has only few suggestions to implement.”
Commenting on alleged Rs 30 lakh expenditure in Holi and New Year celebrations, Behera said he doesn’t think it’s a big amount.
“We conduct 6 to 7 functions annually and do you feel Rs 30 lakh is a big amount?,” the veteran sports administrator asked.
Questioning the media reports of whopping Rs 500 crore mess, Behera explained if Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sanctions Rs 30 crore then in 16 years (Behera was OCA secretary for 16 years), it is Rs 480 crore. Where this Rs 500 crore came, he questioned reporters.
As BCCI has asked the State cricket body to respond within 10 days, a top office bearer said that it will revert within 6 to 7 days.
“We have decided in our meeting today that we will keep our answer by March 28,” said OCA Working Secretary Dhiren Palaie.
Worth mentioning, Global consultant Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in its report found large scale financial irregularities in OCA with an unexplained expenditure topping Rs 500 crore.
The Audit report said OCA paid Rs 168 crore to a construction firm when it presented the bill on a plain piece of paper. The OCA Club also spent Rs 30 lakh on Holi and New Year’s celebrations.
The audit report said in 2014-15, major repair work of Barabati Stadium was carried out at a cost of Rs 3.27 crore by one Sanjay Mishra, despite the budget being only Rs 30 lakh-an increase of 1,090 per cent. And the OCA built around 100 flats at a cost of Rs 14.81 crore and gave them to its staff for free.