The match had been thrown into jeopardy over lack of completion certificate for the block.
Ending a days of speculation, Delhi on Wednesday got the go ahead to
host the World Twenty20 semifinal as scheduled on March 30 after the
embattled DDCA got the requisite clearances to use the contentious R.P.
Mehra Block at the Feroze Shah Kotla Stadium.
The match had been thrown into jeopardy over lack of completion certificate for the block.
The Delhi and District Cricket Association had been given an extended
deadline till 2pm today to furnish the clearance, which came after a
meeting of its officials with Justice (Retd) Mukul Mudgal, the Supreme Court-appointed observer for DDCA.
“The DDCA stands have been cleared till 2017. Not only this match but
all the IPL matches will go ahead as planned. Decks were cleared after
Justice Mudgal was convinced that there would no legal problem in
holding the matches,” a DDCA official told PTI.
Wednesday’s meeting with Mudgal was attended by DDCA working president
Chetan Chouhan, treasurer Ravinder Manchanda, and an ICC legal advisor.
The DDCA now has the go ahead to use the R.P. Mehra Block, which has a seating capacity of around 2000.
Earlier on Tuesday, the DDCA withdrew its petition seeking a direction
to South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to issue the requisite
certificate for the block, which is at the centre of a controversy.
The R.P. Mehra Block has not been used in the World T20 matches that has taken place at the Kotla so far.
The ICC was concerned about the prospect of the matches being held at
Kotla in front of empty stands, especially from the broadcast point of
view.
Prior to this, DDCA’s attempt to get relief from the Delhi High Court had failed.
The petition by the cricketing body seeking a direction to South Delhi
Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to issue the certificate for the R.P. Mehra
block came up for hearing before Justice A K Pathak, who referred the
plea to a division bench observing that DDCA’s issues are pending before
it.
