Himachal Pradesh ignore dues from Kings XI Punjab and IPL

Dharamsala, Dec 8 (IANS) Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kings XI Punjab has favoured an NGO run by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's son, and in lieu of the favour the state is not to recover dues from it for hosting matches, the state cricket body said on Monday.

Kings XI Punjab has paid Rs.200,000 to Vikramaditya in two instalments for his NGO, which is also organising cricket matches, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association's (HPCA) public relations officer Sanjay Sharma told reporters here.

He said in lieu of the favour, the state preferred not to recover Rs.4.79 crore spent by it during the IPL matches played at the HPCA Dharamsala Cricket Ground in Dharamshala. The amount was spent on providing security during the nine IPL matches.

"Not even an entertainment tax has been recovered from the cricket team from 2013 onwards," he said.

He said the previous BJP government had exempted the levy of entertain tax on sports activities.

"The tax was imposed in 2011 by the state and the then (BJP) government had realised the amount. But this (Congress) government has not recovered that amount from Kings XI Punjab so far," Sharma added.

Interestingly, the state High Court in October issued notice to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and others overpayment dues regarding security cover for the IPL matches at the Dharamsala cricket stadium.

Listing the case for next hearing on December 9, a division bench of Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Tarlok Chauhan also issued notice to the HPCA, the state and IPL team Kings XI Punjab, whose home ground is Dharamsala.

Petitioner Vinay Sharma said the HPCA and the BCCI have not paid any amount to the state government for security charges and other legal dues such as taxes since 2010 when the first Indian Premier League match was played at the HPCA stadium. He said the government had spent around Rs.10 crore on security during the matches.

The HPCA stadium in Dharamsala is some 250 km from the state capital Shimla.