IPL vs PIL: With an alarming rate of farmers’ suicide, how can Maharashtra grounds have water for IPL pitches?

There has been a PIL in the Bombay High Court, against the use of water for the purpose of maintaining pitches prior to the IPL tournament, because water scarcity is and has been a serious issue for the Maharashtra government.

Similarly, another similar PIL, filed by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar, has sought a direction to the IPL Commissioner about paying taxes on about 60,000 litres per day of water that would be required to maintain the pitches.

The PIL was heard by a division bench headed by Justice V M Kanade, where NGO 'Loksatta Movement' has challenged the use of nearly 60 lakh litres of water which would be needed to maintain pitches at three stadiums that the state owns.

"This is a serious issue and we need to look into it," the high court said and posted the PIL for hearing tomorrow.

A serious drought and acute water shortage are the reasons behind the PILs. "There is already a scarcity of drinking water and water for sanitation purposes and the state authorities are turning a blind eye," the petition said.

On the other hand, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has told the court that since IPL tickets are already sold, cancellation would incur a huge loss.

Both the first and final match of the upcoming tournament will be played in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, and a total of 20 matches are set to be played in Maharashtra grounds in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.

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