You will be surprised to know the quantum of money ISL organisers pay to Goa Police towards the “Protection Money” for providing the Police Bandobast and streamlining the traffic during the FC Goa Matches. Hosting a football match in Goa is turning out to be costlier by the season, revealed the sources in the organisation.
The ISL is holding some of the big matches in the state and the quantum of the organisation also costs them a fortune. According to the reports, In four seasons of Indian Super League (ISL) football tournament, home team FC Goa has shelled out Rs 9.7 crore to Goa police for providing them with security and managing the traffic.
That works out to be a whopping rupees 31 lakhs per match, said the sources. According to the TOI Faced with mounting security bills of Rs 31 lakh per match, FC Goa has knocked on chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s doors and said hosting ISL matches at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda is becoming “unviable”.
What has compounded matters for the new owners of FC Goa is that they are paying the security bills of the previous owners—Dattaraj Salgaocar and Shrinivas Dempo. FC Goa’s new owners, which includes casino entrepreneur Jaydev Mody, took over the franchise only in 2016, said the report.
Although according to the reports, the FC Goa owners are protesting the amount charged by the Goa Police, they seem to have no option and have paid Rs. 7.3 crores under the fear of losing the police protection in the forthcoming games.
How Much Does Goa Police Charge ISL for Each Season?
According to the sources, the Goa Police billed the FC Goa owners Rs. 1.5 crore for the inaugural season in the year 2014 while the same was rose to Rs. 3.2 crore for the next season. In 2016, another bill of Rs 1.7 crore was raised, while last season the Goan franchise was given a bill of Rs 3.3 crore.
“This is the highest security bill that is being raised by any state government. In places like Guwahati (NorthEast United FC) and Jamshedpur (Jamshedpur FC), the franchises have not received any bills from police. In places like Mumbai, Pune, and Bengaluru, the bills don’t exceed Rs 2 lakh (per match),” said an official, who has been tracking the development.
The Goa Police has maintained that they are applying the ‘standard rates’ to the FC Goa owners for matches. Based on that the FC Goa have to pay Rs 24 lakh per match for police bandobast alone, while the traffic police, who sometimes work in three shifts, provide a separate bill, and, sometimes, there is the bomb disposal squad, too. All this adds up to Rs 31 lakh per match.
Where the money go?
Now that you know how much do the Goa Police charge to the ISL organisers, let’s take a look at where the money goes.
According to the reports, every game that takes place at Fatorda Stadium Goa Police deploys around 600 policemen. These includes two superintendents of police and five deputy superintendents of police, all of whom do not take home any payment from the organisers.
However, the rest of the policemen on duty come with their own rate charts. These includes 16 police inspectors (Rs 4,000 each per shift), 37 police sub-inspectors (Rs 3,600 each), 7 assistant sub-inspectors (Rs 2,800 each), 12 head constables (Rs 2,000 each), 350 police constables (Rs 1,840 each), 70 lady police constables (Rs 1,840 each), 4 PSIs of IRBN platoon (Rs 3,600 each) and 100 constables of IRBN platoon (Rs 1,840 each).
“FC Goa is being charged for two shifts. The first shift is in fact of just two hours (5-7pm), while the second shift is from 7 pm to 11 pm. The traffic police have sometimes worked in three shifts. Since the total duration for one game is just six hours (5-11pm), FC Goa has told the police to charge them for just one shift,” said the official.
Meanwhile, the Goa Police with the consultation from the Chief Minister’s office (who decided to intervene into the matter) is working out on the charges to be applied to ISL in the future.
Goa police, though, have stuck to their guns. In a new arrangement that is being worked out, police are understood to have agreed on 550 police personnel per game and will charge the franchise on a one and a half shift basis.
The chief minister’s office has responded by constituting a three-member committee headed by a secretary (sports) J Ashok Kumar and includes additional secretary (finance) and superintendent of police (headquarters). The committee has been asked to prepare a report within a month.
“The government has decided to constitute the committee to examine the issues of police protection fees levied for sporting events such as the ISL,” states an order issued by the director, Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs (DSYA), V M Prabhu Desai.
SP Shekhar Prabhudessai discussing security aspects at the stadium in Fatorda.
source: http://www.navhindtimes.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/13semis-500×330.jpg
