Bengaluru: In what could be a clean-up act, as many as five State Golf Associations (SGA), on Monday, were barred from taking part in the ongoing Indian Golf Union (IGU) election process.
This was following an order issued by Justice OP Garg, former judge High Court Allahabad and the Returning Officer of the IGU elections. This was based on a complaint from Shyam Sunder, one of the IGU council members.
Sunder in his complaint, which is acknowledged in Garg’s order, states that Himachal Pradesh Proam Golf Association, Arunachal Pradesh Golf Association, Madhya Prant Golf Association, Nagaland Golf Association and Sikkim State Golf Association have not compiled with the requirements as laid down in the IGU bye laws, therefore rendering them defunct.
The SGAs are without golf courses as members except Army Environmental Park and Training Areas (AEPTA), the names of presidents, secretaries, office bearers of these SGAs aren’t in the public domain, they only exist on paper which is against the letter and spirit of the National Sports Code, no AGMs were held and SGAs failed to file annual reports/ balance sheets, were some of the observations made by Garg.
What was a 31-member association, the IGU has now released a new list consisting of the remaining 26 members on its official website before the country’s golf body goes to the polls on December 15 with the results slated to be announced on the same day.