The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has disbanded the Bihar Olympic Association (BOA) due to concerns about governance, transparency, and administrative inefficiency. IOA President PT Usha has established a five-member ad hoc committee, headed by Hockey India Secretary General Bholanath Singh, to oversee BOA activities and organize new elections by March 31.
This decision follows a legal notice from BOA to Usha, challenging her decision to create a fact-finding commission to investigate complaints about BOA’s operations. BOA Secretary Mushtaque Ahmad termed Usha’s action as “unilateral and arbitrary,” asserting that the association had not been given a chance to respond to the allegations.
On Wednesday, Usha announced the formation of the ad hoc committee based on the recommendations made by fact-finding commissioner Hemanta Kalita. “In response to the remarks and recommendations from the fact-finding commission assigned to the Bihar Olympic Association, an ad hoc committee is being formed to oversee the affairs of the BOA,” Usha stated in an official notice.
Kalita’s report highlighted issues with BOA’s affiliation procedures for regional sports federations, insufficient initiatives for sports development, and gaps in transparency, communication, and governance. Kalita, who is the Secretary General of the Boxing Federation of India, visited Bihar and interacted with various stakeholders during his investigation.
The ad hoc committee consists of Bholanath Singh as its chairperson, alongside Arun Kumar Ojha, Pankaj Kumar Jyoti, Sanjay Sinha, and Arjuna award-winning shooter Shreyasi Singh. Their responsibilities include ensuring Bihar’s participation in the upcoming National Games, managing affiliations for state sports associations, aligning the BOA constitution with IOA guidelines, and conducting elections for BOA’s executive committee by March 31.
Usha initiated similar investigations for the Rajasthan and Telangana state Olympic associations to address claims of administrative irregularities and election-related disputes. IOA Vice-President Rajlaxmi Singh Deo, however, criticized Usha’s actions, stating that the executive body was “not privy to the alleged complaints” and that these issues had not been discussed in any executive committee meetings.
For Rajasthan, the IOA confirmed the election of Tejasvi Singh Gehlot as president, Surendra Singh Gurjar as secretary general, and Arun Kumar Saraswat as treasurer of the Rajasthan State Olympic Association. This decision was based on recommendations from fact-finding commissioner Avjit Paul, who noted that the opposing faction led by Anil Vyas “evaded meeting or cooperating with the commission,” as mentioned in Usha’s letter to the Rajasthan body dated December 31.
