Chandigarh Golf Range members at loggerheads

Deepankar Sharda

Chandigarh, June 16

Like other clubs of the city, the Chandigarh Golf Range (CGR) — under the Chandigarh Golf Association (CGA) — is also heading towards a fight for grabbing ‘power’.

Have to abide by constitution

“The CGA functions under a constitution formulated during the establishment in 2000. We have to abide by the constitution, and if some changes are to be made in the charter, it will be only through the authorised representatives of the CGA. We cannot just change this overnight. Also, we cannot compare CGA with CGC. We are affiliated with the sports federation and Indian Olympic Association,” said a member, seeking anonymity.

In a surprise move, many members of the CGR called upon a meeting and decided to oppose the alleged ‘arbitrary’ by the management for running the show at the club. The club, which has approximately 1,200 registered members, has not witnessed elections on similar lines to the Chandigarh Golf Club (CGC). A core group has termed it as a ‘violation’ of the lease deed issued by the UT administration.

“During the meeting, a core group of 11 members was formed. The group has collectively decided to present an ultimatum to the president of CGA. The ultimatum demands the elections for CGA Management Committee within three months, as outlined in the lease deed,” said Sandeep Sehgal, convenor of the core group. “The administration has withheld the renewal of the lease deed due to the alleged non-compliance with the lease conditions. Interestingly, while CGA’s lease is renewed biennially, the CGC lease duration spans 33 years. Since the establishment of the range, the control has been centralised within a small group. Despite the lease deed’s mandate for regular elections, none have been conducted thus far, he added.

As per Clause (9) of the lease deed, “As the land and building have been granted to the licensee-on-licence basis, there will be one executive committee of the CGA to supervise the golf activities on the premises. Separate bodies by the name of the managing committee and executive committee of the Range and Chandigarh Golf Association shall be scrapped.” As per Clause (10), “Annual elections will be held to the executive of COA. No individual shall occupy any office for more than two consecutive years.”

The range has 1,200 permanent, 500 provisional and 200 student members. Meanwhile, sensing resistance, the CGA management issued a notice on June 12 confirming the inclusion of 25 members in the CGA general body. “The governing body has approved 25 members from the CGA range (permanent members) to be included in the general body. As per the mandate of the lease deed, CGA is the only body approved by the UT Administration for the management of CGR. To ensure participation by permanent members, necessary amendments in the constitution are being made,” stated the circular. “They have issued this circular to settle down the resistance. Under which constitution will they pick these 25 members and the inclusion process is not revealed. They just can’t add their supporters to the governing body,” claimed a member.