Shillong, Jun 27: The Meghalaya Cricket Association will hold a special general meeting on 3rd July at its headquarters in Polo Ground here from 1PM.
The agenda, according to a letter sent to all affiliated district associations today by Honorary Secretary Rayonald Kharkamni, will include ratifying the minutes and resolutions of the emergent Apex Council meeting held on 9th May, consider and appoint an Ombudsman in accordance with the MCA constitution, to deliberate on the order of the Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW) and other matters.
Although it did not refer to this, the agenda of the SGM hints at the deep rift between Kharkamni and MCA President James PK Sangma.
In March a new Ombudsman was appointed by the Apex Council to fill a vacancy that went back to 2024. However, Sangma informed that the Ombudsman’s appointment was cancelled in May at a meeting (perhaps the one on 9th May referred to in Kharkamni’s letter today) called by the Honorary Secretary of the other members of the Apex Council to the exclusion of the President.
Regarding the MSCW order, that pertains to a sexual harassment complaint made against a coach and manager of the U-23 women’s team. The MSCW has already ordered that they both face sanctions but yesterday the commission ordered that disciplinary action be taken against former MCA President Naba Bhattacharjee, former Honorary Treasurer Dhrubajyoti Thakuria, Kharkamni and Operations Manager Shiningstar Lyngdoh for their “failure” to act on the complaint when it was made in December last year, that is, before Sangma took over as the new President.
The MCA was also told to immediately form a compliant internal committee under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, which is known as the POSH Act. The MCA must also adopt a written anti-sexual harassment policy, conduct mandatory POSH awareness programmes, establish a monitored complaint mechanism, protect complainants from retaliation and submit a compliance report within 30 days.
Because there was not Ombudsman or internal committee, the female players complaining of sexual harassment did so via email to the MCA’s official email account.
The commission also ordered the MCA not to use the services of a hotel in Nongpoh because of “questionable” activities there. Nongpoh is used to host teams that are undergoing camps at the nearby Nongkhrah Cricket Ground.
The MSCW also raised related matters, such as lack of female counsellor for the women’s teams, lack of female coach (despite efforts to recruit one), inadequate nutritional arrangements. “These are not, by themselves, POSH Act violations, but they speak directly to the ‘safe working environment’ obligation under Section 19(a) and to the wider duty of care owed to young women under the association’s custodial responsibility”.
