It has been more than seven months since Ric Charlesworth got involved with Indian hockey to lift standards, but the former Australian player and coach is still waiting for dues in excess of Rs 17 lakh to be cleared by the government.

The amount is for salary and expenses for the period between the second week of November last year to March 20, 2008, the day he finally signed his annual contract with the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

SAI officials said that Charlesworth had been paid every month since the contract was signed. “His money is being given on regular basis after he signed the contract with the government,” R K Naidu, the director overseeing the functioning of the TEAM Wings of the SAI, told The Indian Express. But officials confirmed that Charlesworth’s previous dues — he had arrived in India in November to work with the Indian Hockey Federation on directions by the international hockey federation (FIH) — had not been cleared yet.

The IHF was suspended by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in April and members of the ad-hoc committee that control Indian hockey now are unsure how long it will take to sort things out. A K Mattoo, a member of the committee, said they had discussed Charlesworth’s pending dues with top SAI officials. “We’re still analysing the details of pending dues that Charlesworth is claiming,” he said.

The convener of the committee, Mohammad Aslam, said: “A dialogue is on with the government to clear Charlesworth’s pending dues as soon as possible.”

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