Bengaluru: Club dress code must go, says panel

Bengaluru: The noose seems to be tightening around elite clubs of the city with   the Legislature Committee on Regulation of Clubs and Recreation Centres finding their dress codes unacceptable and recommending that the government regulate those that depend on it for financial or any other kind of assistance.

Noting that the clubs often denied entry to people dressed in traditional Indian  clothes, the report,  tabled in the legislature on Tuesday, unequivocally stated the restrictions had to go as it was the fundamental duty of every Indian to value and preserve the country’s composite culture and  heritage.

Also observing that many of the clubs charged an exorbitant  membership fee and permitted gaming and other illegal activities on their campuses, the report suggested the government step in to regulate them.  The committee formed to make recommendations to the government to help it decide on the Karnataka Regulation of Entry To Public Places and Regulation of Clubs Bill, 2016, has gone even further and suggested any club that gets land at concessional or nominal rates  or any financial assistance from it should give membership of  at two of its establishments to MLAs and MPs of the area. It has also suggested that the clubs give preference to ex-servicemen who have received gallantry awards and civil servants when it comes to membership. In other recommendations, the committee has said the government must refuse to renew the licence of new clubs that do not have basic infrastructure and a spot be earmarked in new layouts for establishing clubs by suitably amending the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act. In its view, the government  must  provide land for setting up clubs in every taluk  and also provide a suitable location for the Constitution Club , besides  ensuring that it enters into a tie-up with the Constitution Club of India.