Feature
LDA bulldoze rape accused Gayatri Prajapati’s under construction building
LUCKNOW: The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) has bulldozed an under-construction building belonging to former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prajapati in Aashiana area of the state capital for flouting norms.
LDA Vice Chairman P N Singh told media “the building which was under construction was being constructed on a residential plot given to him (Prajapati). The map of the building was passed accordingly. But the construction was not as per the approved plan.”
He added that construction was under way for a commercial property in the three-storeyed building.
The demolition comes two days after the Allahabad High Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file a report on June 19 on the issue of an illegal construction in the city allegedly by former minister Gayatri Prajapati in connivance with some LDA officials.
On 15th June, a vacation bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary also directed the state and the LDA chairman to act against the erring officials who allowed the illegal construction in Ruchi Khand locality in Lucknow.
The court’s direction came on a petition moved by Mr Prajapati’s son Anurag. He had filed the petition in anticipation of some relief from the court challenging the order of demolition, and the court order came as a setback to him.
The court observed that no efforts were made by the LDA officers to demolish the illegal construction even though there was no stay order passed by any authority to stop it.
Officials were in collusion with Anurag and his father and for reasons best known to them were not taking any effective steps for the demolition of illegal constructions, it said.
“It would have been appropriate to dismiss the petition at this stage but in that case this court has serious doubt that erring officers of the development authority will take any action at all against the illegal constructions of the petitioner or against the officers who have permitted such huge constructions to be raised without there being any sanctioned map.”
Additional Advocate General M M Pandey and LDA lawyer Ratnesh Chandra submitted that their officials were ready and willing to comply with the law and would take immediate steps.
Both the counsels requested that the matter be adjourned only for a few days and they would submit a report of compliance of law.
At this, the court posted the matter for June 19 directing the LDA chairman to file his personal affidavit showing the steps taken by the next date against the illegal construction and also against the officers and employees of the LDA, who permitted them in an illegal manner.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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