Feature
BJP walks out of Himachal assembly over favour to hotel
Dharamsala: The opposition BJP Tuesday staged a walkout from the assembly over the alleged misuse of section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act of 1972 in granting permission to a hotelier.
The BJP questioned the Congress government’s role in “blatantly favouring and regularising” Hotel Korinns in Barog in Solan district, which had come up in violation of the act.
Section 118 of the act allows only permanent residents of the state to buy land.
Others who want to purchase land for non-agricultural purposes have to seek permission from the state government.
Leader of Opposition and two-time chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said this property was to be vested with the government as per a decision taken during his tenure.
Replying to a question by BJP members Mohinder Singh, Ravinder Singh and Satpal Satti on permissions granted under section 118, Revenue Minister Kaul Singh said the cabinet gave permission to the owner of the hotel, a woman.
“Since the hotel was already constructed and the owner was a woman, the cabinet decided to give permission under section 118 on humanitarian grounds and in the interest of tourism promotion in the state,” he said.
This agitated the BJP members.
Dhumal asked how many permissions under section 118 were given to women on humanitarian grounds.
He said the Congress in its earlier tenure in 2007 had given permission to the hotel.
Later, the BJP staged a walkout raising slogans like “Himachal on sale”.
Condemning the walkout, the revenue minister informed the house that the government had given section 118 permissions in 240 cases from Dec 25, 2012 to Oct 31, 2014 and most of them were to non-farmers.
He said the previous Dhumal government had mostly accommodated non-Himachalis and allowed them to open private universities.
“The previous BJP government also provided land to Baba Ramdev in violation of norms, which we have vested with the government,” he added.
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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