Feature
Land acquisition bill not anti-farmer, asserts Modi
New Delhi: Dispelling fears that the land acquisition bill was “anti-farmer”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that his government was only removing the “shortcomings” in the existing legislation so that “our farmers don’t suffer”.
“The Land Acquisition Act, 2013, was passed in a hurry. We too supported the government then but soon realised that it was not in the interest of the farmers and decided to remove its shortcomings,” Modi said addressing farmers in his monthly radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’.
“This (present) bill is aimed at the welfare of farmers and villages,” Modi said, adding that rumours against it were meant to keep the farmers poor and backward.
“The shortcomings from the act were to be removed as we don’t want our farmers to suffer,” he said.
The prime minister said the 2013 act had kept out of its purview 13 laws including those related to railways, highways and mines. These, he said, accounted for most of the land acquisition.
“Was it not a mistake? And if we have corrected it, is it anti-farmer?”
Modi said his government had to bring in an ordinance so that farmers get the right compensation for the land acquired.
When the 2013 act was enacted, many MPs from the previous United Progressive Alliance government opposed it, saying it was anti-farmer and would only help bureaucrats and officers.
“What we are doing is removing all those shortcomings,” Modi said, expressing anguish over what he said were rumours that his government was bringing an “anti-farmer law”.
“Brothers and sisters, I cannot even think of harming you,” he said. “The compensation set by the earlier act will remain the same… nothing has been changed.”
The prime minister assured the farmers that the highlights of the old legislation had been preserved in the new bill including providing job to a young member of the family whose land has been taken away.
He said his government had made it mandatory that the district authorities specify who would get the job and where the job would be.
“I want to assure you through this new law, no extra land would be acquired… First a survey will be done and than the land will be taken according to needs.”
Modi said the ‘Social Impact Assessment’ that the existing legislation demands before land acquisition had proved to be a “complicated process” and would harm the interest of the farmers.
Modi also clarified that it was wrong to think that land acquired in the villages would be used for private businesses.
He said that rumours of a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) on lands were not true.
“Suppose a road with RS.100 crore is to be built under PPP. Will that road be taken away by the investor? The ownership of that road will remain with the government,” Modi said, asking farmers not to be misled.
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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