Feature
Congress has private agenda in opposing land bill: BJP
New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday said it was ready for all changes in land acquisition bill but the Congress was shying away from a debate as it had a private and hidden agenda on the issue.
“Land Bill is an issue which effects the farmers. It is an emotional issue for them. All considerations vis-a-vis farmers, landless labourers and tribals should be incorporated if any amendment is made in it, and therefore, we are open to all changes,” Bharatiya Janata Party’s spokesperson for economic issues Gopal Krishna Agarwal told IANS.
Agarwal accused the Congress of behaving in an irresponsible manner on the land bill.
“The Congress stand on the land bill is very irresponsible. They have acquired lakhs and lakhs of acres of lands from farmers for special economic zone, which has nothing to do with infrastructure, development or manufacturing. They took the land and provided it to the private sector for real estate development,” Agarwal alleged.
He said the Congress opposition to the land bill was only due to political considerations.
“They just want to stall parliament. They don’t want economic development to take place. We know they have a private and hidden agenda,” the BJP leader added.
Agarwal further said the government’s position on the bill was very clear and it was open to a debate on any forum.
“The government tried to strike a consensus on different platforms. Whether it is NITI (National Institution for Transformation of India) Aayog or Joint Parliamentary Committee. The government has provided every platform to all the stakeholders and opposition parties. The land bill brought by the NDA government was based on consensus and the opinions of all opposition parties, including chief ministers of Congress-ruled states, were incorporated,” he said.
“Nobody can say that discussion was not held; but still the Congress is opposing it. This opposition is merely based on political considerations,” Agarwal said.
The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015, which has been brought by the NDA government, is being opposed by the Congress and other parties.
The bill is currently with a joint committee of parliament headed by BJP leader S.S. Ahluwalia for detailed discussion.
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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