Feature
Centre to help cities which perform: Venkaiah Naidu
Hyderabad: Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday made it clear that the central government will do “hand-holding” for implementation of the smart city project, provided the states come forward and the cities also rise to the occasion by collecting user charges from people.
He said the states and cities would not be forced to collect user charges but only those want to reform and perform will get the central government’s help.
“If you want to remain like this, remain. It’s your choice. Reform and perform and become a smart city, the centre is ready to do the hand holding,” he said while addressing a regional workshop on smart cities. Admitting that transforming cities into smart ones is difficult, he said the task is not impossible.
Mayors, municipal chairpersons and municipal commissioners from 40 cities selected for smart city development in 12 states and union territories and principal secretaries of urban development from these states and union territories attended the workshop.
This was the second of the three such workshops being organized before the smart city nominees and respective states begin preparation of city level smart city plans.
Stating that many urban bodies had not raised taxes for years, Naidu said people were ready to pay more if they were provided better services. He said the selection of 100 cities for the ambitious project was only a pre-qualification as only 20 of them will be selected for the next round. “If you don’t perform, you will not be there for next round,” he said.
Stressing on the need to involve people in smart city projects, he reiterated that a smart city is what citizens want their city to be. Urging mayors, municipal chairman and coporators to keep politics aside, he said the mindset of people should change. He asked them to motivate people and make them participate in the project.
The broad contours of a smart city cover core infrastructure, sanitation, health and education facilities, clean and sustainable environment, good public transport, good city governance and adoption of smart technologies to ensure decent living and catalyse economic growth.
Naidu said the success of India growth story was hugely dependent on the success that can be made on the urban front. “The future of the ‘aspirational India’ lies in the future of our cities. You have the great responsibility of building such cities of future,” he said.
Voicing concern over the present state of affairs in urban areas, he warned that if this is not properly addressed over the next five to 10 years, the situation may go out of hand, with serious consequences for the country, as it is urbanizing with a furious speed, perhaps the fastest in the world.
He claimed that the central government has substantially enhanced the resource base of states by transferring 42 percent of divisible revenues over the next five years as against 32 percent during the last five years.
“Further,a huge sum of Rs.87,143 crore would be made available to urban local bodies as against only Rs.23,111 crore during the last five years… just to elaborate on one aspect of financial support to states and urban local bodies,” he said.
“The central government has committed itself to support states and urban local bodies with central assistance of over Rs.3 lakh crores over the next five to six years. This comes out in sharp contrast to the central assistance of only about Rs.36,000 crore under JNNURM during 2005-14,” he said.
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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