Feature
Mayawati has official, residential, commercial properties in Lutyen’s Delhi
BSP chief Mayawati, who the Supreme Court has said should reimburse to the public exchequer the money spent on putting up statues of herself, her mentor Kanshi Ram and of elephants – the party symbol – in Lucknow and Noida, holds properties in Lutyens’s Delhi worth several crores of rupees. She also has an official residence-cum-office in the national capital.
Mayawati, who rose from the grass-roots to national prominence and is counted among the richest politicians in country, is a four-term Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
According to the declaration made by her at the time of filing her nomination papers for the 2012 Rajya Sabha elections, her immovable properties, both residential and commercial in Lucknow and Delhi, cash in banks and jewellery, stood at over Rs 111 crore. She resigned from the Rajya Sabha in 2017.
In 2010, when she was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, Mayawati’s total assets were valued at around Rs 88 crore and in 2007 they were estimated at around Rs 52.27 crore.
Much of her wealth is in real estate and she has residential buildings in posh areas of Delhi and Lucknow.
Mayawati was allotted three adjacent government bungalows during the Congress-led UPA government in 2013 on Gurudwara Rakabganj Road in the heart of national capital.
The bungalows – Nos. 12, 14 and 16 – were amalgamated into a super-bungalow and now serve as her residence-cum-office in Delhi. She holds her press conferences and other important party meetings here. The amalgamated single unit has been allotted in the name of Bahujan Prerna Trust.
Rules do not allow any modification in government bungalows in New Delhi’s Lutyens Bungalow Zone but the rules have been violated.
Mayawati also has a government bungalow in her name at 4, Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Road, which is separate from these three.
Such bungalows are meant for Ministers and Secretaries with a plot size of 8,250 square feet and front and back lawns. They have a plinth area of 1,970 square feet and include eight bedrooms, four servants quarters and two garages.
The Bahujan Samaj Party supremo’s immovable properties in Delhi include two commercial buildings in Connaught Place in Delhi (B-34 ground floor and B-34 1st floor with areas of 3,628.02 and 4,535.02 square ft respectively) whose approximate market value was estimated at Rs 9.39 crore and Rs 9.45 crore respectively in 2012, when she filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections.
In 2009, Mayawati bought a property – 23, 24 Sardar Patel Marg in New Delhi’s diplomatic enclave, whose total area is about 43,000 square ft. It was valued at over Rs 61 crore in 2012.
She owns a residential building in Lucknow at 9, Mall Avenue, measuring 71,282.96 square ft with a built-up area of 53,767.29 square ft. It was purchased on November 3, 2010 and its value was estimated at Rs 16 crore in 2012.
The Supreme Court on Friday observed that Mayawati should reimburse the public exchequer the money spent on putting up elephant statues in Lucknow and Noida.
With her rivals attacking her in the wake of apex court obervations, Mayawati said parks and memorials were built in Uttar Pradesh during her regime to honour great men from among oppressed Dalit and OBCs. These have become tourist spots, generating revenue for the government, she added.
She said the media should not distort the oral observation of the court. “Sure to get justice in this matter also. Media and BJP leaders, please stop kite flying,” she said in on Twitter.
The case will be next heard in April.
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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