Feature
SC frees Manali taxis from NGT order on emissions
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that every effort by courts to curb use of high-polluting fuel is always met with a hue and cry coupled with the threat of defying the order as it gave partial relief to the Manali-Rohtang tourist taxi operators from the NGT order.
“Initially when such steps (to curb pollution) are taken, there is always a hue and cry,” said the vacation bench of Justices A.K.Sikri and Uday Umesh Lalit as the court spared the Manali-Rohtang tourist taxi operators from complying with Bharat Stage IV emission standards and suspended the National Green Tribunal directions in this regard.
“I was in high court then. (Then Delhi) chief minister said I will disobey (the court order replacing diesel with CNG) and go to jail. Same hue and cry was there when CNG was introduced in Delhi,” said Justice Sikri brushing aside the contention by Him Aanchal Tourist Taxi Operators Union which said the NGT order was creating a chaotic situation resulting in locals protesting at the office of the district commissioner.
The court’s observations came as senior counsel Vibha Datta Makhija, appearing for the taxi operators, tried to impress upon the court that the NGT’s May 5 directions had created a serious problems, both in terms of restricting the plying to only 1,000 tourist vehicles and levying environmental compensation charges of Rs.1,000 for petrol vehicles and Rs.2,500 for diesel vehicles per trip.
The NGT, by its May 5 order, had said only 1,000 tourist vehicles – 600 petrol and 400 diesel – would ply on the Manali-Rohtang pass stretch and they would be subject to BS-IV standards of emission. The green tribunal further directed that any vehicle carrying more than six passengers would pay a further environmental compensation of Rs.5,000.
Meanwhile, the tourist taxi operators on Tuesday got the backing of the Himachal Pradesh government which told the court that it too was seeking the modification of the green tribunal’s May 5 order.
Lawyer Surya Narayan Singh, appearing for the hill state, told the court that “the state is also preferring an appeal against the said (May 5) order on all the counts including cap of 1000 vehicles and levying of environmental compensation charge”.
While staying the direction to comply with BS IV emission standards, the apex court on Tuesday asked the tourist taxi operators to go to the NGT for the modification of its other May 5 directions.
It gave Him Aanchal Tourist Taxi Operators Union a week’s time to approach the NGT which in turn would hold an early hearing.
While permitting the tourist taxi operators to approach the NGT, the court declined to disturb any of the other directions including the environmental compensation charge, and cap on number of vehicles.
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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