The Hindu Business Line : Kerala imposes blanket ban on lotteries

FOLDING UP: The blanket ban on lotteries has come even as sales of tickets, including that of the State Government's Sowbhagya slated for February 5, were in full gear. Announcement of the ban triggered a chain reaction that saw many roadside vendors in Thiruvananthapuram hastily remove stacks of lottery tickets from display on Tuesday. - S. Gopakumar

Thiruvananthapuram , Jan. 25

THE Kerala Government has banned all kinds of lotteries, including those of its own, with immediate effect.

This follows the Supreme Court directive that the State Government should obey the order of the apex court staying the Government's rules banning online lotteries as also restricting the sale of paper lotteries of other states within Kerala.

The Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, told newspersons after the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the Government had only two options before it in the light of the Supreme Court's directive. They were either to allow all lotteries to operate in the State or impose a blanket ban on them, including those of its own.

The Government chose the second option as it wanted to ban online lotteries that had become a severe social problem affecting the lives of thousands of poor people in the State, he said.

Mr Chandy said the Government would continue with its stand in the case in the Supreme Court and if it is upheld, the Government would review its decision to ban the State's lotteries.

He pointed out that earlier the State Government was not ready to ban its own lotteries. This was primarily because such a ban would lead to loss of employment to more than 20,000 people, including physically handicapped, who earned their livelihood from the sale of lottery tickets.

The Government now has no other go but to impose a ban on all lotteries in order to honour the directive of the Supreme Court. The Government would, however, strive to find alternative employment to those engaged in the sale of tickets and it would ask the Finance Department to work out a scheme for the purpose, the Chief Minister said.

He said the Cabinet had decided to hand over 250 acres of land belonging to the State Farming Corporation to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) for developing a base camp for the pilgrims visiting Sabarimala temple. Of this, 50 acres of land is already in the possession of the board on lease.

The Cabinet also decided to extend the free ration scheme to tsunami-hit people in the coastal areas for one more month. Originally, the scheme was to operate for one month.

The Chief Minister reiterated that the Government would keep the State's interest in mind while giving concessions to Dubai Internet City for establishing a "Smart City" in Kochi. He said the concessions would be in accordance with the Information Technology policy of the Government.

He said a decision would be taken on the proposal in a couple of weeks.

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