Lottery traders urge PM to revive trade

New Delhi, June 1 (UNI) Seeking to revive the lottery business banned in several states, a delegation of the apex body of lottery traders today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with an assurance that the lucrative business could generate Rs 10,000 crore of revenue for the Centre on an annual basis.

The five-member delegation of Akhil Bharatiya Sarkari Lottery Vyapari Mahasangh, led by its General Secretary K Pant met Dr Singh at the instance of Republican Party of India (RPI) MP Ramdas Athwale.

Mr Pant said the delegation informed the Prime Minister that the Indian Constitution allowed lottery trade under the provision of List one (Entry 40) of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

He said the Constitution authorised the Centre and states to run lottery trade to eliminate satta (betting) and gambling, which were depriving the Central Exchequer a substantial amount of revenue.

''The Prime Minister assured that if there is revenue and employment involved in lottery trade, and if there is a provision for it in the Constitution, the issue would be directed by him to be looked into and action taken soon, '' he said.

Mr Pant said an all-party meeting on the issue was held in February last year. ''At the meeting, even the BJP, which has been opposing lottery, agreed to support the trade in view of its potentiality to generate large-scale employment and revenue for deployment,'' he pointed out.

The delegation appealed to the Prime Minister to set up a SEBI-like central body to conduct lottery business at the Centre and in the states, as was being done in Britain and China, besides 140 other countries.

''We assured that not less than Rs 10,000 crore of revenue per annum would be generated for the Central Exchequer for meeting the country's developmental needs,'' Mr Pant said.

Currently, lottery trade is being conducted in 13 states with Maharashtra and Punjab accounting for Rs 250 crore each and Kerala Rs 100 crore. The business is worth Rs 50 crore and Rs 150 crore in other states.

The delegation also submitted a memorandum to Dr Singh on behalf of Mr Athwale. Pointing out that 13 states were already conducting lottery trade, Mr Pant said there was no justification for banning it in states like Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Puduchery and Jammu and Kashmir.

''It was the NDA government that banned lottery in certain states in 1999, depriving some five lakh people of their source of livelihood,'' he said, adding that the revival of lottery would wean people away from illegal activities like gambling, satta, 'matka' and match-fixing.

UNI