Bengaluru: State Planning Board Deputy Chairman C M Ibrahim said on Tuesday he had recommended reintroduction of lottery in Karnataka to fund a proposed healthcare scheme for poor and middle-class families.
Addressing a media conference here on Tuesday, Ibrahim said he has asked Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL) to submit a detailed report in this regard. The JD(S)-BJP coalition government had banned all forms of lottery in 2008.
According to Ibrahim, starting a weekly draw lottery with each ticket costing 500-600 crore a year but also provide jobs to more than 2,000 people.
“The money mobilised could be used for providing long-term treatment, say up to five years, for the poor and the needy,” he said.
When asked whether restarting the lottery would encourage the growth of single digit lottery system and gambling, Ibrahim shot back, “Do you think matka and gambling dens are not active in the state?”
In case the government is not able to start the lottery, it will have to raise around `300 crore from various corporate houses under the corporate social responsibility scheme.
He claimed that the chief minister has agreed to fund the first phase of Anna canteens in Bengaluru. In the subsequent phases, it could be extended to other parts of the state, he said. “The chief minister can even announce it in his budget,” he said.
Seven years after the government completely banned lottery in Karnataka, the board headed by chief minister Siddaramaiah has proposed re-introduction of lottery in the state.
The board has asked the state government to introduce Rs 10 denomination lottery and entrust its issuance to Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL), a government of Karnataka undertaking.
(Agencies)
