PRISM urges PAC to hand over lottery scandal to CBI

Aizawl: Aizawl-based anti-corruption watchdog, People’s Right to Information and Development Society of Mizoram (PRISM) on Thursday urged Lalruatkima, Chairman of the state assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to hand over the alleged Lottery scandal to the CBI.
In a letter submitted in the Assembly, the PRISM said the Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s Performance Audit report found several irregularities in the state lottery.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India said the Mizoram government lost Rs 11,808.77 crore during 2012-13 to 2014-15 fiscal due to non-deposit of Minimum Guaranteed Revenue (MGR) and Administrative Expenses by four lottery distributors.
The Performance Audit of Mizoram State Lotteries by the CAG, laid in the state Assembly on December 8, said while the four distributors of paper and online lotteries were to deposit Rs 11,834.22 crore during the period, they deposited only Rs 25.45 crore.
“In violation of the rule ibid the distributors neither deposited the balance amount of Rs 11,808.77 crore to the Consolidated Fund of the state nor was it demanded by the government,” the report said.
Against the revenue accrued to the distributors of Rs 2,182.79 crore (18.44 per cent of the gross sale) during 2012-13 to 2014-15, the government received a paltry revenue of Rs 25.45 crore (0.22 per cent of the gross sales), the report said.
The state government, in violation of relevant rules of the Lottery Regulation Rules, 2010 entered into an agreement with four distributors to conduct lotteries (both paper and online) on realisation of MGR per draw from the distributors at the rate of Rs 10,500 to Rs 12,000 for regular draws and Rs five lakh for bumper draws instead of ensuring that the whole sale proceeds calculated on the face value of the tickets was deposited in the Consolidated Fund of the State, the report said. (PTI)