Meghalaya government to repeal Gaming Act 2021 through an ordinance

Amid the rising uproar over the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act (MRGA) 2021, chief minister Conrad K Sangma informed that the Gaming Act of 2021 will be repealed through an ordinance which will then be regularised in the assembly.

“Repealing of the Act can be done through an ordinance and that ordinance can then be passed in the House,” Sangma told reporters when responding to a query if the government would require calling a special session to repeal the said Act.

He claimed that the Meghalaya Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood Regulation of Street Vending) Act had previously been repealed by the government through an ordinance that was afterwards regularised in the Assembly.

“Similarly any Act can be repealed through an ordinance and this is the procedure that will be followed,” Sangma added.

This was declared a day after the Minister of Taxation, James K. Sangma, revealed that the government had decided to repeal the MRGA, 2021, due to strong resistance from stakeholders, including church leaders and leaders of pressure groups opposed to the establishment of casinos in the state.

When asked, the chief minister said by repealing the MRGA, there will not be any mechanism to regulate other forms of gambling activities in the state. “Therefore, that is the other side of the story. We definitely will be back to square one now and we will have to see how we move forward in this line,” he said.

According to Sangma, the decision was made in the interest of the state's citizens and after consultation with various stakeholders. The chief minister also disclosed that, prior to the announcement, he had a few discussions with the taxation minister.

Earlier, the Joint Action Committee against Casino from Ri Bhoi District, expressed their dissatisfaction over the assurance given by the taxation minister that the MDA government will repeal the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021. They wanted the government to give the assurance in black and white by issuing a notification for the general public.

Speaking to the media persons at Nongpoh on Friday October 14, Secretary of Joint Action Committee against Casino, Ferdynald Kharkamni said that by announcing only in media that the gaming act 2021 will be repealed is not acceptable and if the government wanted to scrap the act they should do in black and white by issuing notification to the general public.

Sangma refuted the claim that the MDA government was concerned that the matter might have a bad effect on the approaching 2023 elections, saying instead that the state government has consistently insisted that it will pay attention to the opinions of the populace.

“We strongly feel that when the concerns of the citizens are there, concerns of the people are there then the government must listen – so whether elections are there or not, the point is that this government has always kept that (voice of the people) as a priority. On many occasions, we have seen it has been done in this manner so it is being done from the point of people’s concern and people’s desire that this should be reviewed and that is what we have done,” he said.