26 years after shutting down lotteries, cash-strapped Himachal makes U-turn | India News – Times of India

KULLU: Money-strapped Himachal Pradesh is attempting its luck with lottery to show its fortunes. The cupboard has allowed lottery operations, which have been shut down in 1999. Burdened with a debt of over Rs 1 lakh crore, it hopes to make a modest Rs 50 crore to Rs 100 crore yearly from sale of lottery tickets.The choice to reintroduce lotteries after over 1 / 4 century was taken in a cupboard assembly on July 31. The advice got here from a cupboard sub-committee set as much as give ideas to spice up state income.The transfer appears to be impressed by different states that run lotteries. Neighbouring Punjab earned Rs 235 crore by means of sale of lottery tickets in the course of the 2024-25 fiscal whereas the tiny state of Sikkim made Rs 30 crore. Kerala tops the checklist – the southern state earned a jaw-dropping Rs 13,582 crore final fiscal. Himachal, which is discovering it tough to satisfy the bills of rebuilding the harm brought on by this yr’s landslides and flash floods, hopes to mop up some a lot-wanted funds this fashion.“Many states earn by means of lotteries. You may be shocked to know the way a lot Kerala earns. Himachal Pradesh govt has determined to restart the lottery system after a suggestion was made by a cupboard sub-committee,” mentioned industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan. “We are going to observe the tender course of to run lotteries in Himachal Pradesh, simply as different states do.”The choice to reintroduce lotteries in Himachal has come at a time when the state’s debt stands at a again-breaking Rs 1,04,729 crore, and the per capita debt has reached Rs 1.17 lakh, the second highest after Arunachal Pradesh. To make the monetary scenario even worse, the income deficit grant, monetary help from the Centre, has come down from Rs 6,258 crore in 2024 to Rs 3,257 crore in 2025, and GST compensation has been stopped by the Union govt.Govt is predicted to introduce the invoice on lotteries within the monsoon session of meeting, starting Aug 18.Himachal banned lotteries, each state-run and from outdoors, in 1999 throughout Prem Kumar Dhumal’s tenure as chief minister. Lotteries are authorized in 13 states – Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Bengal, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Assam.