Guwahati: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma announced on Thursday that the state’s government has decided to put a stop to plans to build casinos there.
The Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act and Rules, which were passed last year, won’t be repealed, he added.
“We have given instruction to stop any further process to happen, but the processes that happen before that order was given, those processes are there, hence the decision that we have taken and the communication that we have made to everybody is we are not going to move any further than where we are,” the Sangma said.
It should be noted that a number of organisations, including religious leaders, opposed the state government’s decision to allow casinos in the state.
Moreover, in order to boost specialised tourism in the state, the government had given three businesses temporary licences to run on-site casinos.
However, he added, these temporary licences will automatically expire after a specific period of time.
“Those provisional licenses are going to automatically lapse after a certain time is gone,” he added.