BENGALURU: THE tug-of-war between the Bangalore Turf Club and the state government has reached the High Court. Accusing the government of denying racing licence to the club as it did not acquiesce to grant membership to 50 government nominees, the BTC approached the court.
In the petition filed before the court, the club said non-consideration of the application dated November 6 seeking licence for horse racing is the latest attempt by the government to “arm-twist the BTC”.
Hearing the petition on Monday, Justice A S Bopanna ordered notice to the Additional Chief Secretaries of finance and home departments and adjourned the hearing to November 23. In the petition, BTC stated that the 13th Legislative Sub-Committee of the government issued a letter dated March 10, 2015, making six recommendations. It includes providing honorary memberships to elected representatives and also facilities for a ‘Constitutional Club’ comprising former and sitting MLAs and MLCs.
The finance secretary issued a letter dated July 31, 2017, to the BTC stating that the government would issue licence if the membership was increased to accommodate 50 nominees. In its reply, the BTC had made it clear that honorary membership could not be granted to elected representatives.
Loss due to non-renewal of licence
The loss of income to the BTC till date from last September is `11 crores
BTC has to incur a fixed expense of nearly `5 crore per month through salaries and other allowances
Total revenue paid to government last year is `167.23 crores
Total revenue loss would be `27.87 crore for two months
It has to ensure safety of about 950 thoroughbred horses stabled within the premises of BTC.
The livelihood of 139 permanent employees, 212 contract labours, 1,200 daily wage workers and about 900 sable workmen is affected.