Kochi: State-owned Kerala Lotteries has never made a loss since its inception in 1967, but the latest report of the CAG reveals that all’s not well with the department.
In its report released on Tuesday, the Comptroller and Auditor General covered an audit period from 2006 to 2011. Numerous defects like multiple claims, mistake in publication of prize-winning ticket and absence of validation controls, among others, were found.
The most curious case that surfaced was one in which the second prize for the Onam Bumper Lottery-2011 was published as ticket number TH-339602, but the real winner was ticket number IR-339602.
When the published ticket holder came to receive the prize, the department realised the mistake. Taking into account the mental agony suffered by the claimant for non-disbursal of his claim, the government gave him Rs200,000 as special compensation.
“The department said that this occurred due to a mistake in the computer system and measures were being taken to ensure correct results are uploaded,” the CAG statement read.
“The fact remains that in addition to the mental agony suffered by the incorrect claimant, it resulted in a compensation of Rs200,000 paid by the department,” the CAG commented.
According to the government, Kerala Lotteries is heading for an all-time high sale of tickets, expected to exceed Rs25bn.
The lottery has around 40,000 authorised agents and over 1,00,000 retail sellers of its tickets in the state. These are people whose livelihood depends on the lottery.
IANS
