Bill seeks to enhance income limit to buy farm land

The State government on Monday introduced an amendment bill in the Legislative Assembly, seeking to increase the income limit for purchasing agriculture land to Rs 25 lakh from Rs 2 lakh.

The Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2015, also proposes to empower Deputy Commissioners of districts to grant permission for purchasing a certain extent of land for educational, industrial, religious and housing projects. The Bill was piloted by Revenue Minister V Sreenivas Prasad.

Compulsory voting
The government also tabled the Karnataka Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill 2015, seeking to make voting compulsory in panchayat elections in the State.

However, the voters will have None Of The Above (NOTA) option. Besides, the Bill seeks to fix the term of president and vice-president at all three-tier Panchayat Raj bodies at five years. Both the Bills will be debated on Tuesday.

The Assembly approved a Bill to introduce online registration of lease deeds and agreements for sale, among others. The Registration (Karnataka amendment) Bill, 2015, also provides for online filing of leave and licence agreements, obtaining true copies of court orders, decrees and mortgages by way of deposit of title deeds sent by banks and other financial institutions. An announcement to this effect was made in the budget by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Tourism facility
Besides, the Assembly passed the Karnataka Tourism Trade (Facilitation and Regulation) Bill, 2015, that seeks to regulate the tourism sector in the State. The Bill proposes to introduce a licence system for tour guides and registration of travel agents. It also seeks to introduce Tourist Mitra, a dedicated force to ensure safety of visitors to tourist destinations.

The Assembly also approved the Karnataka State Civil Services (Regulation of Transfer of Teachers) (Amendment) Bill, 2015, that proposes to increase the ceiling of teachers’ transfers from five per cent to eight per cent in an academic year.