The State government has decided to re-introduce the Re. 1 revenue stamp for financial transactions. Government expects revenue of Rs. 10 crore a year from the sale of the revenue stamp.
An order on this will be issued soon, said Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs T.B. Jayachandra after a Cabinet meeting here on Tuesday. Stamp papers were banned in the State following the stamp-paper racket involving Telgi about a decade ago.
The Re. 1 stamp can be used for signatures for loans from banks and lending agencies, money transfers, disbursement of salaries and borrowing. The concept of revenue stamps was introduced in India during the British rule. It was considered a revenue generation mechanism.
Tourism boostThe State Cabinet has decided to launch a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) — Karnataka Tourism Infrastructure Ltd. — for development of infrastructure in tourist spots belonging to the Tourism Department. About 1,467 acres of land belonging to the department will be monitored by the SPV for development of infrastructure. These projects will be developed on public private partnership (PPP) model. Land would be given to private developers on lease terms.
The State has identified many diverse tourist spots. Though they are more than 325 tourist places in the State, the government has no funds to develop infrastructure in all the places, the Minister said. The State estimates fresh employment generation at 4.3 million, and additional revenue of Rs. 83,000 crore. As much as Rs. 73,000 crore with 50 per cent government funding (infrastructure, destination and mobility) is needed for providing a fillip to tourism by 2024, Mr. Jayachandra said.
PensionsHe said a decision has been taken to provide pension and gratuity to 1,450 staff of un-aided private industrial training institutes, entailing a total expenditure of Rs. 38.43 crore. It was decided to implement a National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project, aided by the World Bank, in three coastal districts of Karnataka. The project cost is Rs. 120.6 crore. The Centre and State will share the cost on 75:25 basis.