Karnataka Assembly passes three bills related to GST, town planning and online gambling

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday passed Karnataka GST (Amendment) Bill, Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill and the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Bill. The Karnataka Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) bill, according to the state Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy, was in tune with the changes brought by the Central government to the Central GST law. The Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill intended to overcome ambiguity and inconsistency in the Town and Country Planning Act, the minister said in the House. The objective of the bill is to specify the Town and Country Planning officer for carrying out the provisions of the Act for preparing the master plan in areas where local authority is declared as planning authority. The amendment will also encourage speedy land acquisition for infrastructure works and to simplify the issuance of Transferrable Development Rights (TDR) for private property for such projects. It also facilitates disposal of sites by registration by the developers in phased manner in the ratio of 40 is to 60, where 40 percent of sites on provisional approval of the layout and remaining 60 perent after fully developing the sites with all infrastructure. Regarding the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Bill, the minister said it is intended to curb gaming through internet or mobile applications. It also enhances the punishment for gaming for the orderly conduct of citizens and to wean them away from the vice of gambling.