Land records to be scanned, indexed

Land records in Karnataka would be scanned, indexed and catalogued as per a Cabinet approval on Sunday. To start with, 90 Revenue Department offices mainly in urban places would be covered. The Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, approved grant of Rs 32 crore for the initiative. “It’s an ambitious programme,” said Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Suresh Kumar, who briefed reporters. The Cabinet also approved setting up of a biotech park in Mysore at a cost of Rs 103.27 crore under public-private-partnership model.

The initiative is part of the recommendations submitted by the state’s Vision Group on Biotechnology, chaired by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, which pushed for such ventures in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The JSS Maha Vidya Peeta, which has won the tender, would establish the venture on 51.13 acre land, while the state government would provide Rs 20 crore over a two-year period. It also gave the go-ahead to the Housing Department to purchase 750 acres in Belgaum district at a cost of Rs 915 crore, and 287 acres in Gulbarga district at Rs 762 crore.