Bengaluru, Jul 23 (IANS); In a bid to revive reality sector in the state, Karnataka on Thursday decided to slash stamp duty on registration of apartments that cost Rs 35-45 lakh from five per cent to three per cent.

Briefing reporters after the cabinet meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the stamp duty reduction is aimed at providing relief to home buyers looking for affordability.

"This will be applicable for the first registration of these apartments. There is also a proposal for upward revision of guidance value. This will be examined by the specific committee constituted for it," he said.

The Cabinet also approved the construction of five lakh houses for both urban and rural poor in the state in next two years at an estimated project cost of Rs 8,000 crore.

"Four lakh houses in rural areas will be built under various schemes including Basava Housing Scheme, Dr B.R. Ambedkar Housing Scheme and Devaraj Urs Housing Scheme while one lakh houses will come up in urban areas under the Vajapayee City Scheme and B.R. Ambedkar Housing Scheme (Urban)," Bommai said.

Apart from this, Karnataka approved Rs 500 crore funding to provide basic infrastructure to execute the already-cleared one lakh apartments under multi-storey scheme.

The minister also added that the state government will establish the Centres of Innovation and Development in Smart Agriculture (CIDSA) with the Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence India, in all seven agriculture universities in the state at an estimated cost of Rs 110 crore each.

"These centres will help employ technology in agriculture for smart assessment of crop pattern, crop survey among other activities. The cost of these centres would be Rs 110 crore per varsity, of which Rs 85 crore will be borne by the company and the rest by the state government," he said.

These centres will be specialised in various tech fields such as Drone Lab, Agronomy Lab and several other innovative technologies that would bring drastic changes in the famer's lives, he added.

In other decisions, the Cabinet approved the implementation of the Karnataka Arogya Sanjeevini Scheme to provide cashless medical treatment for state government employees and their families.

It also accorded administrative approval for the detailed project report to upgrade the existing 248 MLD water treatment plants at K.C. Valley at an estimated cost of Rs 718 crore as per the standard stipulated by the National Green Tribunal.