Mangaluru Airport bomb should be an eye-opener for PM Modi amidst joblessness: HDK

Bengaluru, Apr 12: Former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday appealed to the Central government to announce the rent rebate scheme for the benefit of tenants in the wake of economic activities coming to a grinding halt due to COVID-19 related lockdown.

In a series of tweets, Kumaraswamy said people are facing difficulty in paying rent as usual and hence the rent rebate scheme should be initiated.

"Many countries have already announced rent rebate scheme for tenants during COVID19 emergency. It is surprising that Indian Govt has not announced any such relief even to residential tenants. I urge the PM to immediately come to the rescue of everyone living in rented housing," Kumaraswamy tweeted.

He said a considerable workforce and students in metropolitan cities live in hostels and rented houses.

As all economic activity has come to a grinding halt, it is very difficult for them to pay the rent as usual.

The Prime Minister must announce rent rebate scheme, he added.

Highlighting the plight of the tenants, Kumaraswamy said, "If the landlords insist on rent, the tenants cannot even go searching for new accommodation due to the emergency. Hence the government intervention is essential. The PM must announce a comprehensive national rent rebate scheme for COVID-19 emergency."

Bengaluru, May 27: Aimed at giving a boost to affordable housing, the Karnataka government on Tuesday decided to slash the stamp duty on new apartments costing up to ₹35 lakh.

The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to review the progress of the Stamps & Registration department.

The Chief Minister directed that the stamp duty be cut from the existing five per cent to two per cent on apartments costing less than ₹20 lakh, getting registered for the first time, his office said in a statement.

Further, the stamp duty on apartments costing between ₹21 lakh - ₹35 lakh will be down from five per cent to three per cent, it said. It is estimated that in 2020-21 due to COVID-19 induced lockdown, Stamps and Registration department might fall short of its revenue target by ₹3,524 crore. The revenue target for 2020-21 is ₹12,655 crore.

Kasaragod, Jun 10: Indian Union Muslim League leader Metro Muhammad Haji passed away at a private hospital in Kozhikode today. He was 70.

He was a well known social and political activist in Kasaragod district. He has served in the social, cultural, philanthropic and educational fields.

He was the Executive Committee Member of the Muslim League. He also served as the Kerala State Vice President of the Sunni Youth Union, and President of the Kanhangad Samyukta Jamaat.

He is survived by his wife Zuhra and children Mujeeb, Jaleel, Shameem, Khaleel, Kabeer, Suhaila and Jusaila.