Latest news with #DepartmentofParliamentaryAffairsandLegislation
Hans India
3 days ago
- Health
- Hans India
Govt hikes tobacco fine to Rs 1,000
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has published a gazette notification increasing the fine for public use of cigarettes and tobacco products from Rs 200 to Rs 1,000. The government has also raised the minimum legal age for purchasing cigarettes and tobacco products from 18 to 21 years, according to a statement issued by the Health Ministry on Saturday. Additionally, the government has banned the opening or operation of hookah bars across the state. The order has been issued in the name of the Governor by the Secretary, Department of Parliamentary Affairs and Legislation, G. Sridhar. This decision follows the assent of President Droupadi Murmu on May 23 to the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2024. The new Act amends the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (Central Act 34 of 2003) as it applies to the state of Karnataka. The amendment specifies that no person shall use tobacco products in any public place. The term 'use' includes both smoking and spitting of tobacco. The sale of cigarettes or other tobacco products is now prohibited: To any person under the age of 21 years; within a 100-meter radius of any educational institution; in loose form or as single sticks. The Act also states that no person shall open or operate a hookah bar, either individually or on behalf of another person, in any location—including eating houses, pubs, bars, or restaurants—regardless of what they are called. According to the new provisions, anyone who violates Section 4A of the Act shall be punishable with: Imprisonment of not less than one year, which may extend up to three years; a fine of not less than Rs 50,000, which may go up to Rs 1 lakh. The Act further allows that in hotels with 30 or more rooms, restaurants with a seating capacity of 30 or more, and at airports, a designated smoking area or space may be provided. Karnataka joins the league of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Gujarat states, which have implemented similar amendments to strengthen public health protections against tobacco use.
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Mysuru Development Authority Act 2024 gazette notified
The Department of Parliamentary Affairs and Legislation has issued the gazette notification for the Mysuru Development Authority (MDA) Act, 2024, consequent to the Governor giving his consent for it. The gazette notification was published on Wednesday, and the MDA will replace the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) which, in its earlier avatar, was called the City Improvement Trust Board. The Bill renaming MUDA to MDA on the lines of BDA in Bengaluru was passed in the Belagavi session of the Assembly in December 2024. It came at a time when the urban development authority was mired in scandal pertaining to the allotment of sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife, which led to a political firestorm and investigations. The MUDA Commissioner A.N. Raghunandan said this was a gazette notification announcing the MDA Act, and the Urban Development Department will issue an official notification in due course. As per the Act, the MDA shall have a chairman, a finance member, an engineer, a town planner, and an architect, while the Mysuru City Corporation Commissioner will be the ex-officio member. In addition, it will have an officer of the Karnataka government Secretariat, Department of Urban Development, and not below the rank of Deputy Secretary to the government. Unlike under MUDA, where all MLAs and MLCs from the MUDA jurisdiction were members, the MDA will have one person who is a member of the Karnataka State Legislature. The objective of the MDA is to promote and secure the development of the Mysuru Local Planning Area, and it shall have the power to acquire, hold, manage, and dispose of moveable and immovable property within its area of jurisdiction. Chapter VII of the Act stipulates the Constitution of the Mysuru Heritage Building Protection Commission for the local planning area. It shall comprise a chairman and such other members representing, among others, visual arts or architecture, Indian history or Archaeology, and the environment science. The duty of the Arts Commission is to make recommendations to the government on restoration and conservation of urban design and of the environment in the development of areas, the planning and development of future urban design, restoration and conservation of archaeological and historical sites, and those of high scenic beauty, as per the Act.
