The News Minute | December 7, 2014 | 9.58 pm ISTThe State cabinet on Saturday approved a new land policy as proposed by the Centre according to which religious institutions will not be given land free of cost. Instead, the institution will be required to pay a minimum of 50 per cent of the guidance value, reported Deccan Herald.Speaking to the media, Law Minister T B Jayachandra said that for religious institutions under general category, land lessees of government land must dish out a minimum of 50% of the guidance value and 25% if it is for SC/ST institutions. For educational institutions, general institutions will get government land at 50% of the market value where as SC/ST organisations would be give the land at 50% of the guidance value.“There is no question of giving land for free to any institution. While there are provisions under extraordinary circumstances for the Cabinet to approve land allotment for free, we will expect at least a token sum from organisations for the land which will be given to them,” the newspaper quoted the minister.The new policy is expected to be notified in the next 8-10 days, he added. The state cabinet also approved the Centre's land acquisition policy wherein farmers who give away their land for infrastructure projects, will be compensated four times the market value of the land. “With this, Karnataka will become the first State to implement the new land acquisition policy approved by the previous UPA regime,” he said.