Thiruvananthapuram | The Kerala government on Wednesday decided to reduce the building permit fees up to 60 per cent in the state.

The government had exempted buildings up to 80 square metres from the permit fee last year.

The new rate would reduce the permit fee by at least 50 per cent for houses with an area from 81 square metres to 300 square metres, Local Self-Government Department (LSGD) Minister M B Rajesh said here.

The permit fee for houses with an area between 81 and 150 square metres would be reduced by 60 per cent within the Corporation limit, he told a press conference here.

The new rates would come into effect on August 1, he said.

As per the new decision, the permit fee for houses with 81 to 150 square metres of area would be reduced from Rs 50 to Rs 150 per square metre in village panchayats, he said.

The fee would be reduced from Rs 70 to Rs 35 in municipalities and from Rs 100 to Rs 40 in corporations.

Though the present building permit fee in the state is the lowest in the country, the government has decided to reduce it by more than half in view of people's demand, the Minister explained.

He said the state government has also decided to grant a rebate of five per cent if one year's property tax is remitted to the respective local body by April 30, the first month of the financial year.

Rajesh said this is the first time in the history of Kerala that such an exemption is being given to taxpayers.