by Moiz Mannan
An interactive website where they could arrange for webinars with ministers and top government officials and special quotas in housing and industrial plots are the two new items added to a slew of measures announced for overseas Punjabis by their state government.
Punjab probably tops the list of Indian states that have the largest numbers of non-residents. However, the government has no clue to even an estimate of the number that has gone abroad owing to rampant illegal migration. An attempt to enumerate the diaspora last year failed because the surveyors were accosted by hostile relatives of hundreds of such illegal migrants.
In this context, therefore, it is only those who are accounted for who can be considered for the welfare measures. Most of them are entrepreneurs who can be important partners investing in the state’s development.
For most of their matters in India, they have to deal with government officials. And, therefore, the most frequent complaints pertain to bureaucratic lethargy, inefficiency, corruption and a lack of transparency.
These points were raised emphatically by overseas Punjabis at a conclave earlier this year and Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal has been at pains to address these grievances. It was at the NRI Sammelan in January that overseas representatives had been told about plans to launch a website dedicated to grievance redressal and also promised preference in house allotments by the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA).
It has now been reported by the media in Punjab that the proposed website would be launched by the end of May and would make the government that much more accessible to Punjabis across the globe. Issuing instructions to his department last week, the state NRI Affairs Minister Bikram Singh Majithia was quoted as saying that the website would enable overseas Punjabis to register their grievances and issues concerning various departments.
Top officials of the department have been asked to ensure instant response to the issues of Punjabi diaspora from the concerned department. The website is also likely to be integrated or linked with social networks and provide live chat service. Further, it would be used to generate feedback from the NRIs and get their suggestions and views on development and other larger issues of the state. Besides the complaint registration mechanism, the website would provide detailed information on the services brought under the purview of the Right to Service Act in Punjab. NRI associations and groups abroad may even use the website to set up webinars to interact directly with ministers and top officials according to pre-arranged schedules.
Other than that the website would contain a “complete database” on NRIs and information about the special facilities, schemes and other measures available in the state for its diaspora abroad.
The other major announcement last week pertained to carving out quotas for NRIs in the state’s proposed industrial investment and real estate policy likely to be launched later this month.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal was quoted by the media as saying that his government had plans to “ make NRIs equal partners in the industrial progress of the state”. As part of this thinking, a 10 percent quota of projects and plots would be reserved for Punjabi diaspora. As a follow-up to the assurances given at the NRI Sammelan, the new Industrial Investment Policy will have 10 percent quota in industrial plots for them. Similarly, all new colonies of PUDA, GMADA and other urban development agencies will also have 10 percent quota in residential plots for NRIs.
The state has already fulfilled the assurance of issuing privilege cards to NRIs.
The card can be used for reservation of NRI wards in educational institutions that offer a quota in admissions. The card holder will also get preferential treatment at various reputed hospitals, schools and commercial establishments. It also entitles the holders to discounts at different shops, malls, hotels, restaurants and jewellery shops.
At the time of its launch in January, over a thousand commercial establishments besides hospitals and schools were reported to have already approached the government and offered to give discount and reservations to NRIs. By having this card the NRI will get a discount ranging from 10 to 25 percent. In government offices one can show the card and be given privileged treatment.
As for security matters and property disputes, an NRI commission has already been set up to address these issues. Special police stations for NRIs are also in place. The government has brought in crucial legislation, including laws dealing with fast track eviction of encroached property.
Recently, the state government has taken a path breaking decision, in which an NRI can get a tenant evicted from multiple properties, multiple times. Earlier he was allowed only once for a single property. A similar amendment has also been effected for rural properties. It has also been decided that a state government undertaking, PESCO, will provide professionally trained ex-servicemen to guard the properties of NRIs in Punjab on a nominal payment.
In September last year, the Punjab government had approved the formation of an NRI Foundation to expedite implementation of welfare programmes for the NRIs. The foundation will function at the state level and comprise members of top educational institutions, associations and NGOs for its smooth functioning.
The Peninsula
