Dr Shamseer Valayil Parampath
Trivandrum/Abu Dhabi - The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala has constituted a NRI commission with high court judge Justice P Bhavadasan as the chairman.
Published: Thu 3 Mar 2016, 11:00 PM
Last updated: Fri 4 Mar 2016, 8:02 AM
Indian expats from Kerala now have a new body to address their grievances and fight for justice, back home without being physically present over there all the time.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala has constituted a NRI commission with high court judge Justice P Bhavadasan as the chairman.
UAE-based Dr Shamseer Valayil Parampath, who fought a legal battle for the voting rights of NRIs, Bhagath Singh, a Gulf-returnee and former president of the Indian Association Sharjah, Bahrain-based journalist Soman Baby, former MLA PMA Salam and are the members of the five-member commission.
Kerala diaspora
There are 2.4 million Kerala
emigrants as per a study conducted
in 2014 and almost
90 per cent of the Kerala
diaspora is in the various
Middle-East countries. Almost
1 million Keralites reportedly
live in the UAE.
|
The commission with semi-judicial powers was constituted by the Cabinet on Wednesday as per the NRI (Keralites) Commission Act, 2015 passed by the state assembly during its winter session.
According to the Act, the commission will consist of a retired high court judge as its chairman, a retired Indian Administrative Service officer, two representatives of the Kerala diaspora and a state government official of the rank of a joint secretary. Justice Bhavadasan will take charge after his retirement from the judicial service on March 31.
The Act sought to establish an effective forum to settle the issues faced by the NRIs at home. The main objective of the commission is to settle commercial, labour disputes and property disputes and address fake recruitments.
A leading healthcare provider in the UAE, Dr. Shamsheer said the posting has given a huge responsibility for him. "As a director of this commission, I hope we will be able to do justice to all the NRIs from Kerala and will strive hard in making this commission a way for them to reach out to various State and Central Government departments without any hassles."
Speaking to Khaleej Times, he said he would seek the support of the Indian missions and social organisations to address the issues faced by expats from Kerala in the UAE.
"We need a lot of people to involve and do things in an organised way and unify the way we address such issues."
A recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award 2014 from the Goverrnment of India and the GPF Global Humanitarian Award from UN in 2015, Dr. Shamsheer said he was waiting to attend the first meeting of the commission to know the exact roles of the commission members.
A senior official at the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs Department said that the NRIs will be able to approach the commission with all issues they face in their home state. He said that the government had decided to set up the commission after it was flooded with complaints over various issues from the diaspora.
Norka Minister K. C. Joseph said that the commission would also deal with cheating cases. The NRIs are vulnerable to cheating by many, including fraudulent builders and investment advisers. They are not even spared by their own relatives and friends.
The NRIs suffer the cheating as most of them do not have the time and resources to fight cases through courts. With the establishment of the commission, they will be able to seek settlement of their complaints, both civil and criminal, without having to leave their workplace.
Even though there is a special NRI Police Cell, there are limitations in its functioning but with the commission being a quasi-judicial body, complainants can engage a lawyer who will be appearing before the panel and the complainant need not waste his/her time, unlike when police handles such cases.
The Act also has provision to ensure the safety and welfare of the families of the NRIs, including elders. The commission will have the same authority of the State Human Rights Commission. Its orders would be binding.
Kerala is the second state in the country to set up such a commission after Punjab, which had established the commission way back in 2011. Kerala was the first state to set up a separate department for the diaspora.The total number of Kerala emigrants as on 2014 is 2.4 million, according to the recent study conducted by the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum. Almost 90 per cent of the Kerala diaspora is in the various Middle-East countries and almost one million Keralites reportedly live in the UAE.
The remittances they send are the backbone of the state economy. The remittances were 1.2 times the revenue receipt of the state in 2014, 4.9 times the money that the state got from the federal government as revenue transfer and 1.5 times the entire government expenditure.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com
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