Desperately looking forward to connect with Non-Resident Indians from the state, the Akhilesh Yadav government is planning to launch a special interactive portal to provide assistance to NRIs as well as their families.
By Maulshree Seth
Government plans to open online registration for NRIs on this portal where those registered will be given Identity cards that can be used for easy entry and preference at any government office across the state.
The portal has been given its final shape by the NRI Department along with NRI cell of Udyog Bandhu. The government is preparing to launch it within a fortnight. While the step is an attempt to woo NRIs before the special NRI meeting scheduled for January 17, it has also been decided to make changes in its basic strategy to connect with them.
Government sources inform that earlier it was planned to adopt the model similar to Gujarat and Punjab but after some of the recent interactions with the NRIs and resolving their complaints, the government realised that unlike Gujarat, there is a large number of NRIs from UP who are not rich people and only somehow make their living.
Furthermore, most of the NRIs from UP are concerned about the security of their property and their families here.
Of the nearly 60 complaints that the NRI Department received since its formation, one came from Saharanpur and another from Mathura while the rest were from eastern UP. They all wanted protection for their families and quick resolution to the dispute over property.
“Most of the complaints that we got were related to family members of these NRIs. Large number of complaints were related to property disputes,” Sanjiv Saran, Principal Secretary, Infrastructure and Industry Department, who also heads the NRI Department, said. Based on these recent interactions, he added, the government has decided to provide assistance to families of NRIs.
Saran said the web-portal for NRIs with online registration facility is being launched for this. “We are working on it and it is being given final shape.”
The NRIs registering on the portal will get direct contact details of officers in their respective districts apart from help from NRI Department to resolve the issues. The portal would also provide information regarding policies that might benefit them and their families along with details of important projects of the state government and opportunities to invest.
The state government is also mooting the idea of providing special incentive to the villages of NRIs if the latter invest in basic development.