March 21, 2005
The Peninsula
Moiz Mannan
Punjab — a land of lion-hearted, hard-working
people; a land that has valiantly put behind it
the scourge of terrorism; a land of gritty freedom
fighters and tough soldiers; a land that has sent
hundreds of thousands of its sons to different parts
of India and the world. Yes, Punjabis have far left
behind the stereotype of “Sarso da saag, te makke
di roti...” to create a niche for themselves
as successful businessmen and brilliant professionals
across the globe.
Now, the homeland beckons. Politicians, administrators
and planners in this northern state of India have
realised the huge potential of overseas Punjabis to
invest in ventures back home to incredible mutual
benefit. The Amarinder Singh government seems keen
to make things happen for non-resident Punjabis who
are known for their phenomenal ability to adapt to
any situation and circumstance. In lighter vein, people
say that Punjabis and potatoes are the two things
you could find in any corner of the world. Seriously,
though, the Punjab government will have to match this
amazing adaptibility of its overseas population with
its own flexibility.
If announcements and assurances are to be believed,
the state would soon have special ‘fast-track’
courts for NRIs and add an initial provision of Rs500m
to encourage NRI investments in the Punjab Infrastructure
Development Board (PIDB).
The state’s Minister for NRI Affairs, Amarjit
Singh Samra was recently quoted by the Pioneer
as saying: “In order to expedite the disposal
of the revenue cases relating to the Non Resident
Indians regarding Partition, Mutation and Correction
of Khasra Girdawari etc, the Punjab Government would
soon set up two fast-track courts (Revenue) at Jalandhar
and Hoshiarpur.” He also said that it came to
notice that most of the NRIs were facing day-to-day
problems concerning their land in the state as they
could not fully rely on their kith and kin. Even they
attempted to take undue benefit of their absence.
Samra revealed that it was proposed that the revenue
cases concerning land of NRIs lying pending in various
courts in a division may be transferred to one such
fast-track court for early disposal of these cases.
He said the disposal of the cases would be entrusted
to the Tehsildar on Special Duty in the office of
the Commissioner of respective division. For this,
jurisdictional powers will also be vested in the Assistant
Collector Grade-I for the Division of NRI matters.
It was also proposed that Commissioner (NRI) be designated
as Divisional Commissioner for NRI revenue matters.
With a view to securing quick judicial redressal
to problems of NRIs, the state government has already
amended the East Punjab Rent Restriction Act, 1949
and Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act. These amendments
enable NRIs to take possession of their residential,
commercial and agricultural properties by way of summary
proceeding.
An ‘NRI Police Helpline’ has also
been established and was working in an effective manner.
‘Police On Air’ for redressal of grievances
was being provided on every second and fourth Wednesday
by the state police department which gets feed back
from the NRIs in Canada through the Radio Channels
regularly.
Earlier this year, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh
too had referred to this proposal during the Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas deliberations. While promising the
fast-track courts, he said the amendments to the two
acts would enable NRIs to re-build their ancestral
houses and secure their agriculture land. The Punjab
government has also notified rules for appointment
of NRI Nambardars in those villages from where more
than 20 families have migrated to foreign countries
to take special care of the properties in their absence.
Successful overseas Punjabis are now expected to
look closely at investing in the real estate sector.
A group of them have already discussed the issue with
India’s Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs,
Jagdish Tytler. According to Vikramjeet Singh Bajwa,
vice president of the Indian national overseas congress,
the minister has opened new areas welcoming investments
in new cities. “What we would like to do is make
a parallel city, next to Ludhiana, next to Jallandhar
and next to Amritsar. That will be number one priority,”
said Bajwa.
He was also welcomed the Punjab chief minister’s
initiative to speed up processes for NRIs so that
legal disputes can be sorted quickly, because “people
can’t keep coming back across thousands of miles
here to participate in the legal system which works
very slowly.” NRIs feel that it will give great
encouragement to NRIs to invest in India and in Punjab,
and make sure that they could also bring skills apart
from investment in terms of money.
Urging NRIs to invest in the state, Amarinder Singh
has announced that a Single Window Act for NRI Investment
would soon be passed in the state assembly. He says
special funds would be available for NRIs investment
in large scale Punjab Infrastructure Development Board
(PIDB) assisted projects and a provision of Rs500m
had been earmarked for the purpose. Calling Punjab
as the land of opportunities, the chief minister has
invited investment in sectors like education, health
and rural development.
On its part, the Punjab National Bank (PNB) is also
reaching out to the Punjabi diaspora abroad. It is
looking closely at the Gulf region for opportunities
to open representatives offices. The bank has applied
to the UAE Central Bank to open an office in Dubai.
