by Punjabnewswire4u
JALANDHAR, JANUARY 5
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today assured the Punjabi Diaspora
settled across the globe to address all their genuine hardships relating to
their land and other civil matters on the top priority in result oriented
manner and asked he NRI Affairs Minister Mr. Bikram Singh Majithia to get all
the issues examined which came up for discussion during Two-days Parvasi
Punjabi Sammelan before taking a final decision in this regard.
Addressing a mammoth gathering here at Cabana Club near Phagwara on the second
day of the NRI sammelan, Mr. Badal promised the NRIs and others dignitaries
that the decisions taken for their welfare would be implemented in the letter
and spirit. He said that the high level joint committee of senior cabinet
ministers under his chairman and representatives of NRIs would deliberate upon
the issues thread bare so that the consensus emerged at this august forum could
be bring to logical end. He reiterated his commitment that the welfare of
Punjabi NRIs was on the highest priority of government agenda and the promises
made with them would be fulfilled at every cost as it was a question of the
credibility of the state government. He asked Deputy Chief
Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal and Mr. Majithia to have regular interaction
with him from time to time to ensure implementation of these decisions in a
time bound manner. He categorically said: “I stood by every word which I
promised with my NRI brethren”. He urged the NRI dignitaries to be in
touch with the state government for their healthy suggestions to bring far more
improvement in the services being provided by the government to them as they
had a vast experience and better administrative experience having latest access
to the information technology and other communication techniques like online
communication/redressal system of grievances as prevalent in their respective
countries. He rued probably communication gap was the major malady which
result in poor implementations of decisions and asked them to correct us
wherever they found any deficiency in any welfare scheme or policy meant for
NRIs. Mr. Badal unequivocally said that the sole objective of this NRI
sammelan was to ensure the overall well being of the Punjabi Diaspora settled
in various parts of the world and none should link it with any sort of
political mileage as it was our bounden duty to resolve the issues of NRIs
because they were an integral part of our society.
Seeking fulsome support and cooperation from NRIs in imparted skill training to
the unemployed youth, Mr. Badal said that the state government was ready to
invest and provide requisite infrastructure for the purpose. He urged
them to send a team of experts in the field of skill development who could help
the government to prepare a blue print to effectively combat the problem of
unemployed youth. Likewise, he also sought a panel of eminent
doctors, engineers, progressive farmers and technocrats who could guide the
government in its ongoing programs and schemes related to health care and
medical research, infrastructure, scientific agriculture etc. He pointed
out that the state government had already tied up with the federal German
government for the skill development program in the state under which five lakh
youth would be imparted skill training over a period of five years.
Recalling the glorious history of Shiromani Akali Dal, Mr. Badal said that it
had a saga of numerous sacrifices for the welfare of the Sikh panth. He
said that the party ever since had propagated its rich legacy to strengthen the
routes of Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat. He said that the credit goes to
Shiromani Akali Dal for ensuring congenial atmosphere of peace, communal
harmony and brotherhood which was the redeeming factor for any state to achieve
prosperity and development. Highlighting the exemplary role of Shiromani
Akali Dal as a champion of the freedom of press, Mr. Badal said that he along
with several party colleagues were imprisoned during emergency.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister announced a scholarship for 50 economically
poor students from the state for pursuing higher study abroad and said that the
entire expenditure on their studies boarding and lodging would be borne by the
state government. He also announced that a matching development grant
would be released by the state government for any project initiated by the NRI
in his native village, town or city in the state to ensure the participation of
NRIs in the development projects of the state government.
In his address Deputy
Chief Minister Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal called upon the NRIs not to be swayed by
false propaganda of our political opponents and detractors who were bent upon
to malign us. He said that the SAD-BJP alliance had registered a historic win
for the second consecutive term exclusively on the plank of performance and
development adding that they have defied our political opponents and detractors
who were spreading a word that SAD-BJP would face debacle at hustling to pave a
way for Congress. Without mincing words the Deputy Chief Minister said that any
political party be it regional, national or at international level should
realize that only one could seek people’s mandate in their favour on the basis
of performance and not merely shouting slogans from the top of the roof. He
said that it should be clear to everyone including us either perform or perish.
Deputy Chief Minister
announced that the state government would hold this gala event annually to
strengthen ties with the NRIs settled in various countries abroad adding that
they would be leading a delegation to Canada in June 2013 to interact with
Punjabi Diaspora there in an effective manner. He underlined the need for
regular exchange of political delegation on the lines of student exchange
program to develop better channels of communication to foster a sense of
goodwill, mutual understanding and harmony. Lauding the indomitable spirit of
Punjabi NRIs, in the overall development of the countries of their adoption Mr
Sukhbir Singh Badal sought support and co-operation from them to develop major
projects and make investments in the areas of their interest. He assured them
of single window service to ensure fast track clearances for their projects.
The Deputy Chief Minister
said Punjab would be power surplus by end of this year and 4/6 laned road
connectivity with every town and city in the state within next three years. Mr
Sukhbir Singh Badal said that under the stewardship of Punjab Chief Minister Mr
Parkash Singh Badal the state government had taken a slew of measures for the
well being of NRIs like enactment of compulsory registration of Marriage Act,
Punjab Urban Rent Control Act, Prevention of Human Trafficking and Smuggling
Act etc. to save the NRIs from undue harassment by the dishonest tenants,
fraudulent grooms and unscrupulous travel agents. The Punjab Government would
soon set up three fast track courts across the state to ensure quick
dispensation of Justice to the NRIs besides 8 NRI Police Stations to deal
exclusively with NRI complaints.
Apart from these 10%
residential and commercial plots in PUDA and other government urban development
authorities would be reserved for the NRIs. To ensure requisite services to the
NRIs under one roof two state of the art NRI Bhawans would be set up Mohali and
Jalandhar. He said that the state Police department was fully sensitized to the
problems faced by the NRIs who have been declared Proclaimed Offenders and
efforts were afoot to get the innocent NRIs absolved from these charges. The
Deputy Chief Minister also announced that none of the Police officer below the
rank of DSP would be authorized to lodge a FIR against NRI and now it would be
registered only by DSP after due verification.
Earlier in his inaugural
address Revenue and Information & Public Relations Minister Mr Bikram Singh
Majithia thanked all the participating NRIs for the overwhelming response given
to this gala event. Lauding the role played by Punjabis in the development of
Punjab and India as well as in the countries wherever they have settled abroad,
the Minister said that due to their rare qualities of entrepreneurship, hard
work and resilience the Punjabi brethren have proved their mettle in every
field. He said that the main motive of calling this two days Parvasi Punjabi
Sammellan was to take the views of the Punjabi Diaspora settled abroad in
ushering a new era of unprecedented development in the state besides redressing
the matters pertaining to the NRIS.
Mr Majithia said that the
suggestions that have came out of this two days interactive session would go a
long way in helping the state government to formulate policies for ensuring the
well being of the Punjabis settled abroad by safeguarding their interests in
their mother state. He said that through this session the NRIs have now became
an integral part of policy formulation in the state. Mr Majithia also urged the
NRIs to get them registered for the Non Resident Punjabi Multipurpose card
which would act as a key for getting their any work related to the state
government within 72 hours.
Earlier the Chief Minister
accompanied by the Deputy Chief Minister and Mr Majithia also launched a
website of the state government to facilitate the NRIs for redressing their
complaints online.
On the occasion, the
Government of Punjab also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a NGO
run by the Member of House of Lords (UK) Lord Raj Loomba for ensuring the
welfare of 5000 widows in the state by imparting technical training to them. On
the part of the state government Principal Secretary NRI Affairs Mr SS Channy
signed the MoU with Lord Loomba in presence of Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh
Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal and Cabinet Minister Mr
Bikram Singh Majithia. Under this MoU Rs 1 crore would be given by Loomba
foundation whereas a matching grant of Rs 1 crore would be given by the state
government.
At the very outset of the
second day of the session an impressive documentary showcasing the role played
by Ghadar movement in the Indian Freedom Struggle was also telecasted amongst
the audiences.
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