The government is planning to create an NRI Commission to deal with cases of cheating and crime against Non-Resident Keralites (NoRKs), Governor P. Sathasivam has said.
In his start-of-session address to the Assembly on Friday, he said visa cheating and criminal offences against NoRKs had become a serious problem. The proposed commission, he said, would deal with such cases exclusively.
The government, Mr. Sathasivam said, had initiated steps to take over the recruitment of persons to various Gulf countries.
Highlighting the contribution of expatriates to the development of the State, he said, “the total remittance of NoRKs to Kerala is more than Rs.90,000 crore, over and above the NoRK deposits of about Rs.97,400 crore in various financial institutions as on September 30, 2014.”
Pointing to the problems due to internal developments in other countries, he said the rehabilitation of NoRKs returning to the State had to be taken up seriously.
Outlining priorities in the health sector, he said one panchayat in each district would be made elderly friendly with multilevel approach for tackling age-related problems.
A programme for autism spectrum disorder, day care centres for dementia patients, and psycho-social rehabilitation centres for the mentally ill in all districts were the other proposals, he said.
Mr. Sathasivam, who began his address by describing Kerala as one of the growing States in the country, also observed that the National Games hosted by the State had been a grand success.
He said the government would provide textbooks free-of-cost to all girl students of Plus One and Plus Two classes in the State. A technology innovation zone would be created at Kalamassery with angel and venture funds to support start-up companies.
The Kerala State Welfare Corporation for Forward Communities would take up a pilot project for the renovation of 200 Agraharams, the traditional settlement of the ethnic Brahmin communities in Kerala. The renovation of the Tripunithura Hill Palace museum, Pazhassi museum, and Koyikkal palace at Nedumangad would be completed in 2015-16.
Mr. Sathasivam told the House that 7,693 hectares of land would be distributed to landless tribespeople. A National Biodiversity Garden and Traditional Knowledge Centre would be established in Munnar.
The Governor said a mega food park would be established by the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation with focus on processing and export of marine products.
