State accuses Centre of ignoring NRI returnees’ welfare

Govt.’ s proposal for rehab package for the displaced not accepted

Speaker M.B. Rajesh and Industries Minister P. Rajeeve with John Brittas, Ravi Pillai, M.A. Yousafali and Azad Mooppan during the inauguration of the third Loka Kerala Sabha in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. | Photo Credit: S. MAHINSHA

The State government has accused the Centre of doing little for the rehabilitation of Non Resident Indian (NRI) returnees who have been rendered jobless by the COVID-19 pandemic.

An approach paper presented by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the third Loka Kerala Sabha highlights the lack of a national migration policy and bemoans the Central government’s purported unwillingness to share migration data.

Industries Minister P. Rajeeve read out the document on behalf of the Chief Minister, who is indisposed, at the opening session of the biennial event at the Assembly complex on Friday.

Stating that nearly 17 lakh non-resident Keralites have returned during the pandemic, the approach paper accuses the Centre of failing in its duties of ensuring the welfare of the returnees.

The State government had approached the Union government to sanction a ₹2,000-crore rehabilitation package for the displaced. The proposal included components to establish skill training centres, self-employment, educational assistance for the children of returnees, housing aid, and medical insurance fund. However, the proposal was not accepted.

The Centre’s SWADES (Skilled Workers Arrival Database for Employment Support) skill card programme, envisaged to support NRI returnees, had also failed to make an impact among the section two years since its launch. The skill-mapping exercise aimed at creating a database of qualified citizens to tap their skill sets and link them with various companies.

The State also finds fault with the proposed emigration Bill, 2021 which purportedly seeks to transfer the burden of migrant rehabilitation on the State governments. In addition to various anomalies such as excluding the family members of emigrants and students from the definition of emigrants, the proposed legislation makes no mention of migration data. The lack of such information has hampered formulation of rehabilitation programmes for the returnees.

While it proposes a total withdrawal of the Labour Ministry while bringing migrant issues completely under the purview of the Ministry of External Affairs, the State government is demanding the formation of a separate ministry for handling the affairs of NRIs.