Centre takes up NRIs’ property complaints

With more and more overseas Indians complaining about being cheated by property developers, including tainted real estate major Maytas, and illegal occupation and encroachment of their properties in India, the Centre has decided to exert more pressure on state governments to act on such incidents.

The Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry — which had been taking up such cases with state governments — has now decided to hold a special session on property-related issues faced by NRIs and PIOs during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas meet next month. It has asked nodal officers appointed by states for dealing with grievances of overseas Indians to attend the seminar.

The idea is to draw the attention of the state governments and sensitise them about the gravity of the situation so that some kind of mechanism can be evolved to deal with such complaints. "It is an opportunity for the overseas Indians to raise their concerns. We have even invited the DGPs of some of the states," Overseas Minister Vayalar Ravi said.

Ravi said a majority of the complaints are from overseas Indians who have properties in Punjab, Kerala, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Although the Overseas Ministry had as early as in February this year asked state governments to appoint nodal officers to deal with grievances of NRIs and PIOs, only 12 states have complied with the direction so far.

The session would work out the possibility of putting in place institutional arrangements to safeguard the properties of overseas Indians and discuss the modalities for credible investment avenues in the real estate sector. The Overseas Minister is also planning to take up the issue with the chief ministers who are attending the three-day event.

As many as 12 chief ministers would attend the 8th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in which over 1,000 delegates from 55 countries would participate. Sources said the Government might announce some institutional mechanism to promote investment by the overseas community in India.  

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