Nodal officers to be appointed in every district for facilitation of NRIs: Punjab minister

Chandigarh, March 29 (PTI): Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Tuesday said the government has decided to appoint nodal officers in all 23 districts of the state to facilitate Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).

Dhaliwal also said special courts will be set up in districts of Amritsar, Patiala, Ludhiana and Bathinda to resolve cases related to NRIs in a timely manner.

He said directions have been issued to department officials to immediately initiate the process in this regard and physical work would be started soon on the ground.

Chairing a high-level review meeting with the officials of the NRI Affairs Department and members of NRI Commission, Dhaliwal issued directions that the appointment of nodal officers should be made in a transparent manner and the working of these officers should be reviewed by the deputy commissioners concerned on regular basis.

He said apart from these steps, the state government would also coordinate with the Union government and embassies concerned to resolve the problems of NRIs, an official statement issued here said.

He said the state government would also honor the NRIs who have done commendable work in various walks of life.

The minister said the NRI Affairs Department will also coordinate with the Rural Development and Panchayats Department to collect the village-wise data of all NRIs.

Dhaliwal appealed to all Punjabi NRIs to actively participate in the social and sustainable development of their native villages to assist the state government in achieving desired results in terms of overall development.