Bengaluru: NRIs from across the globe will visit their embassies and consular offices later this month and file a memorandum to urge the authorities in India to evolve systems to ensure their properties and assets in India are safe.
Subhas Balappanavar, a techie, of NRI Grievances Group that was started with 383 members to ensure NRIs are not exploited, told The New Indian Express he would go with a group of petitioners on bicycles to the Indian consular office in San Francisco. He said they would coordinate visits of petitioners in batches to all six consular offices in the US and give them similar petitions.
Former Mayor of Lambeth Dr Neeraj Patil is expected to join a batch of petitioners to the London office, while groups of NRI petitioners will go to two consular offices in Canada, one in the United Kingdom, two in the Middle East, one in Australia, and many in Europe.
Shashidhara Nagarajappa will lead in the Gulf region, while Raja Naik will lead in Vancouver, Canada, and Jayaprakash will lead the team in Australia.
They said they wanted the main political parties, BJP and Congress, to take up the issue of safeguarding assets, wealth and properties of NRIs in their party manifestos, since elections are round the corner. The NRIs are also ready to knock on the doors of the judiciary, if necessary.
In the memorandum, they will urge the government to draft rules and systems, especially as hundreds of NRIs have been victims of cheating and fraud.
NRIs account for about 30 per cent of India's foreign exchange reserves. Those who are entangled in property issues have realised they they are at a serious disadvantage when it comes to safeguarding their properties in India because of the distance, and will urge the Union and state governments to set up an exclusive department for NRIs to ensure their ‘wealth’ concerns are looked after effectively.
They sought user-friendly measures for NRIs, like having online FIR, online inquiry, panchanama and said it would be very convenient if investigation is completed and issues are resolved in a specially set-up court in a time-bound manner, rather than letting them drag on for years and decades.
They said they would also seek harsher punishments for those who seek to defraud or harm NRIs and also ensure NRIs are not unnecessarily penalised.
Chairperson of the Karnataka NRI Forum Arathi Krishna, who enjoys the rank of a cabinet minister, told The New Indian Express, "NRIs need to be protected. We had in our Congress manifesto mentioned that we would have a separate department for NRIs in Karnataka and we are working towards it and are going through the different models available to set up a new department and secretariat for NRIs."
Former MP Janardhan Swamy said, "It is an important issue and the right departments need to come together to work out a solution."