An
NRI commission was finally set up by the Kerala government and announced the team
of four members headed by a former judge of Indian High Court. Justice P
Bhavadas has been appointed as the chairman of the commission.
The two out of the four members of the current team are active NRI's living
abroad and other two are former NRIs in which two are either presently living
in the UAE or have been living in the UAE in past.
Dr Shamsheer Vayalil has been appointed as the director of the newly set up NRI
commission. Dr Vayalil is an Abu Dhabi-based doctor and head of VPS healthcare.
He is prominently known among NRI Keralites as the one who petitioned the
Supreme Court in India for obtaining voting rights to the NRIs.
Bhagwat Singh, a former President of the Sharjah Indian Association is the
second member of the team. He currently lives in Kerala.
The other members include PMA Salam, former chairman of the Kerala state
government's Pravasi Welfare Board and Sohan Baby, a Bahrain based journalist.
Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, said, "The purpose of this commission will be to
safeguard the interests of the NRIs and provide justice to their grievances. As
the Director of this commission, I hope we will be able to do justice to all
the NRIs and will strive hard in making this commission a way for them to reach
out to various State and Central Government departments without any hassles."
The quasi-judicial body will report all concerns of the diaspora including
clashes over properties and investments as well as fake recruitments.