Wooing Non-Resident Keralites, the Kerala government today assured relaxation in land ceiling to those who make investments and generate employment opportunities in the state.
Admitting that the state was facing several 'road blocks' with regard to attracting investments, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the government has decided to relax the land policy which stipulated that a person cannot hold land in excess of 15 acres.
"We have been facing several road blocks when it comes to attracting investments...And issues regarding land has been one of the major road blocks. As per the current policy, a person cannot hold land in excess of 15 acres and the government has decided to give relaxation to this policy with certain conditions in order to attract investors to the state," he said inaugurating the two-day Global NRK Meet organised by Department of Non-Resident Kerala Affairs (NORKA) and Norka-Roots here.
According to the revised policy, if a person agrees to make an investment of Rs five crore, he would be allowed to hold an acre of land in excess and the same relaxation would also be given to those who come up with a project that promises employment to at least 20 people.
"These projects and investments will be considered as public purpose and the government will extend all possible support to them," the Chief Minister said, adding that the government was looking forward to the support from NRKs in making considering investments in the technology sector in the state.
The government was willing to organise the NRK meet annually rather than once in two years, he said.
In his presidential address, NORKA Minister, K C Joseph said the issues faced by the NRKs had increased manifold in the recent years and the government was committed to providing all possible help to the NRKs.
Finance Minister K M Mani, in his address, said the NRKs were the major contributors to the state's economy and the foreign remittance to the state was nearly Rs 85,000 crore (annually).
"In the recent times, Nitaqat (new labour law in Saudi Arabia which has affected Indians) has been one of the serious issues faced by the NRKs and the state government has formulated several welfare schemes to support those Gulf returnees," he said.
