NRIs unhappy with Chouhan's absence from diaspora event

Bhopal - Non-resident Indians of Madhya Pradesh origin who want to invest in the state Thursday said they were disappointed with the absence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

"Neither the chief minister reached there nor any of his representatives," Prakash Narain Avasthy, a delegate of NRI-Cooperative Housing Scheme (CHS), told reporters here.

"It has disappointed at least three dozen NRIs who wanted to interact with the Madhya Pradesh chief minister over investment and other issues. But we (NRI-CHS) felt more cheated and realised how the chief minister is not serious on NRI issues," he added.

On the final day of the 10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Jan 9, Chouhan was to participate in the State Initiative and Opportunities (chief minister's session) along with his counterparts from Kerala, Goa, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

While all other chief ministers were present to woo NRI investors, Chouhan was not there.

Another delegate, S.A. Ayub said that established in 1991, the NRI-CHS was planned by the government of India with the view that NRIs would not only get an opportunity to remain connected with the country but also invest. There were 180 members in it.

A 208-acre land in the Bhaunri subdivision of Huzur was allotted for the scheme. But because of the red tape in the Madhya Pradesh government, the scheme never took shape, the delegate said.

The NRIs have also gone to the Madhya Pradesh High Court and a case is now pending there.

"In 2010, Chouhan had promised that he will inquire into the matter and take appropriate action in this regard. But neither any inquiry nor the scheme moved ahead," Ayub said.

Chouhan, along with his cabinet ministers and business delegates, had visited China last year to attract investors.