Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government plans to implement a project to rehabilitate and ensure the development of expatriates who have returned to the state after losing jobs, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.

The Dream Kerala project will aim at utilising the professional skills and experience of the returning expatriates for the development of the state, he said.

The project will be implemented jointly by various government departments. The public will be asked for their ideas and suggestions on implementing the project, he said.

He said a panel of young civil officers will be formed to look into the ideas and seek expert opinion.

Once an idea is approved, the department that will implement it will be decided within a week.

A steering committee, comprising the chief minister, Speaker, ministers, members of the Opposition, chief secretary and department secretaries will be constituted for this purpose.

An expert panel under the chairmanship of former chief secretary K M Abraham will be constituted to implement the selected ideas. Muralee Thummarukudy, Dr Saji Gopinath, SD Shibulal, C. Balagopal, Sajan Pillai, Byju Ravindrana and Abdul Razzaq will be the members.

The timeline for the project has also been decided. A campaign and an ideathon will be held from July 15-30. A sectoral hackathon will be held from August 1-10. The selected projects will be presented in the virtual Assembly on August 14. The ideas will be implemented within 100 days and the project will be completed by November 15, the chief minister said.