Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). file | Photo credit: The Hindu
The Union Home Ministry has initiated the process of eviction and sale of enemy properties, immovable properties left behind by people who have taken citizenship of Pakistan and China.
There are a total of 12,611 establishments called enemy properties in the country, which are estimated to be worth more than Rs 1 lakh crore.
Enemy property is vested with the Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI), an authority created under the Enemy Property Act.
According to a Home Ministry notification, the guidelines for disposal of enemy properties have been changed, under which the process of eviction of enemy properties will now be initiated with the help of the concerned District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner before the properties are sold.
In case of enemy property of value less than ₹1 crore, the custodian shall first offer to buy the occupier and if the offer to buy is rejected by the occupier, the enemy property shall be disposed of as per the procedure specified in the guidelines Will go stated in the notification.
Enemy properties whose value is less than ₹1 crore and ₹100 crore will be disposed of by CEPI through e-auction or otherwise at a rate fixed by the Central Government and determined by the Enemy Property Disposal Committee.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said that for the e-auction of enemy properties, the e-auction platform of Public Enterprise Metal Scrap Trade Corporation Limited will be used by CEPI.
Officials said the government has earned over Rs 3,400 crore from disposal of enemy properties, mostly movable assets such as shares and gold.
None of the 12,611 immovable enemy properties have been monetized by the government so far.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has already launched a national survey of enemy properties spread across 20 states and three union territories, with an aim to identify all such properties and subsequently monetise them.
The first of its kind national survey by the Directorate General of Defense Estates (DGDE) will assess the current status and value of enemy properties identified by CEPI.
The government constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) in 2020 under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to oversee monetization of enemy properties.
Of the 12,611 properties vested with CEPI, a total of 12,485 belonged to Pakistani nationals and 126 to Chinese nationals.
The highest number of enemy properties were found in Uttar Pradesh (6,255 properties), followed by West Bengal (4,088 properties), Delhi (659), Goa (295), Maharashtra (208), Telangana (158), Gujarat (151), Tripura ( 105), Bihar (94), Madhya Pradesh (94), Chhattisgarh (78) and Haryana (71).
There are 71 enemy properties in Kerala, 69 in Uttarakhand, 67 in Tamil Nadu, 57 in Meghalaya, 29 in Assam, 24 in Karnataka, 22 in Rajasthan, 10 in Jharkhand, four in Daman and Diu and one each in Andhra Pradesh and Andaman. and Nicobar Islands.
