State orders survey of enemy properties

The state government has ordered a fresh survey to identify enemy properties in Ranga Reddy, Mahabubnagar and Khammam districts. The Parliament has recently enacted a new Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Act.

According to this law, enemy property refers to movable and immovable property held by those, who migrated to Pakistan after the partition of the country.

The government wants to claim some portion of funds accrued from the sale of these lands, whenever the Centre put up these land parcels for sale, besides seeking these lands to build 2BHK houses for the poor.

The revenue department has no proper records at present on enemy properties.

Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao had asked collectors in March 2016 to submit report on enemy properties after the Lok Sabha passed the Bill. However, the collectors failed to do so. The issue came to the fore again after the Rajya Sabha cleared the Bill two weeks ago.

With the passing of Act, the state government has to transfer enemy properties to the Centre.

Telangana is believed to be one of the major states in the country having a huge chunk of enemy properties along with Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Delhi.

After India was divided to create Pakistan in 1947, many people from India migrated to Pakistan. Following which, the Indian government, in accordance with the Defence of India Rules, framed under the Defence of India Act, took over the properties and companies of such persons who had taken Pakistani nationality.

These ‘enemy properties’ were vested by the Central government. Official sources in CCLA said the enemy properties exist mostly in Ranga Reddy, Mahabubnagar and Khammam districts.