Centre begins process to sell enemy properties worth ₹1 lakh cr

NEWDELHI: In a bid enrich its coffers by about ₹1 lakh crore, the government has started the process of monetisation of more than 9,400 enemy properties by issuing guidelines and directing the office of the custodian to submit a list of all such movable and immovable assets within three months, officials said.

The Ministry of home affairs has also constituted a valuation committee at the district level, headed by the district magistrate, and an inter-ministerial disposal committee, headed by an additional secretary, so that the process could be completed in a time-bound manner.

The move comes after the amendment of the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Act 2017 and the Enemy Property (Amendment) Rules, 2018, which ensured that the heirs of those who migrated to Pakistan and China will have no claim over the properties left behind in India.

The enemy properties were those left behind by the people who took citizenship of Pakistan and China. There are 9,280 properties left behind by Pakistani nationals and 126 properties left behind by Chinese nationals, a ministry official said.

The government has vested these properties in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India. The office of the custodian should submit a list of all enemy properties to the central government, the home ministry said.

“A list of all vested enemy properties (movable and immovable) shall be prepared by the Custodian for its submission to the central government within three months from the publication of this order,” it said.

For the purpose of valuation of the immovable assets, a valuation committee will be constituted at the district level with the district magistrate as the chairman.

ENEMY PROPERTIES ARE ASSETS LEFT BEHIND BY THE PEOPLE WHO TOOK CITIZENSHIP OF PAKISTAN AND CHINA