India starts sale of ‘enemy assets’ worth ₹1L crore

NEW DELHI: The Union home ministry started the process for eviction and sale of enemy properties, the immovable assets left behind by people who took citizenship of Pakistan and China.

There are a total of 12,611 establishments called enemy property, roughly estimated to be worth over Rs 1 lakh crore, in India.

Telangana has 158 such properties while UP has 6,255, followed by West Bengal (4,088), Delhi (659), Goa (295), Maharashtra (208), 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.

The enemy properties are 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 the enemy properties have been changed under which the process for eviction of enemy properties now shall be initiated with the help of the District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner concerned before the sale of properties. In case of the enemy properties valued below Rs 1 crore, the custodian shall offer for purchase to the occupant first and if offer of purchase is refused by the occupant, then the enemy property shall be disposed of in accordance with the procedure specified in the guidelines, the notification said.

Those enemy properties having valuation of Rs 1 crore and below Rs 100 crore, shall be disposed of by the CEPI through e-auction or otherwise as may be decided by the Centre and at the rate determined by the Enemy Property Disposal Committee.