Indian government set to auction of 'enemy property' of Pakistani nationals who have left the country

Worth around one trillion rupees, there are 9,820 pieces of land owned by Pakistanis in India

ISLAMABAD: The Indian government has decided to auction off properties of over 9,400 people, mostly Pakistani nationals, worth one trillion rupees, designating them as 'enemy properties' on the pretext that these people have left the country.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the Indian home ministry has started the process of identifying these properties, officials privy to these developments told the news service.

The move came after the amendment of a 49-year-old Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Act, and ensured that the heirs of those who migrated to Pakistan and China during the partition and afterwards will have no claim over the properties left behind in India.



At a recent meeting, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh was informed that the survey of 6,289 enemy properties had been completed, and that of the remaining 2,991 properties vested with the custodian would be completed soon, a home ministry official told media.

Singh directed that those properties which were free from encumbrance should be disposed of quickly for monetisation.

The estimated value of these 9,400 properties is around 1 trillion Indian rupees, and when they are sold off, would be a huge windfall for the government, another official was reported as saying.



Among the 9,280 properties left behind by Pakistani nationals, around 4,991 properties are located in Uttar Pradesh, followed by West Bengal which has 2,735 such estates. There are 487 such properties in  capital Delhi.

Among the 126 properties left behind by Chinese nationals, 57 are located in Meghalaya, followed by West Bengal with 29. Assam has seven such properties.

According to the new amendment, ‘enemy property’ refers to any property belonging to, held or managed on behalf of an enemy, an enemy subject or an enemy firm.