Assam Begins Evaluation of 36 Enemy Properties Left by Pakistanis and Chinese

Enemy property in India refers to assets, lands, buildings, businesses, gold, jewellery, and company shares left behind by people who migrated to or acquired the citizenship of enemy countries-primarily Pakistan and China-following wars such as the 1962 Sino-Indian War, the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War, and the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Assam has 36 enemy properties that were left behind by Pakistanis and Chinese during the partition of the country and the subsequent wars. This property comprises around 8,000 bighas of land, besides buildings and other valuables. The Ministry of Home Affairs has already formed state-level committees for the evaluation of enemy property with them.

Of the 36 enemy properties in the state, 29 are of former Pakistanis, and seven are of Chinese. The Katigora Revenue Circle alone in the Cachar District has 7,700 bighas of land that belonged to Pakistanis. The seven Chinese properties are mostly located in the Darrang, Tinsukia, and Lakhimpur districts. All these enemy properties are vested with the Custodian of Enemy Property of India (CEPI) under the Enemy Property Act, 1968. To prevent the heirs of Pakistanis and Chinese from claiming such property, the Government of India amended the Act in 2017. According to the Government of India, the country as a whole has 13,826 enemy properties vested with the custodian of CEPI. The valuation of such enemy property is estimated to be between Rs 1 lakh crore and Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

According to sources, such enemy property is under encroachment by local people who have been growing crops on it. Many of these encroachers are seeking to obtain ownership of the land through mutations. BJP MLA Kamalakshya Purkayastha raised this issue in the last Assembly, pleading with the government to lease or regularise such property to the current occupants.

According to sources, the MHA has formed state-level committees for the evaluation, state of possession and types of such properties so as to earn revenue out of them. After evaluation of such property, the government is likely to auction the landed property with preference to the people occupying it now, lease it out or regularise it.

According to sources, Meghalaya has the highest number of Chinese properties in the country, followed by West Bengal with 29 and Assam with seven. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of 4,991 Pakistani enemy properties, followed by West Bengal with 2,735 and Delhi with 487.

Enemy property in India refers to assets, lands, buildings, businesses, gold, jewellery, and company shares left behind by people who migrated to or acquired the citizenship of enemy countries-primarily Pakistan and China-following wars such as the 1962 Sino-Indian War, the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War, and the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.

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