Soon, govt will dispose of properties of people who have left for Pakistan

Properties belonging to people who had left for countries like Pakistan after the partition and free from legal tangle will soon be disposed off with Home Minister Rajnath Singh giving his nod, the home ministry said.

The issue was discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting chaired by the home minister on Monday.

The home minister directed that considering the importance of the new provisions in the Enemy Property Act, 2017, which was amended recently to include disposal/transfer of enemy properties, the rules may be notified expeditiously.

"It was also decided that the custodian office be strengthened for this purpose and the ministry should identify the properties free from encumbrance for quick disposal and monetisation," a home ministry statement said.

According to the amended Act, "Enemy property" refers to any property belonging to, held or managed on behalf of an enemy, an enemy subject or an enemy firm.

The owners of the enemy properties are those who have left India and settled in Pakistan or China.

The government has vested these properties in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India, an office instituted under the central government.

After the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, the Enemy Property Act was enacted in 1968, which regulates such properties and lists the Custodian's powers.

The home ministry today said

similar properties in Pakistan belonging to Indians have been disposed of and the appointment of nodal officers by the state governments be pursued to coordinate identification, vesting and valuation of enemy properties.

During the meeting, it was also informed that the survey of 6,289 properties has been completed and the survey be completed in respect of remaining 2,991 properties which are vested with the custodian, the statement said.

Also the properties in the process for vesting numbering 5,863 may also be surveyed at the earliest.