The Ministry of Home Affairs has identified 263 properties in Goa that belong to people with Pakistani citizenship and plans to acquire those after passing a law in Parliament. The plots, declared enemy property, are worth more than Rs 100 crore and are located in Bardez, Bicholim, Salcete and Tiswadi areas, reported The Times of India.
The concept of enemy property came in to being in 1965 when India declared Pakistan an enemy state. These properties in Goa are registered in the names of Goans who had migrated to Pakistan long ago. Matters relating to enemy property are dealt with under the Enemy Property Act, 1968, and Enemy Property Rules, 2015.
The ministry has already forwarded a list of these properties to the district collectors and asked them to collect the lease rent from the occupants. However, a few of them have approached courts to stake claim, the newspaper reproted quoting unidentified government officials.
The government will try to pass the Enemy Property Bill in Rajya Sabha next month. According to the Bill, the legal heirs of persons who left for Pakistan are not entitled to inherit properties in India. Once the Bill is passed, the government will gain ownership of such properties worth over Rs 1 lakh crore, according to The Times of India.
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