The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has reported that there are 4,376 enemy properties in West Bengal, of which more than 500 have been illegally occupied. So far, eviction actions have been taken only for 49 of these properties.

The government recently surveyed West Bengal, according to MHA officials, and discovered that there are 4,376 enemy properties in the state, of which 4,320 were left by Pakistani citizens and 56 were left by Chinese who departed during the 1962 war. “Based on the survey conducted so far, encroachment has been found in 536 enemy properties situated in West Bengal and so far, 49 eviction proceedings have been initiated,” said a top MHA official, mentioning two of these are located at 78-A&B Shakespear Sarani, while the remaining ones are located on South Tangra Road in Kolkata. 

In the last three years, no enemy property in the state has been sold, the official continued. “But, lease rents to the tune of  Rs 69.72 lakh have been collected during the last three years in respect of such properties in the state,” he said. These properties are under the ex-officio Deputy Custodianship of the District Magistrates (DMs), who also serve as Estate Officers and are in charge of "preservation and maintenance." The official stated, "Therefore, they are authorised to take action against illegal occupants under the Enemy Property Rules, 2015." According to data from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the highest number of 1,728 enemy properties left behind by Pakistani nationals are located in Murshidabad district. This is followed by 711 in Coochbehar, 625 in Purba Bardhaman, 427 in Birbhum, and 100 in Alipurduar.

Additionally, enemy properties left behind by Chinese nationals include 19 in Kolkata, 17 in Kalimpong, 13 in Darjeeling, 5 in Jalpaiguri, and 2 in Alipurduar. Providing information about the procedure of disposing off the enemy properties, the official stated, “In terms of guidelines framed in 2018, such assets are sold through e-auction after carrying out valuation by a committee under the chairmanship of the DM of a district, where the property is situated and based on this the central government decides the manner in which they are to be dealt with.”