The home ministry has begun the process to sell enemy properties, immovable assets left behind by people who have taken citizenship in Pakistan and China after wars with these countries.

The guidelines for disposal of enemy properties have been changed, under which the process for eviction of enemy properties now shall be initiated with the help of a district magistrate or deputy commissioner before the sale of properties, according to a notification issued on Saturday.

“In case of the enemy properties valued below ₹1 crore, the custodian shall offer for purchase to the occupant first and if offer of purchase is refused by the occupant, then the enemy property shall be disposed of in accordance with the procedure specified in the guidelines,” the notification said.

Enemy properties valued between ₹1 crore and ₹100 crore will be disposed of by the Custodian of Enemy Property of India through an electronic auction or otherwise, as may be decided by the central government and at the rate determined by the Enemy Property Disposal Committee, the ministry said.

The e-auction platform of public enterprise Metal Scrap Trade Corporation will be used by the CEPI to auction the enemy properties, it added.

The Centre launched a national survey of enemy properties, spread across 20 states and three Union Territories, to identify and subsequently monetize them, HT had reported on March 4. The survey by the Directorate General of Defence Estates will assess the present condition and value of the enemy properties identified by the CEPI.

There are a total of 12,611 establishments called enemy property, estimated to be worth over ₹1 lakh crore, in the country. The enemy properties are vested with the CEPI, an authority created under the Enemy Property Act.

The government has earned over ₹3,400 crore from disposal of enemy properties, mostly movable assets like shares and gold, according to the 2021-22 annual report of the home ministry.

However, none of the immovable enemy properties has been sold so far. The home ministry formed a group of ministers, headed by home minister Amit Shah, in 2020 to supervise monetization of enemy properties.

Out of the 12,611 properties vested with the CEPI, 12,485 were related to Pakistani nationals and 126 to Chinese citizens.

The highest number of enemy properties were found in Uttar Pradesh (6,255), followed by West Bengal (4,088 ), Delhi (659), Goa (295), Maharashtra (208), Telangana (158), Gujarat (151), Tripura (105), Bihar (94), Madhya Pradesh (94), Chhattisgarh (78) and Haryana (71).

There are 71 enemy properties in Kerala, 69 in Uttarakhand, 67 in Tamil Nadu, 57 in Meghalaya, 29 in Assam, 24 in Karnataka, 22 in Rajasthan, 10 in Jharkhand, four in Daman and Diu and one each in Andhra Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.