The government has moved to auction what is classified as ‘enemy properties’ in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The Ministry of Home Affairs has directed district administrations to stop renewing leases and tenancies of such properties and start the process for their disposal. The move carries major implications for UP, where thousands of such properties, including several commercially valuable ones in prime Lucknow locations, fall under this category.
Under the Enemy Property Act, 1968, properties belonging to people who migrated to Pakistan or China and acquired citizenship there following the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars vest in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India. Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand together hold around 5,600 such properties, with roughly 70% located in Uttarakhand and the rest in Uttar Pradesh. A 2020 government survey across India identified approx. 12,000 enemy properties with a combined estimated value of around `1 lakh crore.
Among the most prominent cases are properties linked to the former Raja of Mahmudabad, spread across Lucknow, Sitapur and other locations. These include properties around Hazratganj, Halwasiya Market, Butler Palace, Lari Building, Janpath Market and Warsi Building in Aminabad. Many of these commercially valuable properties are reportedly generating minimal rent. Halwasiya Market, spread over approx. 10,000sqr. metres in Hazratganj, earns rent of only around `700 a month.