Four assets in Meghalaya identified as Chinese-owned

The government has identified four more properties owned by Chinese nationals in Meghalaya and one each in West Bengal and Maharashtra, taking the number of Chinese-owned "enemy properties" to 131, said officials.

These properties were left behind by Chinese nationals after the India-China war in 1962 but had remained under legal dispute, they said.

The total number of enemy properties vested with the Custodian of Enemy Properties for India (CEPI) is estimated to be 9,406, according to government officials. Out of these, more than 9,200 belonged to Pakistan nationals - identified after the 1965 and 1971 wars. Their value is estimated to be ₹1 lakh crore. Apart from immovable properties, enemy properties also consist of shares, gold and silver ornaments.


According to home ministry officials, CEPI has attached about 65 million such enemy shares in 996 companies. In 2022-23, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management sold shares worth ₹24 lakh while in 2021, gold and silver were sold for ₹60 lakh, the officials added.

As per official data, the highest number of properties left behind by Chinese nationals is in Meghalaya (61), followed by West Bengal (52) and Assam (15). There are one such property each in Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra. "Identification of enemy properties is a continuous process, and several cases are under examination and being processed," a senior government official said.

Among properties in West Bengal, 14 are tanneries, mostly located in Tangra, also known as China Town. In Meghalaya, the properties include restaurants and shoe stores.

In the wake of Chinese aggression in 1962, the CEPI was called upon to take charge of the Chinese assets, with the aim of attaching the properties under the Defence of India Rules, 1962. In 1968, the Enemy Property Act was enacted to deal with such properties. The Act was amended in 1977 and 2017.