Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday said funds for Murshidabad’s development would not be a problem, as the Union government was set to make the Bengal government the custodian of enemy properties in the state.
Enemy property in India refers to movable or immovable assets left behind by people who migrated to or acquired the citizenship of countries regarded as enemies of India, primarily Pakistan, following the 1965 and 1971 wars, and China, following the 1962 war.
Enemy properties include land, buildings, shares, company debentures, gold jewellery and bank lockers.
“All the enemy properties located in our state will be placed under the custody of the state government by the Central government. We will become the custodian (of those enemy properties),” the chief minister said from Lalbagh in Murshidabad.
“There will be no shortage of funds for development in your area,” he added, hinting at the possible financial spin-off from becoming the custodian of these properties.
Suvendu’s comment came after meeting Union home minister Amit Shah during the first-ever BIMSTEC home ministers’ meeting held in New Delhi on Tuesday.
A senior state government official said the Union home ministry, headed by Amit Shah, had given the nod to making the first BJP government in Bengal the custodian of enemy properties.
“The process is on, and Bengal will soon become the custodian of enemy properties,” the official said.
The Indian government has around 13,000 enemy properties across the country, the majority of which belonged to people who moved to Pakistan.
Among states, Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of such properties, around 6,000.
Bengal has the second-largest number of enemy properties, around 4,000, spread across several districts, including Malda, Murshidabad, Calcutta, North and South 24-Parganas.
There are also some enemy properties in Delhi and Goa.
At present, the Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI) functions as the central government authority under the Union home ministry to manage, control, preserve and dispose of properties left behind by “enemies”.
The CEPI collects rent, lease payments, dividends and other recurring revenues generated by these properties and deposits the proceeds into the government account.
“If the state government becomes the custodian, all the income will go to the state exchequer,” a source said.
Flood meet in Delhi
Riverbank erosion along the Ganga is a major problem in districts such as Murshidabad and Malda. For years, residents have complained that neither the state nor the central government has done enough to protect the land and properties of people along both banks of the river.
Suvendu on Thursday announced that the first BJP government of Bengal plans to resolve the long-standing issue with the Centre’s help.
“We have also drawn up plans to address riverbank erosion along the Ganga. (There is) a meeting in Delhi on the 27th of this month. We will undertake several development projects in Murshidabad,” the chief minister said.
A meeting of the Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC) is scheduled for October 27 in New Delhi. Union Jal Shakti minister C.R. Patil will chair the meeting in which Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh will take part.
A delegation from the Bengal government is set to attend and present the state’s demands. A source said there was a possibility that chief minister Suvendu Adhikari himself might attend the meeting.
Rejinagar promise
In his first visit to Murshidabad after the BJP’s bypoll victory in Rejinagar, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari thanked people for supporting his government. On Thursday, he inaugurated several Durga Puja pandals in Murshidabad. He also assured residents that he would soon visit Rejinagar to lay the foundation stone for the Narkelbari bridge and promised a 200-bed hospital in Rejinagar.
At a government programme in Behrampore, he handed over ₹10 lakh to the family of deceased Jasmin Khatun, 6, of Gobindapur village in Rejinagar. She was injured on September 27 when a vehicle in an election campaign convoy hit her. Admitted to the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta, she died the following night.
The chief minister also handed over appointment letters for civic volunteer posts to family members of three of the five people killed in an accident on July 17. Five people, including four schoolchildren, died on July 17 when a train collided with a school pool car at a railway level crossing in Gobindapur village.