The Delhi government is set to survey 683 built-up properties allotted to families who came to the Capital from Pakistan after the 1947 Partition, with the findings to be sent to the Centre for a decision on the future status of the holdings.
The exercise follows directions from the Centre and will be conducted using a property list prepared by the Land and Building department’s evacuee property cell. The list identifies each property by municipal ward number, property number, occupant name and locality. Officials will verify every entry on the ground.
The survey will record the physical condition of each property, its current occupants and whether it has been sold, rebuilt, subdivided or illegally occupied, according to an official cited by The Indian Express. The exercise is intended to establish how the properties listed in government records correspond to their present-day condition and use.
The properties are located in some of Delhi’s oldest and most densely built areas, including Kashmere Gate, Chandni Chowk, Mori Gate, Balli Maran, Frash Khana, Turkman Gate, Pahari Dhiraj, Chitli Qabar, Lal Kuan, Jama Masjid, Churiwalan, Darya Ganj, Nizamuddin, Roshanara Road, Kamla Nagar, Malka Ganj, Sadar Bazar, Karol Bagh, Nabi Karim, Paharganj, Multani Dhanda, Sarai Rohilla and Basti Punjaban.
The list also includes two properties on Dr Lane in Gole Market and one on Jantar Mantar Road in New Delhi district. The spread of the properties means the survey will cover both historic walled-city neighbourhoods and established central Delhi areas where buildings and occupancy patterns have changed over several decades.
After Partition, properties left behind by people who moved from Delhi to Pakistan were allotted to families arriving from Pakistan, officials said. Close to 680 families who migrated from Delhi are understood to have left houses behind, while the vacant properties were subsequently allotted to displaced families.
The allotments gave families possession but not ownership rights, creating a legal gap that remains unresolved decades later. Officials said other families were allotted plots, on which houses were later built. Some of those plots continue to be occupied by descendants or current residents, while others have reportedly been sold.
The ground verification is therefore expected to examine multiple categories of property history. Officials said some holdings may have changed hands, been divided into smaller units or been rebuilt, making the current situation different from the original records prepared at the time of allotment.
The findings will be compiled by the Delhi government and submitted to the Centre, which will decide on the status of the properties. Officials described the exercise as a status check rather than an eviction drive, with the immediate objective of creating an updated record of the 1947 allotments.
