The Tripura government has started an in-depth survey to know the status of plots exchanged between the people of the state and erstwhile East Pakistan before and after the Partition in 1947, an official said on November 27.
A large number of people on both sides of the international border had mutually exchanged properties during that period. The exchange had taken place mainly between Hindus seeking to come to India and Muslims who sought to settle in Pakistan.
Many of these people who came to Tripura, a border State, following the exchange of land did not register those properties due to lack of awareness and administrative set-up. Several such plots have also been sold. "The State government has ordered a survey to check the status of exchanged plots of land and to know the number of unregistered plots. The survey has started," the official told PTI.
Once the list of unregistered plots is compiled, the State government will send it to the Centre.
"We will act according to the directive of the Ministry of Home Affairs," the official said.
He made it clear that those who have an ‘exchange deed or registered deed’ for their plot will continue to hold the land. "No one will be evicted from the exchanged land. I hope there will be a policy decision on the exchanged land properties which were not registered," the official said.
Pradip Datta Bhoumik of Bagma in Gomati district is one person whose exchanged land was not registered.
"My father was a landlord in East Pakistan’s Alikamaura village in Commilla district. He migrated to Bagma area during the early '60s and started living on exchanged land. We are now living in Agartala. We do not know the status of the exchanged land property," Bhoumik said.
Sanjib Deb, the editor of a local media outlet, also said his family had properties in Commilla district’s Payat village in East Pakistan.
"My father came to Tripura in 1949, while my two uncles did it in 1951 after exchanging land with a Muslim at Bishalgarh in Sepahijala district. Later, my uncles sold the exchanged land," Deb said.
Sepahijala is the district with the highest number of exchanged plots at 2229, the official said.
West Tripura District Magistrate Vishal Kumar told PTI that the number of unregistered exchanged plots can be known after the survey is complete.
"A senior officer has been asked to undertake the survey to find out the status of exchanged land," Kumar said.
