The concept of ‘Illicit Trade’ and how it takes place:

As per the property lawyers, illegal trade can happen when squatters make forged documents and threaten the owner that you do not have legal rights on your property. These are people with connections or gangsters who resort to these sorts of tactics to force someone to pay value for obtaining their property and also enjoy property ownership or to force them to make a property sale at a distressed rate. Sometimes, this has happened with the connivance of the district revenue authorities.

How do you protect your property or land in India?

The primary rule by property lawyers is to assure that one should always have all the property documentation in place to prove your legal rights over the properties and lands. “To determine right on the property the owner or a person holding possession must have all proper legal documents, such as mutation documents(intkal), the title documents (jamabandis), a copy of the will document (vasiyat) which declares that the land has been acquired through a Will, original purchase agreement or sale deed, water bills, electricity bills and telephone bills, etc.”.

Some relevant tips to keep in mind about protecting one’s property:

• Due to rapid advancement in technology such as Google Maps, we can keep a tab on our property or land from anywhere in the world. Even though it may not be real-time monitoring, any notable changes on our plot (permanent or temporary structures) will get noticed sooner or later.

• Normally, plots in gated communities with private security are unlikely to encounter encroachment. But even then, in some cases such as on the city outskirts, the chances of trespassing cannot be eliminated. Open plots of land are usually more sensitive for encroachment because they are not guarded particularly against the infringement by anybody.

• If a Power of Attorney has to be given to a friend or relative, it must make sure it is a special power of attorney (SPA).

• Fencing the property and putting up a board is another solution.

• If required, the legal help of a professional service provider or property lawyer who can assist with monitoring the property must be taken.

Professional law firms take the charge of making periodic visits, fencing of the property and put up of boards. Such acts broadcast strong advice to possible encroachers that it is better off to leave the property abandoned.

• If possible, a small concrete construction in the property must be done, which may also be rented out to a tenant under the proper documentation (Rental Agreement and Lease Deed) to avoid encroachment or illegal sale of the property in India.

Other than the above, circumstances have changed following the implementation of computerization of land records and registration in the maximum of states. However, much remains to be accomplished and it is better for people to be careful.

Once the property and land is occupied and sold, it becomes a very difficult task to take the possession back. Hence, it would only be recommended that NRIs, who are not aware regarding the way things work in India, must take appropriate steps on time, such as taking help from property lawyers for eviction, to protect their property and land before it gets illegally sold or occupied.