The Makkah governorate has launched a major campaign against illegal occupiers of public land in Umq, west of Makkah, and arrested 20 violators who obstructed the government action and pelted stones at anti-public land encroachment committee members. The confrontation took place when the committee backed by police officers started removing such encroachments in Umq on Monday following the governorate's instructions. The operation, according to Makkah governorate, will continue for four days. "We'll remove all changes that have made on these illegally occupied properties, including real estate offices, uninhabited enclosures and division of land into plots," the governorate said in a statement carried by Makkah Arabic daily. The present raid, however, would not affect inhabited houses, the statement said, adding that a new committee would tackle the case of such houses shortly. "A number of encroachers assembled to stop the government action and they threw stones at the committee members and police officers," the Arabic daily said. Security officers contained the explosive situation quickly and arrested 20 protesters while the rest ran away from the scene. The governorate stressed that the land in Umq belonged to the Finance Ministry in accordance with deed No. 236/141/1 dated 15/3/1410H. A royal decree No. 18077 dated 18/11/1413H has been issued to confirm the government claim on the property. The governorate had previously studied encroachment of public land in the area when a royal decree No. 15522 dated 15/4/1435H was issued confirming the land belonged to the state. The illegally occupied land would be required to carry out future development projects in the city, the governorate said, adding that such encroachment in Umq would lead to the creation new disorganized districts and obstruct the city's development. The committee has decided to form a new panel comprising representatives from the governorate, Ministry of Finance and a judicial inspector from the Justice Ministry to study the cases of deeds being issued proving possession of public land in the area by some individuals. Referring to inhabited houses in the area, the governorate proposed that reasonable compensation should be given to their owners in coordination with other government agencies including the Finance Ministry and Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. An engineering consultancy firm has previously studied the condition of such inhabited houses in the area and calculated reasonable financial compensation for them. Efforts are also underway to provide them with homes in the newly developed districts. "After shifting occupants to new homes, the inhabited houses in the illegally occupied area would be removed," the governorate said. It has also instructed the public to provide information about traders who sell government lands to individuals illegally. "Legal action will be taken against such traders for eating the money of people illegally and to retrieve the money taken from the public," the governorate said. Earlier the governorate had removed the encroachment on public land in Muqnia village, located south of Makkah, which was allocated to establish a large industrial city. A number of trading firms and service outlets will be established in the area to boost the region's development. A royal decree No. 3422 dated 18/1/1437 was issued to confirm that the land belonged to the state, despite objections raised by some individuals who had occupied the land illegally. The governorate emphasized that it would implement the law with determination against violators. At the same time it emphasized that it would protect the right of citizens, especially those who were cheated by land thieves. Realtors said illegal occupiers of land in Umq were trying to create a disorganized district in the area for the last 10 years. "Such violations would create a new crisis for developers. Immediate action is required either to remove these illegal occupation or to organize it properly," one realtor said. Mansour Aburayash, chairman of the real estate committee at Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry emphasized the need to tackle disorganized districts in Makkah and other parts of the Kingdom as quickly as possible to avoid problems during future development activities. "Makkah and Madinah regions suffer the most because of disorganized settlements. Committees must be formed to resolve this problem quickly and effectively," he said. Muhsin Al-Suroory, a member of the real estate committee, estimated the total area of disorganized settlements in Umq at 45 million square meters, adding that it has spread to all the four parts of Makkah. "Considering the fast growth of the holy city, all efforts must be made to resolve the issue as the ongoing development would cover those areas shortly."
