Adnan Al-Shabrawi and Faris Al-Qahtani Okaz/Saudi Gazette
RIYADH — The government is currently studying a proposal on how to take stronger legal action against those who encroach on state-owned land. A new bylaw has already been submitted by the Ministry of the Municipal and Rural Affairs to King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for his approval. The bylaw outlines how to tackle encroachments on government land. The draft law makes it imperative for government bodies that possess the title deeds for undeveloped plots of land to clearly demarcate and fence them off. The bylaw also stipulates that when government bodies survey any of these plots, all the buildings and facilities on them must be noted on the plans. Regional emirs will have the power to look into such encroachments and impose penalties on violators when the bylaw is finally approved. The bylaw also calls for the formation of regional committees to look into such encroachments. Each committee will include members from the emirate who are ideally specialized in Islamic law. The committee must also include members from local branches of the ministries of agriculture, municipal and rural affairs and finance. It should also include representatives from the local mayoralty and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities. The bylaw authorizes the emirs to appoint the most experienced member as the head of the committee. It also stipulates that all committee members are full-time, Saudi and serve for four years. The committee should also be headquartered at the emirate or governorate. The emirate is to employ for every committee one administrator and a driver. The committee's main tasks include studying reports and inspecting possible encroachments of public land. They will also recommend actions to be taken against encroachers and submit reports on any actions they take to deal with such offenses. They will also assess the need for increasing or reducing the number of committees to maintain control of government land and remove encroachments.
