Samir Basabrain, head of the Land Encroachment Committee at Jeddah Governorate, has held accountable “land thieves” for the land-grab spree in the aftermath of the floods that hit the city recently. These “land thieves”, the official said, robbed the valley floors in the districts affected by the floods including Ghous, Kitana, Merakh and Umm Hablain, Al-Hayat Arabic daily reported on Friday. During the past three years, the Encroachment Committee, Basabrain said, was able to restore 200 million sq. meters of land in different parts of Jeddah. He said Royal directives do not permit demolition of houses inhabited by citizens. He said the committee has been engaged for some years in stopping construction work in undeveloped districts especially in valley areas despite the objection of those claiming possession of farms and rest houses built on this land. The official said some of the encroachers had rebuilt more than three times the facilities demolished by the committee forcing it to assign surveillance patrols around-the-clock to prevent encroachment of government land. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah Region, the official said, has exerted strenuous efforts to put an end to the encroachment problem. The Encroachment Committee has also set up a specialized team to monitor the retrieved areas and handed over aerial photos to the officials concerned. He said the committee demolished some sites in Al-Khumra District since some of the land plots sold there belonged to the encroached areas. Some unscrupulous elements sold these plots of land to gullible customers, he alleged. __
