Syria’s Raqqa decides to dispossess disputing parties of public properties
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – On Monday, the Committee of Agriculture and Irrigation in the city of Raqqa, northern Syria, decided to repossess public lands and properties over which there is a dispute between residents and return them to public ownership.
This came in a decision issued by the Agriculture and Irrigation Committee of the Raqqa Civil Council this morning.
The decision added that the Committee is the one entitled to invest these properties in accordance with the public interest.
The phenomenon of encroachment on public property is spreading in Raqqa, which increased after the removal of war remnants and the transfer of rubble from areas in the city and its countryside.
The Head of the Public Property Office in the Agriculture and Irrigation Committee, Bassam al-Hamad, told North Press that the decision was issued after several disputed issues over public property among the residents, which necessitated removing all parties’ properties and returning them to public ownership.
Al-Hamad added that the aim of the decision is to stop the encroachment on public property and prevent problems between the disputants.
On January 24, the People’s Municipality in Raqqa issued several warnings to residents not to encroach on public property and not to build randomly, while removing building offences in the Andalus neighborhood and other neighborhoods on the northern outskirts of the city.
On January 13, the Legislative Council in Raqqa issued a decision prohibiting the acquisition, purchase, or sale of public property after March 4, 2013.
The same decision banned afforestation, construction, and fencing on public property, and stopped infringements and remove violations under penalty of legal responsibility.
On January 28, the Social Justice Council in Raqqa issued a decision to suspend the consideration of cases related to the origin of the right in relation to properties outside the organizational chart.