To convert it into housing... Baqubah farmers complain about “mafias” forcing them to sell their lan

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[size=52]To convert it into housing... Baqubah farmers complain about “mafias” forcing them to sell their lands[/size]

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04-20-2024
Farmers in Diyala Governorate revealed, on Saturday, the presence of mafias forcing them to sell their lands and orchards with the aim of “destroying” agriculture and turning them into residential plots of land in the city of Baqubah, the center of the governorate.[/size]
[size=45]The farmer from the city of Baquba, Qais Nazem, said that “we are suffering from mafias who divide up the lands, and we do not rule out that they are supported by external parties to destroy the Iraqi economy and agriculture in Diyala Governorate by paying billions of dinars for the purpose of dividing them into residential areas. We note that these operations are carried out through brokers.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, “Previous governments, since the time of the royal era, prevented the sale and cutting of orchards, especially since trees and palm trees require effort and years to produce, but these mafias lure farmers with high prices, and divide them into residential plots, while their owners resort to buying in remote areas after selling them.”[/size]
[size=45]Nazem pointed out that “if a farmer refrains from selling his orchards, the authorities responsible for these operations resort to harassing and besieging him with certain methods, including cutting off water from them, preventing their irrigation, or blocking the roads that lead to them until they gradually end and he is forced to sell them as days go by.”[/size]
[size=45]For his part, citizen Mahmoud Al-Taie said, “The condition of Diyala Governorate today does not bode well, as it is one of the agricultural governorates distinguished by its green belts and orchards, which were the food basket for Baghdad and various governorates in terms of citrus crops, dates, and others.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Taie added during his speech, “Today the governorate is witnessing a great deal of agricultural land and orchards being purchased by certain parties, considering that most of them have been exposed to thirst and diseases amid the absence of government support, which prompts the farmer to cling to his land.”[/size]
[size=45]He stated that “the influential parties and those with money and weapons contributed greatly by purchasing these orchards and agricultural fields and were able to transform them into nothing, and eliminated the green belts, and this has impacts on the atmosphere of the governorate in terms of the environment and epidemics.”[/size]
[size=45]In turn, the Mayor of Baquba, Abdullah Al-Hayali, confirmed that agricultural lands in the city were being bulldozed and converted into residential lands by influential people, as well as by some of their owners in fraudulent ways, by burning orchards or leaving them unattended to turn them into residential plots because they are useful and generate millions for them.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hayali said, “One of the reasons for violating the law and bulldozing lands is the abolition of the legal powers by the government of the heads of administrative units, which used to authorize the district director and district director with the powers of a misdemeanor judge to hold such people accountable.”[/size]
[size=45]He continued, "The methods used by influential parties are to entice farmers, threaten them, put pressure on them, and claim their ability to seize lands by force, in coordination with government agencies and departments, if the farmer refuses to sell them to them."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hayali explained, “The District Attorney referred more than 1,000 farmers to the Baqubah Investigation Court to take legal measures against them in accordance with the Agricultural Production Protection Law, and to inform the Diyala Agriculture Directorate to send legal representatives to file lawsuits against them.”[/size]
[size=45]He stated that “the District Attorney has filed criminal lawsuits against more than 20 farmers who sold and bulldozed their agricultural contracts,” pointing out that “the lawsuits are on the right track, and we are awaiting the final word from the Iraqi judiciary.”[/size]
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