Removing overflowing homes threatens millions of citizens.. “New cities” are built for the poor and

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[size=52]Removing overflowing homes threatens millions of citizens.. “New cities” are built for the poor and bought by the rich[/size]

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06-06-2024
About 4 million Iraqi citizens live in informal homes, or what are known as (overflow homes), where the requirements for decent living are low.[/size]
[size=45]Half of these slums are clustered on the outskirts of the capital, Baghdad, and the other half in the country's cities, amid calls to develop radical and urgent solutions to this dangerous phenomenon on the level of living and health, as it entails humanitarian, social, security and health challenges, as it constitutes hotbeds of poverty and the spread of diseases, and is considered one of the biggest problems facing... Facing the state and societal development in the country.[/size]
[size=45]Municipal departments throughout the Iraqi governorates carry out campaigns from time to time to remove encroaching homes, the most recent of which was the Basra municipality, on June 1, embarking on a major campaign to remove encroachments in the center of the city of Basra, the center of the governorate, “to inform the owners of 450 encroaching homes of the necessity of removing their encroachments from this area.” “It was considered a green area and an outlet for the people of Basra,” according to the municipal director, Firas Al-Husseini.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Husseini added in a previous statement that “the campaign discovered the presence of 14 encroaching houses devoid of residents, and they were demolished by (the shuffle),” pointing out that “the security forces preceded the campaign to notify the encroachers with an inspection campaign in the area, where they found unlicensed weapons and arrested wanted persons.” To the judiciary.”[/size]
[size=45]While Al-Husseini pointed out that “the reporting campaign witnessed a clash with citizens who were trespassing with stones (bricks),” he explained that “the campaign comes within the framework of putting an end to trespasses on public funds, as well as preparing the conditions for conducting the population census, as some of the trespassing houses are occupied by citizens from outside the country.” Basra, and they were informed of the necessity of leaving the place within 14 days, whether by returning to their governorates, or finding a rental house in all areas of Basra within the legal framework.”[/size]
[size=45]Most Iraqi cities suffer from the phenomenon of random housing and encroachment on state lands, due to a stifling housing crisis due to the increasing population compared to the number of residential complexes, in addition to the inability of low-income citizens to build their own housing unit due to the high cost of land and construction materials.[/size]
[size=45]“We are forced to live in excess”[/size]
[size=45]Citizens of slum residents who were interviewed earlier attribute the reason that prompted them to live in these areas to “poverty, deprivation, and the lack of adequate housing.”[/size]
[size=45]Citizen Umm Dhargham, a slum resident in Karbala Governorate, says, “Housing in the bypass came as a result of the rise in housing prices. We cannot buy land, a house, or even rent, so we are forced into this situation.”[/size]
[size=45]The woman explained, “The cheapest house with an area of ​​50 square meters on the outskirts of Karbala Governorate is approximately 15 million dinars. As for residential complexes, even people with middle income cannot live in them due to their high prices, and the cheapest apartment for sale is estimated at between 150 and 200 million dinars.”[/size]
[size=45]The woman complains that she receives from time to time “threats that she must leave from the municipality,” demanding that “the government provide an alternative or give land and a sum of money through loans to build on and solve this problem.”[/size]
[size=45]The spokesman for the Ministry of Planning, Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi, said, “There are 4,000 slum compounds throughout Iraq, and these slums include 522,000 housing units, meaning that there are 522,000 families living in these slums.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hindawi explained in a previous interview, “The capital Baghdad’s share of these slums is a quarter, with 1,022 slums, followed by Basra, with 700 slums,” pointing out that “the least governorate in which slums are present is Karbala governorate, with 98 slums, and Najaf, 99 slums.” “.[/size]
[size=45]While the advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Saleh, said, “The housing sector in Iraq suffers from an inherited accumulation of more than 3,000 slums in which approximately 4 million citizens live, and the requirements for decent living are low. Half of these slums are clustered on the outskirts of the capital, Baghdad, and the other half in Cities of the country.”[/size]
[size=45]Saleh added in a previous interview, “There is a need within the national housing policy adopted by the government of Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani to provide 3 million housing units, which is the primary concern of the government program.”[/size]
[size=45]He continues, “Based on the tasks and duties stipulated in the Iraq Development Fund system, which consists of 6 sub-funds, one of which will be allocated entirely to housing projects.”[/size]
[size=45]He explains, “The new housing philosophy will stipulate that the fund will purchase ready-made housing units, which will be implemented by investors in new cities and urban areas, which will then be allocated to citizens according to income levels, and comfortable installments will be paid over long periods.”[/size]
[size=45]He explains: “The urban project will include the country’s governorates and target those who do not have housing, starting with decent, low-cost housing and gradually moving upward.”[/size]
[size=45]Building new residential cities[/size]
[size=45]Many citizens, especially those of the poor and middle classes, encounter obstacles in obtaining a residential property due to the astronomical prices, and despite the cities, complexes and residential units being built throughout the Iraqi governorates, their prices are still not commensurate with the capabilities of the vast majority of the population in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq needs to create 3 to 3.5 million housing units to reduce the chronic crisis in this sector, and in an attempt to reduce the gap, the government began establishing 52 residential cities in the central and southern governorates, in addition to housing complexes and various loans to build, renovate and purchase housing units, in solutions described as “ “The radical solution” to solve the dilemma that worries millions in the country.[/size]
[size=45]The Iraqi Ministry of Planning confirms that “Iraq has been witnessing a housing crisis for several decades as a result of the lack of large projects that meet citizens’ housing needs. This coincides with the population growing significantly annually, while the current gap is estimated at 3 million housing units,” according to the ministry’s spokesman. , Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hindawi added in a previous interview, “The Ministry of Planning, through the five-year development plan 2024-2028, took into account the housing sector and the need that exists in this sector, and what was planned will be translated into projects, policies and procedures through the establishment of new residential cities in all governorates, and it was completed.” Starting these projects in the capital, Baghdad, and some other governorates.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hindawi expresses his hope that “the policy of addressing housing will continue through the establishment of new residential cities in all governorates, which will alleviate and contribute to addressing a large part of the housing crisis, and at the same time open good investment prospects in the housing sector to attract investment companies that invest in this sector by establishing Residential complexes in various Iraqi governorates.”[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the rise in real estate prices, Al-Hindawi explains, “The rise in prices is related to the residential units that will be completed, meaning that prices are subject to the theory of supply and demand. The more there is an increase in the supply of residential units, the lower the prices, and vice versa. The lower the supply, the higher the prices.” .[/size]
[size=45]He stresses, “But in light of the serious policy that the government has produced within its development plans of building residential cities, this will contribute to creating a state of price stability and meeting the existing demand in Iraq.”[/size]
[size=45]The authorities have been trying hard for about 5 years to address the housing crisis by launching plans that are compatible with the population of more than 43 million people, in addition to relying on procedures to facilitate citizens’ access to loans with acceptable interest.[/size]
[size=45]52 new residential cities[/size]
[size=45]In an attempt to reduce the housing crisis and high real estate prices in Iraq, the Iraqi Ministry of Construction and Housing revealed that it has taken several measures to reduce prices, by establishing 52 new residential cities throughout the country.[/size]
[size=45]The Ministry’s spokesman, Istabraq Sabah, stated in a previous statement, “There are approximately 190,000 housing units in the cities of (Al-Jawahiri, Ali Al-Wardi, and Al-Ghazlani) only, but when dozens of other cities in the rest of the central and southern governorates are counted, it will reduce the housing crisis.”[/size]
[size=45]Reducing the housing crisis is not limited to residential cities, according to Sabah. Rather, there are residential complexes carried out by the Housing Department, and there are thousands of loans for construction and renovation that the Real Estate Housing Fund disburses monthly, in addition to thousands of loans that are issued from the Real Estate Bank affiliated with the Ministry of Finance monthly to purchase Housing units.[/size]
[size=45]“Therefore, these loans, along with the Housing Fund and the complexes that the Housing Department is building, in addition to the new residential cities, are all considered radical solutions on the ground that contribute effectively to reducing the housing gap in Iraq, which amounts to 3 million to 3.5 million housing units, according to estimates.” “, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of Construction.[/size]
[size=45]But population growth should not be ignored, which is constantly increasing, according to Sabah. “In light of the need to create more than 3 million housing units, population growth increases by one million to one million and 200 thousand people annually, and this, when divided by family size, shows the addition of about 160 thousand units.” Residential is an annual need for the housing balance.”[/size]
[size=45]Law dealing with housing violations[/size]
[size=45]On October 8, 2022, the House of Representatives completed “the first reading of the draft law on addressing residential encroachments submitted by the Services, Reconstruction, Legal and Financial Committees to address residential encroachments on land owned by the state or municipalities within the boundaries of the basic designs before the effective date of this law,” according to a statement by the Media Department. For the House of Representatives.[/size]
[size=45]The statement called for “correcting the legal status of the encroachers by leasing them the lands they encroached upon by establishing residential homes for the purpose of preventing encroachments on properties belonging to the state and municipalities within the boundaries of the basic designs of the cities, removing the encroachments that occurred and establishing a fund to finance projects to develop informal settlements included in the development.”[/size]
[size=45]In this context, a member of the Parliamentary Services and Reconstruction Committee, Mahma Khalil, says, “The slum law is one of the important laws that has been postponed since previous sessions, and the law aims to adapt their situation and ensure that there is no harm or harm in it, as for encroachment on public money, privileged lands, road taboos, and real estate.” The state and green spaces will not accept it.”[/size]
[size=45]Khalil adds, “The government withdrew the draft law to make amendments to it, but an alternative must be found for the violators by reviewing local and global experiences and benefiting from them in resolving this issue that is exploited during every election. However, in light of the current state of the House of Representatives, it is unlikely to legislate this law within This course.”[/size]
[size=45]As for the legal expert, Ali Al-Tamimi, he explained that “the name of the law (addressing residential encroachments) needs to be replaced, as if it were (ownership of encroached upon properties).”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Tamimi recorded a group of observations on the law during his talk to Shafaq News Agency, indicating that “the law differentiates between those who established residential homes encroaching on state lands or state departments before 12/31/2016 and after this date. The law applies to occupants before 2016 and does not include what comes after.” According to the national program from the Ministry of Planning, this differentiation was not justified due to the presence of large numbers of slums after 2016 that need to be treated.”[/size]
[size=45]He points out that “the law requires the existence of a specialized committee formed by the minister or the head of an entity not affiliated with a ministry. It decides on requests and estimates rental fees according to similar prices. This is difficult for property occupiers to pay such amounts, and when the property occupants do not pay, the building is removed.” Without compensation, it would have been better to compensate the workers with the value of the buildings due to be removed. It would also have been better for this committee that follows up on applications for ownership to be headed by a judge in each appeals area.”[/size]
[size=45]He points out that “Article 11 of this law says that (the occupant of the property, after the end of the 25-year period during which he pays the rent, must own the property for its value at the time of ownership, and the rent that has been paid will be calculated from its price), but what if the rental amounts are more than the value of the property.” ?[/size]
[size=45]He continues, “As for properties occupied after 12/31/2016, Revolutionary Council Resolution 154 will be applied to them, devoid of the penalty of imprisonment, including the necessity of eviction and the removal of violations. Although the draft law abolished the above resolution, it maintained its procedures. The law also gave the Council of Ministers the right to impose fines on violators.” “I do not know why the law did not specify it.”[/size]
[size=45]He explains, “The law consists of 23 articles and requires many details, and to explain to us what about state property, such as buildings and real estate rented at low prices, and these can be addressed in the second reading.”[/size]
[size=45]He stressed, “These measures are difficult for poor occupants, especially for occupants after 12/31/2016, and I believe that it needs to be slow in legislating it at this stage and needs to be postponed, as there is no justification or necessity for legislating this law at this difficult stage economically and politically and it will greatly affect the The poor and it will have a negative impact on general conditions.”[/size]
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