The Services and Construction Committee in the House of Representatives intends to move towards organizing those informal settlements that can be settled and granting ownership to their rightful residents according to clear legal regulations.
Committee member Safaa Kazem Al-Husseini stated in a press interview, which the "Video News Agency" reviewed, that "the issue of informal settlements is one of the most complex files, as it combines both the humanitarian and legal dimensions. Therefore, any treatment must balance between preserving the state's prestige and the rights of citizens, many of whom were forced to live in these areas due to the housing crisis."
Al-Husseini emphasized that "the next phase should focus on organizing the informal settlements that can be settled and granting ownership to their rightful residents under clear legal regulations, while reducing or installments of ownership fees in a way that suits the financial capability of citizens, because high fees discourage many from completing ownership transactions."
Al-Husseini called on the government to "distinguish between the informal settlements that can be integrated into the master plan and provided with services, and the encroachments on strategic projects or land that cannot be settled legally, so that the treatment is fair and humanitarian while preserving the public interest." He clarified that "the goal is not to remove citizens' homes but to find realistic solutions that preserve their dignity, organize ownership, provide services, and put an end to future informal expansion."
On his part, Baghdad Provincial Council member Ali Al-Zarkani believes that "the step of granting ownership to deserving individuals according to regulations is a step in the right direction to correct a path that has lasted for years, provided it is accompanied by amendments and updates to the capital’s master plan to ensure the architectural integration of these areas and provide legal cover for including them in basic services while preserving the state’s prestige and protecting citizens' constitutional rights to adequate housing."
Al-Zarkani added that "what the Services Committee in the parliament proposed is practical and very necessary to ensure the project's success, as the goal should be organizational rather than purely financial collection."
He pointed out that "most residents of these areas belong to vulnerable classes and low-income individuals who were forced by circumstances and the housing crisis to this option, and imposing exorbitant fees will certainly lead citizens to shy away from entering into the legal settlement, which brings us back to square one and keeps these areas outside the control and organization of state institutions. Therefore, we strongly support legislating flexible mechanisms for comfortable long-term installments or reducing fees in line with the economic situation of beneficiaries to ensure this file is resolved completely."
He confirmed "the challenge of identifying the criteria that should be adopted to distinguish between informal settlements that can be settled and those that encroach on strategic projects, which requires concerted executive and supervisory efforts, as technical and legal committees should be formed to rely on accurate field surveys for the basic classification criteria."
He stressed the necessity that the lands located within the routes of strategic lines (such as oil and gas pipelines) or high-pressure networks or water prohibitions or lands designated for infrastructure projects and hospitals and schools must be red lines that cannot be compromised for ownership because this disrupts the country's growth and poses a danger to the inhabitants themselves. In these cases, suitable housing alternatives should be provided before carrying out any removal operations, while the residential clusters located on the outskirts of the master plan or in areas that do not conflict with the strategic plan can be legally adapted and urbanly integrated.
Al-Zarkani warned that "the issue of informal settlements has grown due to previous accumulations and severe housing crises, and today's treatment must start from the basis of a precise balance between enforcing the rule of law and preserving the state's prestige on one hand and considering the humanitarian aspect and providing a decent life for citizens on the other hand."
He cautioned "against the danger of including encroachments on strategic prohibitions such as energy transmission lines and oil and gas routes and vital projects in any settlement decisions, calling for finding realistic housing solutions and alternatives for their occupants before evacuation, along with the necessity of imposing measures that prevent the construction of any new informal settlements in the future to ensure this file is closed permanently and to direct efforts towards sustainable development."