Egypt fights encroachments on agricultural lands, punishes 485 violators for illegal construction

CAIRO – 9 March 2022: Egypt has taken serious and important steps to address the phenomenon of encroachment on agricultural lands, with the aim of preserving the agricultural lands for the future generations.

The government announced taking measures to stop various forms of support including supplies, bread, fertilizers for 485 violators who trespassed agricultural lands via illegal construction in 9 governorates.

This comes as a continuation of what was agreed upon with the governors to form committees at the level of the village or the local unit, in order to be responsible for confronting these infringements strictly and preventing them.

The Minister of Justice will also study and prepare a draft law amending some provisions of the Agriculture Law, promulgated by Law No. 53 of 1966, including: confiscating the violating building, imposing large financial fines on the aggressors, punishing the contractor who undertakes the construction, removing the violating building, as well as punishing the engineer supervising the implementation.

According to previous statements by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, there is an insistence on burying this phenomenon, especially as it jeopardizes the future of generations, noting that the current events at the global level emphasize the need to preserve every inch of our agricultural lands, and even expand the reclamation of more lands in order to maintain food security for our citizens.

The Chairman of the Local Administration Committee in the House of Representatives

stressed that Parliament is primarily responsible with the media in forming the awareness required against such violations, but the government and the concerned ministries should listen to Parliament in its observations and enable it in exercising its oversight role, as well as its technical role through the rapid adoption and implementation of the recommendations of its specialized qualitative committees.

Representative Emad Saad Hammouda, Head of the Housing Committee in the House of Representatives, considered that the state's recent steps to address the encroachments on agricultural lands will contribute to eliminating this phenomenon, which represents a national security issue that threatens the economic and food climate for Egyptians.

The head of the Housing Committee demanded that there be simultaneous steps represented in the importance of educating the citizen about the seriousness of this phenomenon, and resolving the review of the building requirements to complete the system in addressing any infringement, which is what the committee will work on during the coming period in its adoption to eliminate any abuses or infringements.