17 businessmen be tried for encroachment on state land

CAIRO – 1 June 2017: Seventeen businessmen were referred to a misdemeanor court Wednesday for infringement on more than 3,450 feddans (1 feddan =1.038 acres) in different places across Egypt.

The businessmen are accused of violating agricultural reclamation rules by using the land for construction instead of cultivation. The court referral came after the businessmen refused to pay the state dues for the value of their encroachment, as determined by committees in charge of "examination and evaluation."

This comes as part of a month-long campaign against encroachment on state lands. Eighty-eight cases of encroachment have been settled legally after their owners paid fines totaling LE 240 million ($13 million) to the General Authority for Agricultural Development.

Dakahlia Governor Ahmed Shaarawy announced in a Thursday statement that the governor completed the removal of all squatters and recovered all state land in his governorate. A total of 700,000 feddans have been reclaimed across Egypt.

The state campaign against squatters started in early May after President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi ordered the army and police to investigate and reclaim all illegally acquired state lands. His statement came during the Youth Conference in Ismailia on April 27.