2.12.0.0
More Than 122 Illegal Possessions in Muscat in 2020
Of the common challenges that Muscat Municipality faces till day is the phenomena of illegal possessions. Though the awareness efforts and supportive roles of laws and legislations addressing the problem it is still happening. Muscat Municipality opens the file to make the community familiar with this issue and its dimensions and societal impacts, in terms of health and other aspects related to security and safety.
Illegal possessions can happen in many forms; either by construction of random rooms inside houses or farms, or fencing a land plot outside the original plot limits, or construction of mobile houses (caravans) illegally, or putting bricks indicating a boundary of a plot or planting trees. Even additions made to houses using unstable materials is also a form of illegal possession, as well as cutting parts of a mountain or digging wells on government land illegally.
That municipal regulations and decisions classified the technical violations committed against local order no. (23/92) according to the gravity of the infraction, considering that the construction, drilling in public land or making home additions exceeding 100 m2 on an existing building or under construction without licences and without extracting approved modification maps. Dealing with these violations varies, as some of them are directed to the violator with some awareness and guidance to remove the violation. In the event the violator fails to comply with this, the principle of immediate removal of these occupancies shall be dealt with in accordance with the regulations followed in this regard, or referring the issue to the competent authorities to remove those violations.
Until the end of November 2020, the number of illegal possessions registered in Seeb was (22), compared to (18) during 2019. Al Amirat registered about 28 random possessions, and 21 in Qurayyat, and (31) in Mutrah. Whereas the Directorate General of Muscat Municipality in Bousher registered (22) possessions in 2019 and (20) in 2020.
Muscat Municipality takes the decision to remove random possessions after verifying that there are no documents proofing the legality of the plot, and for those possessions made by an unknown person, the Municipality places a board on the site urging the person to appeal before the Municipality with his documents proofing the plot. In case the violator fails to appear, contact is made with the sheikh of the region to find out the owner, if not avail, the violation is filed against an unknown person to the legal follow-up department of the competent directorate, and the rest of the procedures are completed and referred to the public prosecution to issue a ruling for removal.
2.12.0.0