Local
Baghdad Municipality announced on Friday the commencement of integrating agricultural areas covered by Resolution No. 320 of 2022 into the capital's master plan. The Municipality affirmed its intention to grant ownership of 13 agricultural districts to their occupants, noting that the ownership of 5 of them has already been transferred as a preliminary step in this initiative. Detailing the project, Baghdad Municipality Spokesperson Uday Al-Jandil clarified that the Municipality began, since the issuance of Resolution 320 in 2022, enumeration, sorting, and preparatory work for selling lands to families occupying state-owned agricultural properties. He indicated that work has been completed in some districts directly affiliated with the Municipality, emphasizing that the law requires the transfer of ownership of any lands belonging to other ministries to the Municipality's name before proceeding with sale procedures. The Municipality continues its efforts in 13 other districts, where sorting is currently underway to issue title deeds to occupants who have built permanent residential homes on them. Work has been completed in District 15 in the Al-Fadiliya area, and District 13 (Al-Nairiya and Al-Kiyara) within the New Baghdad sector. Regarding the prices of the included lands, Al-Jandil explained that they vary according to the nature and location of each area. The prices per square meter in some areas of the New Baghdad sector reached 350,000 Iraqi Dinars, while in other areas within the districts (Waldaya, Munaysif, Shama'a, and Kuraa) affiliated with the Al-Ma'amil sector in Hay Al-Batoul, prices ranged between 150,000 and 175,000 Iraqi Dinars per square meter. These prices are determined by a specialized committee that takes into account the geographical location, while also considering the economic situation of poor families and those with limited income. The resolution also stipulates a facilitated payment mechanism, where only 10% of the total amount is collected upfront, and the remaining 90% is paid in installments over 20 years, in accordance with the Council of Ministers' decision. The inclusion of these areas within Baghdad's master plan is a pivotal step, coming after their official reclassification from agricultural lands to residential areas with "pure ownership" (Tabu Milk Sarf) status. Al-Jandil affirmed that this inclusion, by law, allows the Municipality to provide essential services to these areas as soon as allocations and financial liquidity are available, given that services cannot be provided to lands classified as agricultural before their legal status is converted. The Municipality continues its enumeration and sorting operations to grant ownership of state-owned agricultural lands, with an emphasis on ensuring these procedures do not conflict with public utility projects. In this regard, the Municipality communicates with all relevant ministries to ascertain the absence of any future project plans on these lands, such as hospitals, security centers, oil pipelines, or strategic electricity transmission lines. Ownership transfer is prevented in case of conflict, and procedures are completed for areas free of such impediments. Al-Jandil concluded by noting that the ownership of 5 districts has been transferred and sold to their occupants to date, with work ongoing in the remaining districts directly owned by the Municipality. As for districts owned by other ministries, their ownership must first be transferred to Baghdad Municipality before design and sale procedures can commence. He reiterated that Baghdad Municipality is the first government department and institution to initiate the sale of state-owned agricultural lands, including encroached ones, in line with the provisions of Resolution No. 320.
