ECESR Succeeds In Obtaining A Court Ruling In Favor of Hassanein Village Farmers.
Lawyers of The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights in cooperation with Badr ElToweel law office, succeeded in obtaining a court ruling from circuit 8 “contracts” of the administrative court regarding the appeal #13396/65jy to stop implementing Giza governor decision to collect EGP 1000 per sq.m of inhabited land in Hassanein village in Embaba.
The case started in 1967 when authorities took over farmers’ property in order to construct the Nasseri canal. Ministry of irrigation compensated farmers substantially for their confiscated land and reallocated them in new houses.
After 41 years, the inhabitants were shocked when Nazif cabinet demanded them to pay for their houses at a rate of EGP /sq.m 1000, though inhabitants were compensated for confiscated houses.
Lawyers at ECESR and Badr elToweel office presented official copies of all receipt proving documents issued by the Survey Authority as of1968. As well ,they presented a memo issued by the municipal authority of Manshaat elQanater documenting all property ownership in chronological order. The memo asserted that the land including houses and yards is inhabitants’ property as long as it was not used to construct the canal. They also presented the Giza governor decree #195/2000 in which land price were listed as EGP/sq.m 7 for reconciliation before 1973. In 2000 the land rate was EGP/sq.m 60
The lawyers of ECESR and elToweel ‘s demanded that inhabitants should own their houses that they were given as compensation . They also demanded that these houses would be inspected and compared to receipt documents of 1968. Any annexations should be reconciled as per the rates of the decree 195/200.
Lawyers asserted that the governments grants hundreds of acres to entrepreneurs at nearly zero price and at the same time deprive farmers of the rights to housing and property. Lawyers compared the selling price of land to Egyptian Kuwaiti land in Ayyat at EGP/sq.m 200 and EGP/sq.m 1000 for Hassanein farmers to buy property they already own.
