Saudi Gazette report MAKKAH — Residents and property owners in Shaab Ali district and Jabal Khandama, located adjacent to the northern courtyard of the Grand Mosque, have urged the concerned authorities to carry out fair value assessments of their properties expropriated for the ongoing Haram expansion. While claiming that they are entitled to get prices 10 times higher than the assessed value, the residents called for the setting up of a new committee to reassess the value of their properties. The residents also complained that the authorities did not make alternative residential facilities available to them prior to distribution of compensation as stipulated in the law for expropriation of properties for public interest. Meanwhile, land appraisal committee sources denied the claims saying that the estimation of property's value was done fairly with a unanimous decision of the committee, comprising representatives of both government and private departments and agencies, according to a report in Al-Madinah Arabic daily. Saeed Ali Al-Zahrani, a resident of Shaab Ali, said local residents were denied justice while the value of their properties was being assessed by the concerned committee. “Before the last Haj season, representatives of the committee for the Grand Mosque's northern courtyards' development asked us to evacuate. They also spoke about the date of disconnecting power and water and other utility services. When we contacted the committee office to know the estimated price of properties, we realized that the estimation was unfair and much lower than the market value," he said. Al-Zahrani noted that there were huge variations and disparities in the value assessment process. “The average assessed value per square meter was SR32,000. However, the estimated value of some properties, situated just 40 meters away from our properties, was SR200,000 per square meter, and SR100,000 in the case of some other properties," he said while urging the authorities to revoke the value assessment made by the committee and appoint a new appraisal committee to protect their rights. Muhammad Al-Kinani, another resident of the district, voiced dismay over officials' statement that they were dealing with the matter in a transparent manner. “The reality is that there have been several violations with regard to the evaluation of properties. Moreover, there were no initiatives to provide us with alternative residential facilities before our properties were expropriated," he said. Echoing the same view, Obadel Al-Maliki, another resident, called for re-estimating the value of properties and treating all residents fairly. “The assessed value for some properties owned by businessmen is much higher than the value of properties owned by ordinary citizens," he complained. Abdul Aziz Al-Khodaidi, a resident of Jabal Khandama, said the committee served eviction notices without giving owners a grace period. “The committee informed us that the expropriation is in public interest and not for building any hotels and markets. If it was for any investment project, we would be the first beneficiaries because the proposed ring road would pass through the lower part of Jabal Khandama where we live," he said while also drawing attention to the huge variations in the evaluation of properties. Abbas Qattan, supervisor of the committee for the development of the Grand Mosque's northern courtyards, said the committee is keen to disburse fair compensation to owners of all properties expropriated for the expansion of the holy mosque's northern courtyard and the ring road. On his part, Yousuf Al-Ahmadi, member of the real estate assessment committee in Makkah, said all members of the committee were unanimous in fixing fair prices for the properties. The concerned government departments had earlier given the go-ahead for the expropriation of 2,000 properties for the project. The expropriation includes six areas neighboring the mosque.
