State land not recovered due to ‘procrastination’

Ombudswoman Maria Stylianou-Lottides has blamed “procrastination” for the failure to recover state land illegally exploited in Paralimni for the past 39 years.

In a report made public on Thursday and forwarded to the Law Office, Lottides said a civilian reported illegal activities on neighbouring state land in Paralimni. According to the report, individuals had taken over the land, erecting shacks for breeding animals, drilling wells, and planting trees.

On April 16, 2019, the civilian wrote to the Department of Lands and Surveys, requesting that the land not be leased again for livestock farming purposes, as it was close to holiday homes.

He received no response.

Lottides said that two applications for leasing the land for farming had been rejected and that any continued use of the land was illegal, violated the law and ignored cabinet decisions. These decisions called for the removal of all unauthorised works or the initiation of legal proceedings.

“Procrastination to recover state land through a perpetual process enhanced tolerance practice, while the failure and delay in carrying out timely and effective checks leads to the creation and perpetuation of illegal situations, which contribute to the sense of impunity to those proceeding with such actions and injustice to the law-abiding people,” Lottides noted.

She said it also encouraged “mimicking illegality.”

The ombudswoman recommended that the department take immediate action to restore legality, if necessary, with the assistance and mediation of the Law Office.