Reprieve for illegal structures
The Environment Ministry is preparing another round, the fourth in 11 years, of legalization of structures either built without a permit or having significantly exceeded the allowed size.
It is estimated that 262,000 structures, mostly housing, fall under this category. They were the largest among the 1.16 million structures declared under a previous legalization scheme, but the procedure had been stopped in September 2020.
Not all such illegal structures will be legalized: To be eligible for this action, they must have been built before 2011 and must not on beaches or forestland.
A bill is expected in Parliament by year’s end.
