DOHA: Several citizens have come out heavily against the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning for what they believe a lack of transparency and clear-cut standards for distribution of land to the nationals.

They have also complained of favouritism and meddling by the middlemen in allotment of land and earmarking the locations, a local Arabic daily reported yesterday.

They say that some citizens who have applied for land several years ago are still waiting, while some others are getting it in just a few months, in areas of their choice.

They called on the Ministry to put a time frame for allotment and announce all details to make the procedures clear and transparent.

The allotment must be focused in areas outside the city to increase the number of beneficiaries. The Ministry should also announce the new development plan for different areas.

The National Human Rights Committee in its annual report had recommended to review the Housing Law No. 2 of 2007 to address such issues. The committee pointed out that people are being allotted plots of land in areas which have no services and not preferred by the beneficiaries.

“People are complaining. There is no clear policy, no transparency and no mechanism for distribution of land. What is the justification in giving 1,300sqm of land to some one in an area that he selected and 800sqm of land to another in an area specified by the Ministry,” asked a national.

“There should be laws and a clear strategic plan. All procedures should be announced. The number of applications and the allotments should be known to all,” he added.

He said he had applied for a piece of land in the 70s but was not yet given anything. “After waiting for many year I have forgotten about it.”

Another national, Sabaan Al Jassim called for establishing a special committee to develop a master plan on a national level for allotment of land.

Mohammed Al Banna was even more critical. “To get a plot of land is the right of every citizen and it should not be based on tribe or family. However, I am not against some exceptional cases of allotting land to someone on humanitarian grounds.”

“There is no reason for making some citizens wait for eight years, while some others don’t have to wait for more than two years,” he added.THE PENINSULA