“The observations made in a report presented by the mayoralty to the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs show the divergence of views between the council and the mayoralty. This happened even after the differences had been sorted out at a joint meeting held before the last Haj,” he said.
On the other hand, the mayoralty sources said that the presentation of the report to the ministry last month took place only after the final technical report was handed over to the municipal council as per its request.
“The municipal council then approved it,” the sources said.
Al-Matrafi claimed that there had been no follow-up of the whole affair from the part of the mayoralty. “The mayoralty simply informed us that the report was presented to the ministry,” he said.
He added that the mayoralty opposed the council's view with regard to residential floors in its report presented to the ministry.
“The mayoralty has every right to object to the findings of the studies within one month after preparing the study. But it has no right to oppose it after this period," he said.
"The mayoralty had not informed us about its objections to the findings of the study before presenting it to the ministry."
Al-Matrafi said the study pertaining to the residential floors is applicable to all new townships to which utility connections such as water and electricity have been made. There are two major objectives to be taken into consideration while increasing residential floors.
“One is to remove inconsistencies remaining in townships having two- and three-floor residential buildings such as those in Bathaa Quraish district. The second objective is to contribute substantially to solving the housing problem in Makkah by making available more housing units to citizens,” he said, adding that the council’s consultant, who made close follow-up of the study, was keen to ensure that the elevation of floors is strictly in line with technical paradigms.
The mayoralty earlier noted that the demand of Makkah residents to have pillar support for their apartments is their legitimate right in the wake of the growing population.
Reemphasizing this, Osama Bar, mayor of Makkah, said the recommendations in this regard were worked out in a comprehensive manner and then presented to the higher authorities.
“The new Hijrah year would witness solutions to all major problems raised by the residents through necessary rules and regulations,” the mayor said, while highlighting the significance of ensuring the safety of Makkah, which receives over 10 million pilgrims and visitors annually.
