While voicing their despair over the absence of transparency and breach of their legitimate rights, they demanded formation of an impartial committee to implement the bylaw for the development of rundown neighborhoods and to ensure fair distribution of compensation for their properties, Al-Madinah newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Owners of properties that are set for expropriation have been asked earlier to contact the Owners' Relations Office for Al-Ruwais Development Project to receive their compensation and complete necessary eviction procedures.
The office has started procedures to complete distribution of compensation before a March 2012 deadline when utility services to the residential and commercial buildings in the district will be disconnected.
A number of owners said they were surprised to see that officials at the office asked them to sign a document acknowledging receipt of compensation without allowing them to open the sealed envelope. The owners noted that they refused to sign the documents in protest. The owners say that they have a right to know the exact amount of compensation and the mode of evaluating their properties before they sign any document. They took this stand after learning from those who had already received compensation that the evaluation was unfair and the compensation amount was insufficient compared with the market value of their properties. The owners noted that the developer of the project had earlier presented three options in front of them — compensation, partnership in the project for the equivalent value of their property or alternative housing facility.
Umm Muhammad, one of the owners, said that she got a phone call from the Owners' Relations Office asking her to come over to the office to receive compensation for her property. “Accompanied by my son, I went to the office to know about the amount of compensation and receive it if it was fair. I was surprised when an official asked me to sign a document acknowledging receipt of an envelope containing compensation. When my son told me to open it to know the amount, the official objected, saying that I could do so only after signing the paper,” she said, adding that she refused to sign the papers before knowing the exact amount of compensation.
Umm Muhammad, who is a widow, continued: “The officer exerted pressure to force me to sign the documents, saying that the project was in the national interest and was being implemented in accordance with a royal decree. He also warned me that the project would be implemented at any cost, and there was no option left for me except accepting the compensation and signing the documents. When I asked him what I should do if I found the compensation was inadequate after signing the paper, his answer was that I could approach the Court of Grievances within 60 days,” she said and added: “This house is the only property left behind my dead husband for me and my children. I will not abandon it for whatever price offered to me.”
Naji Muhammad Saeed is another resident of Al-Ruwais who refused to accept compensation for the same reason. “I decided not to go to the office after I came to know about the inadequate amount of compensation many people in my neighborhood had received. One neighbor, who owns a two-story building, went to the office and received the envelope after signing the document. When she opened it, she found that the compensation amount was less than SR400,000. When she rushed back to the office to return the compensation, she was informed that her only option was to file a complaint with the Court of Grievances,” he said.
According to Saeed, there were many similar cases. Some residents who opted for alternative residence instead of compensation are yet to receive them. “In such a scenario, an overwhelming majority of residents has decided not to vacate their houses after accepting compensation, which is quite inadequate and unfair,” he said.
Umm Miteb, an elderly woman who struggles to support her deceased son’s family comprising his wife and four daughters, is also not ready to vacate her two-story residence. “This house is the only property we own in this world. We have no breadwinner except Allah. I have no other place to go after vacating this house, where I have been living for more than 60 years,” she said.
Echoing the same view, Umm Mazen, also a widow, said she was living with her children at the home inherited from her husband. “My husband left nothing for us other than this house. Therefore, I am earnestly appealing to Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal not to demolish it, as the compensation for this tiny house would not suffice us to buy another residence,” she said while noting that many women owners of big houses in her neighborhood received compensation that was very low compared with the size of their buildings.
The Jeddah Development and Urban Regeneration Company (JDURC), in cooperation with Raisan Arabian Company, is implementing Al-Ruwais Development Project, which is aimed at transforming one of the oldest and most undeveloped neighborhoods of Jeddah into a world-class urban district.
Al-Ruwais district, covering a total area of 1,420,174 sq. meters, is situated in central Jeddah, north of downtown Balad, and is lying between four major roads crisscrossing the city — Madinah Road, King Abdullah Road, Al-Andalus Street and Palestine Street. There are more than 3,000 houses in the area, and the population is estimated at 34,000, comprising citizens and foreigners belonging to various nationalities. The total value of compensation for expropriating properties in the area is estimated at more than SR3 billion.
