The Makkah Municipality has taken back 40,000 sq. meters of land from encroachers who had built houses and set up farms on the government-owned property.

The municipality’s encroachment committee and the police removed the buildings from the land.

Hassan bin Saeed Khanqar, head of Al-Umrah municipality, said the municipality launched a campaign this week in several locations in Al-Shumaisi and removed various illegal buildings.

He said some citizens took over government land without any proof of ownership, and built yards and farms over 40,000 square meters.

The municipality has several field teams in place monitoring the situation.

Ahmad Oon Al-Barakati, the municipality’s secretary general, said the surveillance department, under the leadership of its president Miteb Al-Harithi, removed nine farms and 65 buildings in Al-Shumaisi. The mayor called on citizens to stop taking over government land.